| MY POINT OF VIEW |
| Jesus: "....Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." Pilate: "What is truth?" John 18:37-38 The Holy Bible |
| The Bible does not record a response from Jesus in regard to Pontius Pilate's question. Why not? Jesus claimed that he was sent to proclaim the truth and yet he does not answer when asked exactly that question. This has always troubled me; even when I was a bible believing Christian. I could never understand why Jesus didn't answer back. Perhaps Pilate was not sincere in asking his question, but I don't think that is the case. The bible makes no reference to the manner in which the question was asked; only that Pilate responded to Jesus in asking what he(Jesus) meant by truth. So, we'll never know the answer to the question if there was one ever asked. So, I will ask. What is truth? And where can we find the answer or answers? Perhaps I should be more specific. It is true that 1+1=2, so I think what we are looking for is ultimate truth. This raises still another question in my mind. What is the "ultimate" and are we as humans even capable of finding and understanding ultimate truth? And what are we to use as a guide to discovering this truth? Some will say that the bible or any other holy book supplies us with all of the truth we will ever need to know, but is that so? Perhaps we should listen to our political leaders and perhaps they in their infinite wisdom will guide us to the land of eternal truth. I seriously doubt that. I propose a better way. Science and the art of investigation. The scientific method. A process that uses theory and experimentation to arrive at certain conclusions; something called "truth". However, what makes science different from religous dogma is that science is willing to change. If a long held theory is shown by testing and experiment to be false, that theory is changed or discarded altogether. It is not held onto as truth simply because it has always been so. This is precisely why science is so much better than religion when determining what is true. Religion claims truth through their dogmas, and yet they are unwilling that they be tested or they are even unyielding in their beliefs even in the face of facts that may be totally contrary to those beliefs . Religion, superstition, astrology, psychics or even scientific theories can not be accepted as truth just because someone says that they are. They must follow the guidelines of the scientific method which includes rigorous investigation and testing. Then, and only then can we feel relatively certain that we have discovered the truth about whatever subject or idea. At least for the time being. |
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| WHAT IS TRUTH? |