[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”yes” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”-24%” margin_bottom=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” 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title_type=”text” rotation_effect=”bounceIn” display_time=”1200″ highlight_effect=”circle” loop_animation=”off” highlight_width=”9″ highlight_top_margin=”0″ before_text=”” rotation_text=”” highlight_text=”” after_text=”” content_align=”center” size=”1″ font_size=”” animated_font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animated_text_color=”” highlight_color=”” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” fusion_font_variant_title_font=”” margin_bottom=”2%” margin_top=”2%” fusion_font_family_title_font=”Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif”]The TRUTH about TRUTH[/fusion_title][fusion_breadcrumbs prefix=”” separator=”” alignment=”center” font_size=”12px” text_color=”” text_hover_color=”” show_categories=”” post_type_archive=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” 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Some things are true, some things are not true, and some things are really stupid
What is truth? Does truth exist?
- Beliefs – the way we understand things to be, or how we think things are
- Reality – the way things are
- Truth – telling it like it is; the reality of the situation
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The TRUTH about TRUTH
A. Truth is ABSOLUTE—something that is true is true for all people, in all places, at all times, and is unchanging.
People may look at things with different opinions, cultural perspectives, or hypotheses, but different views DO NOT CHANGE THE TRUTH. Do not confuse truth and reality with opinions, perceptions, etc. Even if Germany had won WWII, taken over the entire world, and either exterminated or taught everyone to think the Holocaust never happened, then even generations later, with the whole world believing the Holocaust never happened, the truth remains unchanged. It did happen and is still the reality for all people, in all places, and for all time.
B. Truth is EXCLUSIVE: It excludes anything that contradicts it.
For example, some really believed the Philadelphia Eagles would win the 2018 Super Bowl, some expected the New England Patriots, and some sad fans even hoped the Detroit Lions would. But the truth is only one team won: the Eagles. This is universal, true for all people, in all places and times, and excludes ALL contrary claims. It is not being narrow-minded, intolerant, arrogant, or mean; it is simply the truth.
The same is true of worldview beliefs about life. At some point, the game will be over for each of us, and the one truth will become clear. Can Buddhism be true, and we will all be one with the Universe? Islam be true and Allah decide our fate by his whim? Christianity be true and our eternity depend on Jesus’ sacrifice? Atheism be true and there be nothing after the body dies? And those who believe people are basically “good” and will be brought into heaven? Can all these beliefs be true? Do you see the problem with that thinking? Different worldview maps contradict each other; therefore, by the law of contradiction, only one, at most, can fit reality. It is not being narrow-minded, intolerant, arrogant, or mean. It is simply reality.
All people are created equal, but not all ideas and beliefs. People deserve care and respect, but ideas do not have feelings to hurt, have the ability to impact people’s lives, and should be held up, or dropped, depending on whether they provide good guidance to reality and life or not.
C. Some people CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH.
Life brings some difficult and hard truths our way, so many people respond with avoidance, denial, distractions, focus on daily stuff, aggressive emotions, or apathy to stay the place where beliefs may not be fitting reality, but they are comfortable. Of course, people are then only guided by something that may not be true, and eventually they will end up with even worse consequences.
Ever witness a close friend or relative in an abusive relationship and try to talk truth with them? You may hear, “He will change once we have a child together,” or, “She just had a rough day, and I deserved it,” or, “I invested so much time in this relationship.” None of these views change the truth: the abuse probably will get worse, not go away. We can choose to avoid, deny, or reject truth, but then we will face the consequences of truth, which may never go away.
D. Truth brings CONSEQUENCES.
We seek hard for truth, the correct understanding, and realize the consequences of basing our choices on a false understanding or belief concerning our relationships, careers, family, health, and other areas of life. But many do not have properly supported beliefs about the most important questions of life and are unaware how much their worldview beliefs have already impacted them and how much it will affect their lives in the future.
Since only one worldview belief, at most, fits reality, whenever worldviews contradict each other, only one WILL BE A SOLID FOUNDATION and be counted on for choices, priorities through life, and afterlife. ALL OTHERS ARE NOT FOUNDED ON REALITY and will guide you at times during life, and possibly eternally, into consequences you did not seek or expect.
E. Truth can be TESTED.
We test for truth all the time and have done so naturally since childhood. It is entirely up to us to choose to, or not to, follow the evidence where it leads.
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Objections to truth (symptoms of truth decay)
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Our education system and media have served us poorly regarding truth and logical thinking. People are so confused about truth, and most students and many adults today believe in clearly wrong ideas about truth, such as the following:
- There is no truth.
- You can’t know truth.
- All truth is relative.
- It’s true for you … but not for me.
- No one has the truth.
- It’s all just opinions.
- The truth is not important.
- All beliefs are equally valid.
- You ought not to judge or be intolerant.
- Whatever, I’ll do what I want.
If you believe an objection to truth, why? What support do you have that your objection is true?
Objections to truth get broken, when exposed to hard reality. Consider the two examples below:
Apply the Claim to Itself
A good way to expose these beliefs as untrue is to apply the claims to themselves. If someone tells you, “There is no truth.” Ask them, “Is that true?” The claim commits suicide as it disproves itself.
“No one has the truth.” Ask, “When you claim that no one has the truth, you are really claiming that you have the truth.” The charge “Don’t judge my belief; you are intolerant” is judgmental itself and not tolerating the possibility their belief may be inaccurate.
Statements may not always refute themselves, but ask for evidence and dig deeper as none will disprove the existence of objective, universal, absolute truth. If one claims it is not possible to know the truth, ask, “How do you know you cannot know?” Then ask if they have considered the evidence, and in my experience, not one has shown they even began looking into the evidence supporting a belief system. We will see examples of evidence in later articles.
Apply the Claims in Real-Life Situations
These objections make logic mistakes, and so they can also be exposed in a funny way by trying to apply these beliefs about truth in real life. Next time an officer attempts to give you a ticket for going 20 mph over the speed limit, say, “There is no truth,” or, “No one has the truth.” Or when a third oncologist tells you that you definitely have colon cancer, will you respond by saying, “That is true for you, but not for me,” or, “You are intolerant and mean”? You can respond like that and get even more opinions, but the bottom line is this: either it is true you have cancer, so you better deal with it, or you do not. Perceptions, hopes, opinions, etc. will not change that truth.
You can believe whatever you want and choose to avoid, ignore, or reject the truth because you are not comfortable dealing with, or cannot handle, the truth. But, eventually you will either recognize and be guided correctly by truth, or you will slam up against absolute truth. And your perceptions, opinions, and hypotheses will not change what the truth is, or the consequences that come with each truth.
No One Can Know for Certain Until After Death
True, but the first warning sign you are on unstable ground/thinking is whether or not you apply that logic in other life choices. You will not know for certain whether a potential spouse will be the best for you, whether a career is the best for you, whether a chair will hold you up, or whether your brakes will work when approaching a red light. However, you likely do not fail to sit or drive because you are a sitting or driving agnostic. We act in faith (trust) with the car, but we also check the car when necessary.
The second warning sign is this: Ask how you know “no one can know” and then check to see if you have investigated the evidence. Usually, people making that claim are ignorant of the evidence available, thereby exposing themselves as just not wanting to look.
It’s All Just Faith
As though faith is some fuzzy, unprovable thing. Faith has three parts:
1) The object we have faith in (for example, a chair),
2) What we believe about it (“The chair will hold me up”), and
3) Reasons for our faith (“The chair looks sturdy, I hardly ever get dropped by a chair, and Ashton Kutcher’s Punk’d show isn’t around now”). Faith is simply trusting in something for reasons, and we do this in science and in daily life—we just follow the evidence where it leads.
For further explanation of how we live almost, if not all, our life by “faith,” and why it almost placed me on a falling bridge, click , and then click on “Expand to read more.”
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Is truth important to my life?
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Is truth important? How will truth impact my life?
“Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. We would like to thank you for flying Mandarin Airlines. As we taxi out to the runway, please make sure that you are comfortable . . . For those of you sitting on the right side of the plane, please look to your left, and remember: Flying is still the safest way to travel.”
Is truth important? Depends on the situation.
For instance, there is a truth, which may become clear hours or days later, of whether or not it was better for you to eat, or skip, that second piece of cake. The impact and importance of that truth is likely to be small and insignificant in the big picture of life. On the other hand, in other situations, the truth will impact you in far-ranging and serious ways.
Is that “black ice” I am driving on?
Is this skin cancer, or will it just go away?
There is a truth behind these situations, and serious results.
Is truth important to me? Of course, and you see it in your daily life & displayed in movies, songs, art, etc.
Throughout your life, you will constantly come across the need to find and use truth, in order to reach what is best for you. Because some things are true and some things are not true, your choice, and the consequences that follow, will come from the beliefs you accept as true – and whether those beliefs fit reality and give you proper guidance or not. Every movie you watch illustrates the point: our choices result from our beliefs, which are founded on either truth, or incorrect understanding, and lead to so much of our experiences and life.
What’s worth sacrificing for? Who do I let into my life? Should I go on the huge ship to start a new life in America . . . Or, maybe not.
Whether a person is standing on TRUE worldview beliefs or not is as IMPORTANT as it gets.
The seriousness or importance of something depends on the QQP value, discussed in the previous Why Should I Care? section.
Some do not recognize the significance of beliefs because the end results of chosen beliefs usually do not hit in a single event. Although sometimes they do. If you can take a step back to see the big picture of your life, you will notice the immensity of how often and how deeply your beliefs guide, support, and bring consequences good/bad to you, which makes sense because your beliefs are your answers to the biggest guiding questions in life, and the answers to these questions are what you follow to make your choices and map out your life.
Objections to Truth in Beliefs
- All worldview beliefs are basically the same.
- Beliefs are all just different paths to the top of the mountain.
- It is all just a matter of “faith.”
- It is intolerant, narrow-minded, arrogant, mean, etc., to claim only one belief can fit reality.
These objections sound good when you first hear them, on a shallow level. Unfortunately for the shallow water swimmers, this is where the hidden dangers lurk. Think—can you find the errors in logic or thinking, which make the claims above invalid?
These frequently asked questions or objections are covered one by one in the Frequently Asked Questions section.
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The Bottom-Line
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What is truth?
Truth is telling it like it is. Something that is true fits reality; is true for all people, in all places, in all times; and is unchanging. Anything that contradicts truth is excluded from being true.
Does truth exist?
Of course, and we rely on truth to live life and make choices. Those who object to truth do not have supportable arguments and cannot live life without contradicting themselves—because truth exists.
ABCDEs of Truth
- Truth is ABSOLUTE (and unchanging).
- Truth is EXCLUSIVE, which means truth,
- CAN BE HARD TO HANDLE, but
- Truth brings CONSEQUENCES, and thankfully,
- Truth can be TESTED.
Is truth important to me?
Depends on the situation. Clearly, for some choices, whether your choice is based on something true or not true seriously impacts your life. Because your worldview beliefs will impact you in wide-ranging ways through life, basing your worldview beliefs on truth is as important as it gets.
What is the next logical question to ask?
If there is a truth behind the biggest questions in life (worldview beliefs), then how do I determine what is true and what is not true?
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Next Section: Testing Truth
How can we know truth, or find the answers that impact us most? This is the topic of the next section How can I know, as the boy sticks his fingers into the electrical socket.
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