To answer the question, “How do you know something is True?” we must first define what truth is. The question of, “what is truth?” has been asked for thousands of years and is central to philosophy. Because the question is so big and so controversial I have researched what has already been argued and will use an essay entitled Truth from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy as a reference. I will also revisit what many of you have already said in our forum, each of you had some great thoughts, and finally, I will reference Websters Dictionary.
According to Webster truth is conformity with fact or reality: verity, a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle or the like: mathematical truths. According to the Neo- classical correspondence theory a belief is true if there exists an appropriate entity—a fact—to which it corresponds. If there is no such entity, the belief is false. If we were to ask a Pragmatist he may tell us, “Truth is the end of inquiry.” Or, “True beliefs are guaranteed not to conflict with subsequent experience.” You, (my peers) have said that truth is seeing, truth is individual, and truth you say, is when a belief is backed with evidence. There are so many thoughts here and I agree in part with all of them, with the exception of anything Bunker has to say.
Truth does not contradict, it can be verified, and there is no substantial proof to its contrary. A fingerprint can be matched to a suspect and used in a court of law when there are 10 points of correspondence with the reference print and no point that contradicts. When there is reference, evidence, and no proof to give substantive sway into disbelief then it is true.
Now the question of Universal Truth is where things get sticky, but I will say it straightforward, if there is no truth that is a common thread throughout the universe there would be no foundation off of which to build any sort of understanding or knowledge. I believe that there are individual beliefs and that there are individual convictions, but I do not believe that what is individual can in anyway unground Universal Truth.
With these definitions of truth I can place the Bible into a category of being true. It was written by 40 known authors over a period of 1400 to 1800 years and it has not one contradiction in it. It is backed up with reference points in history, archeology, fulfilled prophecy, experience, and thousands and thousands of eye witness accounts and documented experiences. So with the bible as a reference I will use John 14:6 to close and to open for discussion.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man come to the Father, but by me.”
