Absolute truth - Do we know what it is?
- Thread starter SteVen
- Start date
Victoryinjesus
New member
That is still a good question. “What is the truth?”
You asked “do we know what it is?”
How can we know. Countless people will tell you what the truth is. How do I even know if I know the truth and I’m not deceived?
This is some truth I do know for sure. I know my lies. I know when I do wrong. I know my own “truth”. Even if I choose to ignore it or deny it…I know the truth. Same as when someone is in court being convicted where it’s hard to get at the truth. Those involved know the truth.
Personally, i think Jesus meant this truth and not knowing all theology perfectly. We may say no, no …but look at the religious leaders who wouldn’t acknowledge their truth. He tried to show it to them. They gave Him back some falsehood in return….to hide the truth.
Last edited:
SteVen
Well-known member
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for joining the discussion.
I suppose one HUGE issue is that there needs to be enough doubt to require faith on our part. If what we claim to be absolute truth is undeniably provable, it would not require faith to believe it. We are saved by grace through FAITH... not saved by grace through CERTAINTY.
]
Such an interesting quote, and man.
Victoryinjesus
New member
thank God. I love what you said and see your point of not being saved through certainty. It’s all so confusing. Like a man who doubts being tossed about on the sea, driven like a wave pushed around by every wind of doctrine. But then at the same time I do know I doubt. A lot. So I understand what you said about certainty.
SteVen
Well-known member
Thanks.
The lack of certainty used to bother me until I realized this. We are saved by certainty.
]
Joker
Active member
I love this little vignette from sci-fi writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's book, Escape From Hell. This is the sequel to their book Inferno, which is about a science fiction writer who, after his death from a drunken fall during a sci-fi convention, gets sent to Dante's version of Hell. (I had to read Dante's Inferno for a Western Literature course in college and ran across Niven and Pournelle's 1980's reboot in the bookstore.)
So, our heroic sci-fi writer Allen Carpentier and his muse, poet Sylvia Plath, are moving around Hell and run across Pontius Pilate in the Pit of the Liars...
PILATE: I once asked one who knew, "What is Truth?" I didn't wait for an answer. I was told I must wander about this pit and learn until he comes back to answer the question I asked him.
SYLVIA: I would think the Pit of Liars would be last place to go to learn about Truth.
PILATE: Or the first. Think about it.
ALLEN: What have you learned about Truth?
PILATE: I've learned much about Lies. Deceit comes in many forms. With so much deceit, what Truth remains?
There's something profound it that.
SteVen
Well-known member
Like counterfeit currency, I suppose. If you know the real thing, a counterfeit is pretty easy to spot.
]
Joker
Active member
Ahh, but the lesson here is just the opposite: Learning FIRST what the counterfeit looks like.
In the pit of lies, Truth would stand out like a bird from the perspective of a school of fish..... not from around here.