Under an Endless Sky

Truth......Or Not?!!

"You can believe what you want but don't impose your beliefs on me."

"What you believe may be true for you but don't push it on me."

"Tolerance for everyone is the way to peace and harmony and is the hope of mankind."

These are typical phrases that I hear from many people from all walks of life that indicates their philosophy or world view. It is a world view that rejects God as a reality. It also rejects absolute truth. In my college days, much of the intellectual 'elite' in our universities, etc considered faith in God as being irrational and not scientifically provable - I'm sure it's still that way to a large extent. If one does not believe in God, then there really is no reason to think that there is one set of rules for mankind to follow (moral code). All societies and cultures have their own moral code based on what works for them. This is the basis of relativism and pluralism. There is no standard of truth; rather there are many possible realities. There is no way to separate what is right from what is wrong. In fact, right and wrong almost become interchangeable; balance means there is a mix of both good and evil (New Age).

I've got to admit that as much as I try to 'understand' this way of thinking, it still eludes me. I cannot see the logic of believing that two opposite statements of truth can both be equally true.

The question is, "What makes any statement true?"

Without God, I can see that there is no standard of truth that is acceptable for all people, all cultures, all time. So essentially there is no truth if there is no God. There is no right or wrong. Our culture and society prescribe the 'norm' for existing but that is all it can do. The only truth is that there is no truth (oops, speaking of not being logical!!).

This explains why anyone who believes and acts on a universal truth can seem offensive. If I believe murder is wrong because God holds a standard that says all life is valuable and created by Him, then I cannot just overlook murder. I must do everything I can to value life just as God does. When God's standard says that homosexuality is deviant to His design then that must take precedence over the popular view that homosexuality is a valid and healthy lifestyle choice. If I stand for truth, I don't have to impose it on you. It just is....if it really is truth. Truth is beyond us; I can believe or disbelieve it and it doesn't change a thing. Truth is objective and is not defined by us.

Without God, where do we draw a line? What do we accept and what do we not accept? Is murder wrong? Who says so? Maybe it's wrong for you but right for me in my particular circumstance. Do you have the right to judge me and on what basis? Is lying wrong? Maybe it's actually good in a lot of situations. Is stealing wrong? Maybe it's right for me in my circumstance, especially if I'm stealing for a good cause. How do we decide then who is actually guilty of any wrong-doing? How do we decide who is good and worthy? It seems to me that we all have our justifications for the things we do and there are reasons for the way we behave.

Earlier I mentioned that many believe faith in God is irrational. But do not be fooled. If one does not have faith in God than one's faith is placed somewhere else. Is it in science, evolution, mankind, yourself? And the question I ask is "How rational is your faith?" Is it based on truth.....or not?