Truth
Pilate, before turning Christ over to the Jews to be crucified, asked our Lord,
“What is truth?” (John 18:38)
If only he had known to whom he spoke! Has a greater irony ever occurred in the history of the world? Pilate, representing the military might of Rome, the most commanding nation in the world, asks the Fountain of Truth, ‘What is truth?’ Like the world, Pilate, standing in the presence of truth, doesn’t recognize truth. Pontius Pilate, first a politician, burdened by holding high office, and wanting to please the people, didn’t wait for the answer, though he had before him the only one on earth who could tell him.
The world does not like truth. In ancient Athens, the Oracle of Delphi declared that Socrates was the wisest man in the world. Socrates was executed by the Greeks for attempting to teach the truth. Socrates was merely a philosopher. Christ is the Son of God, full of truth and light, yet over four hundred years later he was executed by the Romans, under the direction of the jealous hierarchy of the Jews, for teaching the truth. His apostles met a similar fate.
Pilot’s question, ‘What is truth? is one that we must all ask and answer for ourselves for surely the search for truth is the single greatest quest we can make in this uncertain, undulating world.
There are a lot of counterfeits that we confuse as truth. The three most prominent counterfeits of truth are fact, inference, and judgment.
One would naturally ask; how can we confuse fact with truth? One is prone to exclaim, ‘fact is truth.’
The question must be asked, ‘Are there untrue facts?’ One could just as easily ask, ‘Are there any such things as true facts.’ Facts are based on perception and perception is influenced by point of view. Our courts are burdened by the task of sorting through facts looking for truth.
Also, in relating to facts, in our melting world where everything slides toward entropy, what is a fact today is not a fact tomorrow. Facts are related to time, and entropy gives time its arrow. How can you have reliable facts in a world governed by entropy?
Facts need to be separate from truth. They are not the same thing. Facts are either accurate or inaccurate depending upon time. Truth is eternal. Truth is not subject to entropy. What is true today was also true yesterday and will still be true tomorrow and forever. Therefore, let’s not confuse truth with melting matter or changing events or earthly evolutions.
Inference is also often confused with truth. Inference is opinion drawn from facts. Inference depends not only upon the accuracy of facts but also upon the integrity of the observer. One cannot assign truth to inference. One can only assign accuracy according to specified conditions.
For example, the statement, “The sun always rises from the east and always sets in the west.” Is considered a true statement, but it is merely an inference based on past experience. It is true relative to what? Well, it is true relative to our solar system only.
Facts are relative, but Truth isn’t.
Let’s take the third term, judgment. How does judgment differ from fact and inference? We have determined that a fact is relative to time and space. Inference is relative to the observer. What is judgment. As a working definition, let’s say that judgment is a call to action based on fact and inference. A court judge may impose a penalty on a convicted criminal. A beauty contest judge may determine the crown goes to this or that contestant. An event’s judge may determine who won the contest and so on. Judgment places a value on the facts and inferences. Judgment is based on preestablished standards tailored for specific events or conditions or circumstances.
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