Truth

by Dick Buckingham
Administrator

I am a 50s something guy who has spent most of his adult life working with and teaching the young people of our society. Over the years, I have seen some very serious things creep into the thinking of our youth that cause me great concern. Some might suggest it is because I am such an old fossil that I couldn’t possibly comprehend the progressive ideas that are sweeping through our land. I think it is something else entirely.

We have become such an accepting and tolerant society that we have come to accept truth, at least some truth, as being relative to each individual. Each person can decide what works for them. If they are comfortable with something that they believe to be true, it is OK, even if someone else believes something contradictory to be true. In many ways we have begun to confuse the difference between truth and opinion.

For example, is the following statement truth or opinion? "Dr. Pepper is the best soft drink in the world." Opinion, right? It may be that someone prefers Dr. Pepper to all other soft drinks, but they would not be able to prove in any fashion that their preference ought to be the preference of every other individual. Similar statements like, "The Green Bay Packers are the best football team ever," or "Batman is better than Spiderman," are clearly opinion and not a statement of truth. Because we all have opinions and one opinion is just as valid as the next, we may begin to view all things in the world this way.

What about this one? "The sky is blue." Is this statement a matter of opinion? Do we put it up for a vote or conduct a survey to see what the majority think is the color of the sky? No. We all agree that the color of the sky is blue. This is a universal truth, not subject to opinion or discussion. How is it then that there are some things that are open to objective opinion and other things that just are? The reason there is no debate over the color of the sky is that it conforms with fact or reality. The reality is that each and every person who looks at the sky sees the same color. Our eyes have been made in such a way that they perceive the light of the sun as it passes through our atmosphere (which, incidentally, filters out all the colors of the spectrum except the colors that make up the blue we see), the nerves transmit that information to our brains which in turn translates to us that the color we are seeing is blue. We know when we see that color it is blue because someone (most likely our parents) taught us when we see that color, we call it blue. The bottom line for all of this is that there are some things that are truth. Not everything is a matter of opinion.

Anyone who would make the claim, "There is no absolute truth," has committed logical suicide. They have made a statement of absolute truth which the statement itself says does not exist. The statement is false if it is true and only true if it is false. It doesn’t matter how often a person says it, or how loudly they proclaim it, or even which celebrities endorse it, such a statement is categorically false. The reality is...truth exists.

Think for a moment about this one:  "God is."

Is this statement truth or opinion? Many today would immediately say opinion, and we must accept other opinions about the existence of God as valid and give just as much validity to their opinion as to this one. However, the reality is that everything we perceive about the world around us says God does exist. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim his handiwork. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge." While man has tried his best to silence and nullify the message of all creation that is daily around us, it screams, "God is, God is!" To look at and examine the complexities of the universe and proclaim that such a design is the work of chaotic chance is foolishness and not knowledge. It is as foolish as proclaiming the sky is green and not blue. It doesn’t agree with reality.

There are other important truths that our world would like to marginalize or deny.

"Man has been created in the image of God."

"Man has fallen and now has a nature of sin."

"Man’s only remedy for sin is faith and trust in Jesus Christ."

All of these are true, not because we took a vote, or because one opinion is better than another. They are true because they have been revealed by the One who created us all and knows us completely. They are His opinion. And His opinion trumps my opinion and your opinion and every other person’s opinion every time.

It is critically important that you and I teach children about truth. The false attitude of our society regarding truth is affecting more and more because they focus the message on our young people. The youth of the world today need us to teach them the absurdity of the logic our society is using regarding truth. They are going to need to stand firm against the rising tide of mutually accepted absurdity.

One thing you can do is share this blog with others in your sphere of influence on Facebook or other social media. Please take a moment to pass this message on to others.