What is truth?
B1 Truth is reality. If I hit my thumb with a hammer, it hurts. That is the truth.
B2 Articles:
C1 Truth as a philosophy. You can find much here at Sanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and search for truth. This is the link.
C2 From a Christian viewpoint, Thomas Aquinas wrote much. See here “Truth by Thomas Aquinas (pdf).
C3 Search at Bethinking concerning truth.
The difficulty in knowing truth
B1 Why is truth difficult to know?
B2 Many different theories and philosophies of what truth is
B3 Many different lifestyles and worldviews because of this difficulty
B4 It seems obvious that there is a curse placed on the world. There is evil, death, sickness, etc.
C1 The logic that creation is most reasonable. See here: Created or evolved?
C2 God pronounced everything good, that is, it met His standard of perfection (Genesis 1:31).
C3 Truth also was perfect, so was love, compassion, gentleness, etc.
C4 All became corrupted when Adam (not Eve) deliberately, premeditatedly disobeyed God (Genesis 3:17-19).
C5 Since all was corrupted, truth was corrupted. Compare 1 Timothy 6:5
C6 Everything became so corrupted that God pronounced judgment (Genesis 6:11-13).
C7 Corruption from God’s standard is often related to what we say (Proverbs 4:24, Proverbs 6:12, Titus 1:15-16).
C8 Life itself becomes a lie instead of truth.
C9 Corruption is our heart, that is, our innermost being that is corrupted. See Matthew 15:18-20.
C10 Some people have no truth. See 1 Timothy 6:5.
C11 A problem with the human heart. It is not even able to do so. Romans 8:7-8 LEB because the mindset of the flesh is enmity toward God, for it is not subjected to the law of God, for it is not able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.
C12 The heart is so corrupted that it is unable to know the truth of how evil it is. Jeremiah 17:9 ESV The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
B5 To restore truth, Jesus, God the Son, came to earth, born of woman, and ministering to all.
Consider how lies influence us
B1 A child is told their nose is too big or too small (bullying).
B2 Someone is told they are stupid or highly intelligent (manipulation).
B3 Someone is blamed for all the problems in a marriage (domestic abuse).
B4 “Follow me. I have some secret knowledge that I will share with you.” (Seduction)
B5 “I’ll give you power and success.” (a deception to control the person who believes it).
B6 “This is Microsoft tech, and there is something wrong with your computer.” (lying to make money)
B7 Much too often we believe a lie, because we want to believe it.
C1 Flattery
C2 Something too good to be true
C3 To justify something we want to do
For the Christian truth starts with Jesus Christ.
B1 John 14:6 NLT Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
B2 He is the highest perfection of truth. There is no lie in him. See Isaiah 53:9, 1 Peter 1:19, 1 Peter 2:22, John 18:38,
B3 He teaches the truth and was never proven wrong by those who he lived with. They disagreed but never disproved.
B4 He teaches the Jews: John 8:44-47 NRSV You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God."
B5 It is most reasonable for everyone to be a Christian. See here.
B6 Decision
C1 There is truth, and there is lie.
C2 How do we know if anything is true or false?
C3 There must be a standard of truth (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Matthew 7:24-27).
C4 When we need to know if a statement, thought, deed, etc. is truth, we must compare it to a standard. The standard must be unchanging.
C5 How do we know what standard is truth? It seems it would depend of one’s beliefs, but this makes it subjective.
C6 Standards commonly accepted by people.
D1 The standard of authority. One is considered an authority because of education, research, experience, etc. But, the authority good be wrong, for we see disagreements among experts.
D2 The standard of coherence. Statements as commonly understood must be adhered together to a specified proposition. A coherence theory bases the truth of a belief on the degree to which it coheres ("hangs together") with all the other beliefs in a system of beliefs (typically one person's beliefs, but it could be any body of knowledge). (Source). But, a statement might be interpreted differently, what is seen is different from the facts (illusions, etc.), or not a complete set. One can see this in eye-witness statements.
D3 The standard of consensus. A statement, belief, situation is believed to be truth or false from most people. But, the consensus may be forced by a controlling power, deceived, or a cultural difference, etc.
D4 The standard of consistency. These are of two types.
E1 Mere consistency. A person makes statements that are consistent to each other. But, the person may be a practiced liar or a great salesman, lawyer, politician, preacher, abuser, etc.
E2 Strict consistency. A person makes a statement that results in a consistent second point, then third, etc. This is logic. But, one person’s logical statements may differ from another’s statements.
D5 The standard of correspondence. This is where the statement and the information from the statement correspond. They are the same. But, the words may be interpreted differently as in sarcasm, which may be true.
D6 The standard of custom. An action or statement is true because that’s the way it always has been understood. Theology may be an example. But, the custom may be in error.
D7 The standard of emotion. A statement is true because of a feeling that is trusted to be true. Even an experience could be considered true. But, an experience may be due to habit, training, beliefs, wishes, etc. and not agree with the facts.
D8 The standard of intuition. A statement or action is true, because it was heard or thought about there was a certainty. “My intuition tells me so.” But, it cannot be tested against any facts.
D9 The standard of majority rule. A statement is true because most people, whether experts or not, believe it so. But, again when tested, there it doesn’t match the facts.
D10 The standard of naïve realism. Seeing is believing. But, again, one person may interpret a color, for example, and another sees a distinct color.
D11 The standard of pragmatism. A statement or action is true because it works. But, in a different situation or culture it may not work.
D12 The standard of revelation. Something is true because some spirit declared it true whether the information came in a dream, vision, or something else. But, the revelator may be a liar or imaginary. Again, can it be tested.
D13 The standard of time. This is when something is considered true because it has been considered true for so long as in the statement “the test of time.” But, again further information may show differently.
D14 The standard of tradition. This is when something is true because that is the way we have always done that or believed that. But, when tested shows to not be according to the facts.
C7 Personally, correspondence theory seems most reasonable. When a person reads the Bible, they notice that God takes as truth what a person says, and God does the same when a person talks to Him.
C8 Also, I find it most reasonable that Jesus is this perfect source of truth. When he predicted something, it was true. The prediction was accurate as to who and/or what specifically happened.
D1 A few of Jesus’s predictions.
E1 Jesus predicted his death by the Romans at least 3 times.
E2 He also predicted his resurrection. See Matthew 12:40, Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:22-23, Matthew 20:17-19.
E3 He also predicted the method of killing him (Matthew 26:21).
E4 He predicted that he would be betrayed (Matthew 26:21-24).
E5 He predicted that his faithful followers would desert him (Matthew 26:30-32).
E6 He predicted his most fanatical follower would deny knowing Jesus (Matthew 26:33-35).
D2 Articles:
E1 Did Jesus Predict His Own Resurrection?
E2 Is prediction (prophecy) a proof of truth? See
F1 The Top 40 Messianic Prophecies
F2 Fulfilled Prophecy a Potent Argument for the Bible
F3 From Reliable to Divine: Fulfilled Prophecy in the Old Testament
C9 Because of the above, I personally accept that the Bible is the only standard of 100% truth. It is the perfect standard. We humans cannot know truth perfectly without it.
C10 The Bible must be interpreted in its plain, normal sense. See Principles of the Literal Bible Interpretation
Application to our life
B1 We must admit reality. If I am an addict, I must admit it. If I am abused, I must admit it. If I am a liar, I must admit it. If I am a sinner, I must admit it. No healing can take place spiritually, emotionally, or physically until we admit the truth.
B2 We must be a little skeptical and not believe everything we hear.
C1 Proverbs 14:15 ESV The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
C2 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
C3 Hebrews 13:9 NLT So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help those who follow them.
B3 Healing starts with admitting the truth about ourselves. Compare Luke 18:9-14).
B4 Truth must be in our inward life as well as our outward life. Psalms 51:6 LEB Behold, you delight in truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts you make me to know wisdom.
B5 We must believe what someone tells us they have been abused, molested, etc. and take appropriate action. All crimes must be reported to law enforcement.
B6 We must live in the truth (Psalm 86:11 (NLT), 2 John 1:3-4, 3 John 1:3-4 (NLT)).
B7 The truth does set us free. (John 8:32, Romans 8:2, 2 Corinthians 3:17)
B8 We must continue to live in the truth. The Holy Spirit helps us by giving grace (Hebrews 4:16, Psalm 43:3) and chastens us when needed (Hebrews 12:6).
B9 We must read, study, memorize, pray for (Psalm 86:11), and live the truth (Psalm 15:2, Ephesians 4:25).
B10 We must teach the truth (2 Corinthians 6:7, 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)).
B11 We must stand up for the truth (Jeremiah 9:3 (NLT) and 2 Corinthians 13:8 (NLT)).
B12 Quote from Barclay (be cautious):
Discipleship results in freedom. "The truth will make you free." "In his service is perfect freedom." Discipleship brings us four freedoms. (a) It brings us freedom from fear. The man who is a disciple never again has to walk alone. He walks for ever in the company of Jesus, and in that company fear is gone. (b) It brings freedom from self. Many a man fully recognizes that his greatest handicap is his own self. And he may in despair cry out: "I cannot change myself. I have tried, but it is impossible." But the power and presence of Jesus can re-create a man until he is altogether new. (c) It brings freedom from other people. There are many whose lives are dominated by the fear of what other people may think and say. H. G. Wells once said that the voice of our neighbours sounds louder in our ears than the voice of God. The disciple is the man who has ceased to care what people say, because he thinks only of what God says. (d) It brings freedom from sin. Many a man has come to the stage when he sins, not because he wants to, but because he cannot help it. His sins have so mastered him that, try as he will, he cannot break away from them. Discipleship breaks the chains which bind us to them and enables us to be the persons we know we ought to be.
B13 Live like a Christian. Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16-17). Don’t be ashamed of Jesus (Mark 8:38, 2 Timothy 2:12, 1 John 2:22). God help us.
John 17:17 GW Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth.
