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.”
1 comment:
Your faith is encouraging, and I want to thank you for that. Your excitement for our Lord and what seems to be a fantastic ability to share it with others is wonderful! I can certainly relate to the excitement. However, I find myself in a predicament... It seems all at once I am ecstatic and in anguish. I have been made alive in Christ. He's shown me who I truly am; His Beloved! And as His Beloved part of an incredible and Sacred Romance. He's rapt me in His Perfect Love and pulled me to my knees in awe of Him. He's won my heart and taken my breath away. So, for this I am ecstatic; to know what I am a part of. But I am in anguish for the lost souls and hardened hearts who do not know of this Great Love Affair. I know as a believer I have a great responsibility to be a witness for the lost and a disciple for Christ. But I fear that I can't do enough, that I am somehow an insufficient witness...I can read books on apologetics and be amazed by all the evidence in favor of The Case for Christ; and stoked to tell others about it, but my doubts and fear that I could somehow make the distance between an unbeliever and the Truth even further seems to scare me from sharing my faith with others too much of the time...As ridiculous as that it is. Even so, I know that faith cannot be arrived at by way of the intellect anyway (not to say we shouldn't do all we can to plant seeds there of course!). God must be perceived by the heart. That is where faith can truly be born. So even when I have the courage to share my faith, what can I do to help move people's hearts to a place of receptivity for truth when the adversary has hardened them so much?! AH, I can't help but feel guilt knowing that I haven't done enough as a witness and fear that I don't even really know how to do enough. I know God can give me the wisdom and understanding I need though...I suppose I just need to have more faith that His Grace will give me the words, or whatever it is I need, when I need it... Sorry for the novel, I just felt inclined to share my spiritual dilemma with someone for some reason, I hope you don't mind. And once again, thanks!
PS- Your poetry is beautiful!
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