What is truth?

[1millionth]

I wrote this a few weeks ago...please give me your thoughts and arguments

 

You know what right and wrong is, don't you? Of course we all do, but what is the correct right and the correct wrong? I relate this to God…..why would God give us a heart to feel right/wrong if he wants us to believe and feel certain things about him? Among all of the religions out there, each person belonging to his/ her denomination feels "right" about their religion. So why do people continue to argue about which religion is right? If we feel it right….it could still be wrong……but believing a certain way about god is similar to feeling a certain way about your moral values, there is a certain sense of "righteousness" involved. This brings me to my conclusion that no one religion is correct, nor are any wrong. Why would god want us to spend our lives trying to figure out what believes are right regarding him rather than commit to right on earth? Some religions make it seem as if you dedicate your whole life to heaven, and preventing yourself from going to hell. I agree that everyone should read the bible at one point in their life, but I believe that you discover what happened and how. The bible does not answer any why's, in which case those being the most asked about. So whether you read the bible or not, you will still be back at square one if you are looking to discover anything about why.

One more thought that I will leave you all to ponder as you wish.

Everyone says that diversity is what makes the world….right? having a diverse community is what has developed the human culture. So why would god not throw diversity into the truth? There are many different versions of the bible out there, but with only one version would the world be more interesting?

[mscolly]

Before I reply, let me tell you what my background is. Born in the UK, baptised Church of England, but fundamentally aetheist. I emigrated to Italy and eventually became a Catholic and a catechist at that.

 

The Old Testament of the Bible is fundamentally a love story, a story that talks about the love between God and his chosen people, Israel. There are few whys answered. It's a love story that tells the facts (with some myths mixed in, Adam & Eve for example), not a theological discussion. No part of the Old Testament says "God is ...". It tells a story.

 

The New Testament is a series of catechisms, lessons for the early church. Some of it is probably not historical, and Jesus did far more in 33 years than is accounted for there. But the New Testament is valuable because it is part of the tradition of the early Church. Even the oldest parts were written many years after Jesus was crucified, it's not to be considered just a collection of eye-witness accounts of what Jesus did and said.

 

None of the Bible was written by God or Jesus. Rather it was written by men inspired by God to tell the story of love between God and humanity. This, over the centuries, has been further interpreted by men, some inspired and others less so. So perhaps certain interpretations of the Bible should be viewed with a little suspicion. But the principle conclusion we can come to, and about which the vast majority of churches would agree I think, is that God is essentially love, he loves us, he loves us so much that he gives us complete freedom, even to sin, and gave us Jesus as the road to follow, a sign that indicates that the return from sin to God is possible.

 

About everything else, whether a particular belief of the Catholic church is right or wrong, whether Protestants are correct or not about something, about that we have to make up our own minds. But it should be born in mind that God talks to us via our lives, our individual history, the facts he sends us. If we find Him in one church or another, it probably doesn't matter very much. What is important is finding Him and discovering His love for us.

 

I also believe that we can often be inspired by the Holy Spirit, that guides our hearts to see the truth and illuminates us. Perhaps we should listen more often to our hearts, and try to reason less. The Devil is far more clever than any of us, perverting logic is one of his greatest talents. Perhaps we should ask less 'why' and more 'what' - what is God if not love!

[michaeltinker]

 

 

there is more than one truth.

 

please be more spcific

 

no because all versions teach the same principals just different details

 

Metaphoricly speaking, God Held all the pieces of this gigantic puzzle called the universe in his hands. Then with a kiss, cast them on a table and called it the test of man. The puzzle pieces scattered, some upside down, some on top of each other, some hidden under the table, some hidden, some in plain sight. These pieces represent different aspects, properties, and concepts good/bad positive/negative. We are the Loving Creative Inqisitor Searching to solve the enigma.

 

but in essance i beleave he created us to love him and his beautifull creations. but we must love him from our own free will.

 

much love

Michael

[irish1977]

Sounds like you leaped the first hurdle in the quest for Truth, which is, of course, religion. Once seen for what it is, you are now ready to move forward in your journey. You would benefit from reading some Nietzche, if you haven't already done so. Also, are you familiar with the Four Noble truths from Buddhism (not a religion BTW, it's a philosophy)? You have seen through the smokescreen of religion and realized how constricting it is and intellectually limiting. Nietzche will offer you a nice Realist approach (also see Ayn Rand's Objectivism) and mix in some Idealism (Buddha) and you will be well on your way. Finally, read Aristoltle's Cave Metaphor, if you haven't already done so. Once you get that you're good. But again, this is all just advice. The best part of advice of course, not only that it's free, is that you can throw it out if you please. Good luck!

[zac]

this phenomena reflects the cultural deversity and the finally cultural mix in the visual environment.

[EYESWIDESHUT]

you pose a good point/question. i was recently baptised as a christian, and i stuggeled a little before i finally made my desicion to be baptised. I believe that every religion is right, god only wanted a few things, for us to know that he loves us, and for us to love everybody else. religion offers us a chance to relate with other people and become a community. everyone in a certain church should be able to relate to eachother on a spiritual level, which is one of the deepest levels to relate to body with. if you join a church or religion and you don't feel comfortable or you aren't able to relate to anybody, then continue your spiritual journey because you are not in the right place yet. just remember that god has a plan for you, he had it set before you were even born. everything that we have to go through in life is a test given by god, good, bad, or horrible, it happened because god wanted to change your life in someway to forfill his plan. i suggest reading "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. It will give you some insight and send you on a 40 day path of learning about what life really is. our existence on this planet is only a blink of an eye compared to the eternity we will spend in heaven (some of us in hell).

[talo]

What is truth?

 

This question appears in/as a number of forms?

 

It seems I am unable to get close to this question? All I do is skirt around it? look for/at it? remove what is not it?...

 

But am I short of anything by not knowing?

 

What do I hope to gain or lose by knowing?

 

Is this the same question?

[fantasia2004]

What ever the answer is , if you want to know what the truth is then don't be afriad to look for it. Because it is always there.

[EYESWIDESHUT]

The truth is what ever you have faith in. If you believe and have faith in God, then he is the truth. The truth is nothing that you can put your finger on, your describe in words, it is a belief, a faith, a thought that you hold on to. The beauty of the truth, and religion is it is whatever you want to make it. Of course there are books on every religion that describes what they believe as the truth, but you have the power to believe whatever you chose to believe.