The Truth About Truth

Now, I am no great and wonderfully intelligent modern-day philosopher. I am not even that well read in all these philosophy books that a lot of y'all debate people have read a million times before. I'm just your average person with a worldview that doesn't necessarily coincide with the norm, and is therefore hard to explain. Nonetheless, I will try my best, if you try your best to understand.

First of all, I believe 100% that there is Absolute Truth. Do NOT misunderstand me. I believe there is a Divine Power, aka God the Father/Son/Holy Spirit, who knows the real truth, the real right, and the real wrong.

However, I am going to throw some "howevers" into this statement.

Each person believes what he or she believes, correct? And each person believes that what they believe is true. If they didn't believe it was true, they wouldn't believe it, would they? No. That is just impossible. But, not everybody believes the exact same thing. Many people even have drastically different beliefs.

There are some people who do not even believe there is a God, and don't even believe in absolute truth because of that.

So, what is truth?

J, F.K.A. Jos, F.K.A. and A.K.A.I.T.R.W. (In The Real World) Jonathan, brought up a simple situation of Coke. The instance was, he belives Coke is "well-used dishwater", while I believe it is a delicious soda that I would like to drink right now. Who is right? Most of you would probably agree with me, I know. But does that make it Truth? No, majority does not make something true (shocker). Jonathan could perform many science experiements to prove that Coke is as good for you to drink as dark, greasy dishwater, and it would make sense. But does that make it Truth? No, because even if it all seems great and amazing, dishwater and Coke are simply not going to be the same substance...and if that isn't the issue, then something else will be, guaranteed. If we kept up the Coke vs. Dishwater debate, we would be at it till the day we kill each other (like most people with strong religious and political views...heh...).

That said, I say that only God knows whether Coke is soda or dishwater. Of course, if you don't believe in God or any Divine Power, this is a faulty assumption. And THAT can keep going around and around in a circle, much like the coke/dishwater debate above.

So, perhaps by now you might understand a little why I say that everybody has their own Truth. Because whatever is true to someone is their Truth. There is absolutely no way to know what is true until Kingdom come, right? That is MY opinion, anyway. Of course, some people don't think that "Kingdom" is coming.

The only thing I would hate in this situation is to be Agnostic. I don't want to insult anyone, but here goes my opinion on Agnosticism. I would never want to be Agnostic, because...nothing would be true, even for me. Other religions have their Truth, and Atheists have their Truth...there is no God. At least there is something sure to believe in. But as an Agnostic, I would never be quite sure about anything, and be very confused and never able to make up my mind.

Now, I know some of you are probably thinking that MY views on Truth are borderline Agnostic. That's fine, you can believe that. You can also go ahead with all of that "It's not very Christian to believe this way; after all, if you're such a doormat about what is true, how are you ever going to help anyone get saved?" I don't mean to disregard this; it is a valid point.

First of all, I believe that what I believe is THE Truth, no matter what. With that foundation, therefore, I can go out and advocate all I can. The same with choosing sides for a debate, except that, since Christianity is such an important part of my life, there is much more emotion involved than just a simple "Am I arguing 'for' or 'against' in this round?" I have experienced God, his love, mercy, salvation, and sanctification in the most amazing ways in the past three years. I don't know how I would have ever gotten on had I denied my need for my Savior any longer. And there is definitely no way I could have had such a radical life change had God's hand not been there for me to hold as he helped me up out of that dumpster of a life. There, I have my (abridged) testimony. And, if you think about it, that is basically all I can give. I believe that science can prove God created the earth in 7 days, but lots of people believe the scientific evidence that suggests evolution...I could go on.

Plus, if you think about it, our charge is to spread the Gospel wherever we go, not persuade people with our amazing sales pitches on Christianity. I'm going to "show and tell" them, "this is what I believe. This is why I believe it. This is how I live what I believe. And I would love for you to experience the joy and freedom I have found in Christ, because I care about you." Then it's up to them to decide whether to accept my Truth as their Truth. That is what I meant at the end of my last entry when I said, "I have my Truth, and it may not be your Truth, but it's mine. I wish it could be everyone's Truth, but it can only be your truth if you want it to be."

So, NOW do you see?

~Jessica

Peace sells, but...

Is it a sin to long for the simplicities of youth? Grow up, Jessica. Be a real person in the real world. But why is the real world so full of confusion and complication? Why is everyone so selfish and single-minded? Why must we all disagree, argue, interfere, and destroy?

Expressing these thoughts to other human beings is pretty much impossible. I know you are all laughing. Silly, sheltered homeschooler. Grow up. THIS is reality. Peace is a dream; don't bother with the idea too much. As they say, peace sells but nobody's buyin'.

I like my box. Why do I even need to bother caring whether the government is out to get us or not? What does it matter to me? I suppose, to a degree, it is nice to be able to understand what is going on and, as Allison says, who to trust; maybe when is a good time to react to something that isn't right, or perhaps relocate someplace where I might live a more quiet and peaceful life with no outside interferences.

I really don't care what other people think of me, as long as they keep any negative thoughts to themselves. It's not as if I want to be childish and avoid the responsibilities of being an adult. I want to live, and work, and help people, and get married, and have children. I want a simple life, with little or no interference from outside parties. I only wish I could travel to and live in England for a year. But I can't. I have to have some "legitimate" "reason" which, I suppose, will prove if I am not a criminal or some such nonsense as that. Call me ignorant if you want to, but what sort of crime are they trying to avoid? And why aren't passports enough? If someone commits a crime in England, they should be tried in England, correct? Why does anybody have to be a citizen of anywhere? If you are somewhere, that is where you are, and if you aren't, then you are somewhere else.

But it's not that way. Government systems tese days prevent it. People are in power and want as much control as they can get. Laws are created, wars are started...whatever "needs" to be done.

If children ruled the world, think about how much better things would be. Those who committed wrong would be punished for it by being made to repay 100% to the person they had wronged, and that includes compensation for inconvenience and whatever else was caused by the original wrong. That is "an eye for an eye." You don't take out your wrong-doer's eye just to punish him for taking out yours. You remove the eye and use his eye as your own! Okay, that is a little absurd...as in, impossible. But you know what I mean. If someone kills somebody else, they themselves should not be killed; they should be indebted to the victim's family for life. The family can choose to hunt the murderer down and kill him, or they can make him into a personal slave, or whatever they want. Killing someone is hardly a punishment...that puts them out of their misery, end of story. Even a life in prison isn't the same, because the murderer does not compensate to the family for his wrong. Sure, a life can never be replaced or paid for. But if we're talking "eye for an eye" here, that was never meant to mean that if you kill somebody, you should likewise be killed. It's unreasonable.

I'm not saying that the world would be flawless if children ruled it, but it may be better off. Perhaps we would have equal rights for society and government alike. Kids have a good degree of common sense and of right and wrong that we really don't give them credit for. What we have now is a bunch of power-hungry fascist law school graduates who constantly theorize illogically and think they have all the answers. That doesn't make me very comfortable.

But!!! I just don't even care. I like my box. In it, there's me, my friends and family, others whom I must interact with, and the life I live. I pay taxes when necessary, and I drive on roads, drink clean water, appreciate the comfort of the fire station up the street, etc. I don't care whether this is operated by the government or a private organization, as long as whoever it is stays out of my business. It's okay to be informed, but I really don't even want to care. I am here on this earth with a deeper purpose than government. I am here for God. And if that isn't relevant to something, I shouldn't spend too much time worrying about that something.

I have my Truth, and it may not be your Truth, but it's mine. I wish it could be everyone's Truth, but it can only be your truth if you want it to be.

~Jessica