Is Truth Important to You?
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
November 22, 2008 5:18pm CST
Most people would automatically answer "yes" to this question, but do we really believe truth is important?
Most people decide what they believe or will accept, then search for "truth" based on what they already decided. When we do this, are we putting truth above all, or are we merely seeking to justify our own beliefs?
Truth is truth no matter who believes in it. Truth can't be a matter of opinion, interpretation or culture. If the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the one true God, then all belief systems that don't accept that are wrong. On the other hand, if He is just made up, then there is no truth in it. The same goes for any and all other belief systems.
I often hear people say that they can't accept this or that belief system because of some detail of it. For example, I've heard feminists say that they can't accept the Holy Bible because Eve was created as a "help meet" to Adam. In other words, they feel like God made woman as an afterthought because God saw that he was lonely.
Without getting into the right or wrong of that thought, lets look at the problem with the thinking in the first place.
If the God of the Old Testament is God, then it doesn't matter why, when or how Eve was created. If the Old Testament is true, then it doesn't matter if it offends us, it is truth.
Another example is a friend of mine. She is Buddhist. She said she converted because the way of Buddha is about wholeness and striving to be the best we can achieve.
This makes sense and brings her happiness in life, but is wholeness and achieving the best we can be "Truth" or is it just what she feels are great goals?
When we seek truth, we usually go about it completely backwards. We decide what is truth, then try to match it with what we find in our search. What we need to be doing is seeking truth without trying to tell truth what it has to be before we ever meet up with it.
2 people like this
14 responses
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
22 Nov 08
Truth to me is one of the most important things in the world, you can handle anything that is the truth, a lie you can not as there is nothing to handle there but i see you are talking about religion and the books... no one today can say what is truth from any of these books as no-one knows who wrote these books and what interpretations have changed things when changing them to other languages so no-ne can really say what is truth in those books but the difference between a lie and truth directly to me today is very important..
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
So you're saying that truth is important, but there's no way to find it? Pretty existential of you. ;~D
1 person likes this
@CarlKnittel (692)
• United States
25 Nov 08
A couple movie quotes to mull over.
"What I told you was the truth, from a certain point of view"
"Archeology is the search for fact. If your looking for truth...[the] philosophy class..."
"Truth" was long ago co opted by philosophers who believe it is relative. Facts are things that can be proven beyond reasonable doubt. They are often argued by people who prefer their opinion over what is real but they are still the facts and they don't change to make you feel better. This is why I prefer to deal in facts and avoid Philosophers. Philosophy is an endless quest which can never be concluded because it holds that truth is relative. Without absolutes there is no real truth and no end to debate.
For those who want to argue that don't bother. I don't do philosophy and what I have written here is provable fact. I don't waste time arguing with those who deny facts.
1 person likes this
@urbandekay (18278)
•
23 Nov 08
It is important to speak the truth and perhaps, a little more important, to live in truth.
all the best urban
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
But to speak and live the truth, one must find the truth.
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
23 Nov 08
Hmmm....I know what my answer is here, but not sure how to put it to words...I'll do my best.
Truth is important to me. I am not merely searching to justify beliefs that I have already made up my mind about.
The thing is, my mind is not completely made up about anything in the matter of truth. I'm not saying that I refuse to believe in anything or that I don't believe in anything...I guess I just don't believe in the traditional sense of the word. What I mean is, I refuse to blindly believe or follow anything; I think the search for complete truth is a lifelong or never ending one.
For example, I believe that the bible holds some truth, I am not convinced that it is the complete truth. I believe that there is a God or some higher power of some form, I am not convinced that God is exactly how Christianity describes him or how any one religion in particular may describe him.
I also believe that that Wicca, Muslim, Judaism or Buddha religions have some truths, but I am not convinced that any one of them alone is the whole truth. I am not at all sure which parts of any of these religions is truth and which parts are not.
What I think is that all religions, Christian or otherwise, have a piece of the truth mixed in with some things that are not truths. My theory is, if enough people from each and every religion could all get together in one big group and thoroughly and painstakingly examine all these religions together, they could maybe sort of the actual truths from the lies in each of these religions, then discard all the lies from each, put all the pieces of truth from each of these religions together, and then and only then, we would finally have the whole complete truth, and nothing but.
I do not claim to know the complete truth though, and I don't know anyone who does, except maybe God himself.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
I commend you for not wanting to follow anyone blindly. I don't think we were ever supposed to do that anyway. God didn't just drop us here and tell us to fend for ourselves. He gave us scriptures, prayer, the Holy Ghost and other resources to not only find truth, but to verify it.
It doesn't suprise me at all that all religions and spiritual paths teach the same basic principles. Whether we were created by God or we started out as two amino acids that somehow connected, all religions and paths started with one and expanded from there.
Most of the differences are societal and cultural, but eternal truth goes beyond that.
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
23 Nov 08
Just because some religions might worship odd or strange things doesn't mean that there can't be a bit of truth in the religion. There is more to religion that just the being, idol or otherwise being worshiped. When I say religion, I'm talking about every aspect of that religion, including all the doctrines and beliefs associated with it. Even if the the being or whatever is being worshiped in a certain religion is not right, that doesn't necessarily mean that all of that religion's beliefs or doctrines are necessarily wrong or that there is no truth at all in their beliefs. Even most myths have some bearing in facts.
@TwilightGuardian (70)
•
23 Nov 08
I think it's amusing that Christianity was used as an example of choosing truth over comfort rather than vice versa. If there's any group of people who are guilty of believing in something simply because it makes them feel better rather than because they have sufficient evidence for its truth, it's Christians.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
That is why I chose two different examples. I could have used more, but I figured two got my point across just fine.
What I find amusing is you can't get passed the first example in order to see the point.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
25 Nov 08
Twilight, before you start making accusations of mudslinging, I'd suggest you clean the clod from your hand.
You're every bit as judgemental and hypocritical as you consider Christians.
@TwilightGuardian (70)
•
23 Nov 08
I am offended by your offense. I demand you apologise at once! Or instead of apologising, you could engage in a reasonable, logical discussion. I would prefer the latter.
You didn't actually respond to anything I said. Tell me why I am wrong. A vast proportion of "believers" believe because they don't like the alternative. It's comfort over truth. Instead of mudslinging, why not respond to the points I am making?
@gicolet (1702)
• United States
23 Nov 08
YES, truth is important to me because if some truth was presented to me as a fact and i believed on that truth for so many years only to be presented with another truth with convincing evidence then I feel somewhat betrayed. It's like you were imprisoned by this truth that you believed in for such a long time and here comes another truth with proofs and evidence that sets you free.
I believe that God exists and I believe that Jesus walked the earth but a lot of things in the bible do not make sense especially if they are logically viewed and analyzed. If people from before tried to tell the whole truth about God and Jesus then why so many questions about the writings in the bible? There shouldn't be any questions and even arguments at all if everything in the bible makes total sense. People of this generation are not dumb! I do believe that some people from before omitted a lot of these old original writings and did not include them in the bible. For what reason? You tell me.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
I agree, I think the scriptures have been tampered with by unholy men trying to manipulate the masses. However, Christ never said that He was going to only leave us the Holy Bible as a witness for His Gospel.
We have prayer, personal revelation and men and women of God who can help us in our quest for truth. If we only had the single witness of the Bible we would be lost, isn't it awesome of God to give us more.
@gicolet (1702)
• United States
25 Nov 08
No, mechanicNOT62. I have not been persuaded by anybody. Truth is important to me but I do not seek for the truth. It comes to me. Yes, as we live in this modern world truth comes to me. It's like what they say -- you don't choose God, God chooses you. As I've said on my earlier post some people are not dumb. Some are contented with what they were presented to believe in and some are just not. I'm one of those who are not contented and it's hard to ignore new found facts when they are logical enough to convince people like me. I do not have prejudices and preferences against the bible's content. I merely have questions like: Why believe what is not true? Why fool the people with faith in God? You yourself said that there are apparent contradictions in the bible so why give excuses to ignore these apparent contradictions? Not all answers are in the bible. That i know. Most bible believers will deny that. Why? Maybe they're the ones who are too proud to admit?
I agree with what ParaTed2k said. Thank you.
@narayan2006 (2954)
• India
23 Nov 08
I feel, there are two ways of loking at the meaning of truth in the context of gross worldly life. The two aspects of truth are relative and absolute.What we believe,think and see as truth, using our senses and mind are relative truths that hold good in the relative plane of life.What a person often perceives as truth is only true for a specific state of consciousness of mind of that person. In the state of dreaming,we accept the objects and things as real and true as long as we are in the state of dreamiing. When we wake up and stay in the state of wakefulness,then we believe that those objects and things are unreal. Absolute truth is eternal,all inclusive,unchangeable and pure irrespective of all state of consciousness. It is beyond the perception and thinking capacity of mind which operates in physical plane and finite in its sphere of working.How can a finte,changeable,transient and physical tool experience the absolute truth which is unchangeable,non-physical,and infinte? It has to be an out of mind experience. Thanks.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
True, real truth is universal and not subject to interpretation, cultural norms or the limits of modern science. In our finite state, we cling to cultural, societal and scientific knowledge, but if either of those differ from universal truth, then they are what you call "relative" truth. Reletive truth might get us through life and make us happy, but won't teach us anything important beyond this life.
@narayan2006 (2954)
• India
24 Nov 08
Change is the truth of life.Any thing which is born or created exists for a finite period before it is dissolved into its original source-the absolute reality of life,the divine oneness,the pure Being which is the unchangeable essence and basis of all changeable things existing in the relative plane of life. Both relative and absolute aspects of life are truth. Just as many variety,forms and designs of ornaments are made out of gold,the Absolute truth or reality is the unmanifested/subjective basis of all manifested creations/phenomena of different forms. Both gold and its diverse ornaments are true. So,there is no difference of opinions or conflicts or contradictions. Since mind operates in the relative plane of life, it is incapable of realizing the Absolute truth unless it is elevated to the higher level of consciousness where it loses its identity to the Absolute Being. Both the Absolute Being and its transformed diverse creations( which exist in the relative plane of life) are true. The Absolute Being is all inclusive and one in all.It can only be experienced by transcending the mind from its gross level to its divine level through meditation. Thanks.
@Ravenladyj (22902)
• United States
24 Nov 08
When it comes to religion, "truth" is irrelivent to me for many reasons....I have my beliefs because I've either seen them in action in my life personally and/or because they are beneficial to what it is I'm trying to accomplish in my life on a personal and spiritual level etc....Do I think my way or my beliefs are "true" as far as anyone else is concerned etc? Nope..and I could care less LOL....I mean for that matter some of my beliefs may not have any truth to them at all (if that makes sense) but it doesnt matter simply because what I believe and apply to my life is what helps me be as good of a person as I can be...Make sense?
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
Makes sense as far as religion being a way to live one's life. However, if there is a God, shouldn't we be seeking truth according to God instead of truth according to ourselves?
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
I don't know about that. People lived their entire lives thinking that the earth was the center of the universe. I doubt any of them were less happy because of it.
@mariposaman (2959)
• Canada
23 Nov 08
There are so many questions in your post, however I will address the main one. In nature there are so many deceits. Fish looking like seaweed, butterflies with eyes on their wings, stick insects. Humans seem to have an almost natural ability to shade the truth and outright lie. It is a trait that most people find offensive but is still a accepted part of life. Parents telling their children there is a Santa Claus and tooth fairy. A husband telling his wife she is not fat. People saying what a pretty baby when they think it is ugly.
I myself prefer truth, I get exhausted trying to figure out whether someone is scamming me or offering me a deal, likes me or is just being nice to not hurt my feelings, or making up some story about why they cannot pay me back the twenty dollars they borrowed last Friday. I wish there was a more truthful world but I am afraid it seems to becoming more normal to deceive.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
What a great point! People often make deceit and lies into a purely human trait, but as you pointed out, nature is full of examples.
I used to be in security, I never found out, but one of the things doing that work made me wonder is how much of a nation's GDP is wasted on trying to combat dishonesty.
@alleroid16 (943)
• Philippines
23 Nov 08
well, of course, the answer is yes. why? it's because it hard to be in a thing or in a commitment that many lies is happening. sometimes you need to pretend just to hide the truth. well, that's was really happen to me, which i really don't know whts the truth, don't want her to blame whats the truth, maybe that thing will happen in the right time. bt no matter what the truth is, no one can separate us. :)
happy mylotting!
@britthearts (11)
• United States
23 Nov 08
Truth is very important because no body likes to be lied to. If i can believe in someone i will always know what they say is true. I will be able to depend on someone more that tells me the truth about things. opposed to someone who just lies all the time because they can lie. Trust is a very important quality to have because you can develop a bond with a partner on trust and honesty.
@murderistic (2278)
• United States
23 Nov 08
The truth is very important to me, in fact, the truth was given to me through the Holy Spirit. I was once one of those who made up their own truth and tried to back it through the Bible and Christianity. The problem is that without guidance from the Holy Spirit, it is hard not to go into interpreting scriptures without some sort of bias. And it can confuse us often, because some things can seem to contradict one another. Without the Holy Spirit and faith we cannot find truth.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Nov 08
True, the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth if we sincerely and openly seek Him for truth.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
25 Nov 08
Ah, so there is no such thing as the color purple since I can't see it. ;~D
