Start here…first principles (C.)
Terry Dashner…………..Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013
Remember Pilate’s words to Jesus? I think it’s rather ironic that a mere mortal man would ask the very Truth of Life, “What is truth?” It’s obvious that Pilate couldn’t handle the truth, even if it had been given to him in simple reply. With that said, let’s review truth once again.
By definition, truth is an expression, symbol, or statement that matches or corresponds to its object or referent (i.e., that to which it refers, whether it is an abstract idea or a concrete thing). When the statement or expression is about reality, it must correspond to reality in order to be true. Yet there are so many statements and views of reality; why should Christians believe that they have the only correct view? Shouldn’t people interpret reality for themselves and personally decide what is true on an individual basis? When it comes to religion, isn’t truth a matter of preference and therefore relative? [Norman Geisler and Peter Bocchino, Unshakable Foundations, (Bethany House: Minneapolis, Minnesota) p.33]
Is truth relative? Relativistic thinking has influenced us so much that it is now considered anti-intellectual to believe in absolute truth. The Christian’s belief in absolute truth and the God of the Bible is not usually tolerated in secular intellectual settings. There is generally tremendous pressure exerted by peers, colleagues, educators, and unbelieving friends to get Christians to abandon their beliefs and to accept the idea that their narrow-minded thinking is the same mindset that ultimately causes travesties like the medieval Crusades and all kinds of persecution. They are classified as intolerant bigots who can only see things their own way and refuse to accept the views of others. [Ibid, p.35]
That’s a shame because truth is absolute and very tolerant. The problem for some is that truth is larger than our understanding of its holistic properties. For example, there is an old parable about six blind Hindus touching an elephant. One blind man touched the side of the elephant and said it was a wall. Another blind man touched the ear and said it was a large leaf of a tree. Yet another blind man was holding a leg and thought it was a tree trunk. Still another blind man took hold of the elephant’s trunk and said it was a snake. Someone else was touching the elephants tusk and believed it to be a spear. Another blind man had the elephant’s tail in his hand and was calling it a rope. All the blind men were touching the same reality but were understanding it differently. They all had the right to interpret what they were touching in their own personal way, yet it was the same elephant.
This parable is usually recited to underscore the need for a pluralistic society—all paths lead to God. But Western pluralism is usually tolerant for all beliefs except Christianity. By denying Christians their right of argument is to display the very thing that pluralism denounces—intolerance. I agree that there is a place for pluralism in society with respect to matters of taste. On the other hand, there is no place for pluralism when it comes to deciding matters of truth, involving a unity of thought. [Ibid, p. 40]
I’m okay with the parable about the elephant if we recognize that the elephant represents absolute truth. It’s okay to move through life with a part of the absolute as long as we someday awaken to this truth: our partial hold is only a stepping stone that will ultimately lead us to the greater truth which is Jesus Christ. After all it was Jesus who stated that He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. I have found that once Jesus is embraced with the whole heart He liberates, and never does He ensnare or enslave. That’s why the New Testament declares, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Come to Jesus and find freedom from the bondage of sin.
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon.
Pastor T.
About the Author:
Pastors a small church in Broken Arrow, OK. US Navy veteran, retired police officer for the city of
Tulsa, and father of three grown children.
