Do You Know What Truth Is? by Brian E. Smith

Do you know what truth really is?  Do you think it is possible for a person to be absolutely certain that something is always true?  Today many will tell you that truth is really whatever you believe it to be.  Perhaps you have even heard someone say, “That may be true for you, but it isn’t necessarily true for me.”  It is becoming an increasingly difficult task to find those persons who would be willing to say that they believe there are some things that  are true for all persons and at all times no matter where they live or  from what culture they are from.

When I was growing up in the panhandle of Northwest Florida, we still bowed our heads for prayer, were required to say the pledge to the American Flag and were taught that the ultimate virtue was knowing, believing and defending truth.  Even my weekly TV episode of Superman staring George Reeves always ended with the following opening lines:  “Superman: who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands; and who, disguised as Clark Kent : mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never ending battle for TRUTH, justice and the American way.”

But does the American way still include defending Truth?  More often today the common response from others will describe religious relativism and philosophical pluralism.  Believing that all religions are the same and that tolerance is the highest goal in society means that the idea of something being absolutely true must be discarded.  To hear some people today talk about the ideal for social, religious and political tolerance might lead one to suppose that believing in something as being absolutely true is dangerous to society!  When a person dares to challenge the idea that all opinions and beliefs are equal and valid then they are usually accused of being bigoted, prejudiced and above all intolerant.

I personally believe that one of the major causes for the growing moral, social and physical problems for this generation is because as a nation we have lost our moral underpinnings that guided us as Americans for nearly two hundred years.  Not only does this generation not seem to know right from wrong but believe it is a better practice to decry the Judeo-Christian tradition: a belief that truth existed, and everyone could know and understand it.  The practice of schools promoting a “value-free, morally neutral” education program does very little to prepare our children and youth to assume personal responsibility in deciding what is true and what is right.  Instead we are heading for a day when the vast majority of Americans may believe that truth is only a matter of one’s own personal taste and thus morality should be nothing more than a person’s individual preference.

As a Christian, I believe that for truth to exist then it must be absolute.  If truth doesn’t transcend social, cultural and racial barriers then what about it is true after all?  I for one believe that the Ten Commandments are not only good enough to hang on the walls of our schools and serve as the backdrop for our nation’s legal heritage but would also benefit every person on earth who would begin to orient their lives in accordance with it.

Ultimately truth is not a series of facts or a collection of laws but the pinnacle of all truth is found in a person.  Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  For what reason should a person give attention to such an audacious claim?  In all the annals of human history there has been only one person who has said that he would die, be buried, rise again… and did it!  Therefore my friend, if Jesus could be  right about His own resurrection then what good reason might anyone have to believe that He was wrong about anything else He ever said or did? If Jesus is the Truth, and I believe that He is, then our invitation is to know Him for who He is and accept His definition for what is right and wrong.  If Jesus is the Truth then we ought to live our lives accordingly and should teach our children and encourage our friends that keeping His commandments in dependence upon Him should be the greatest investment of one’s life and the best hope for America.