Truth Is Subjective...?

 

Why Is Truth?

Truth is a subjective moral construct based on your own personal experiences and ideas and is therefore different and changing for everyone, giving rise to the term “my truth.” This is a sound idea with no possible room for error or confusion based on someone else’s definition of what the truth is or not. Is it true, though, this idea? Well, what is truth? I might say it’s true, but you might disagree; because both of us can have our own truth, we are both right! Except, wait. What if only one of us can be correct such as in a trivia competition? Hmm. Well, I’m sure it will be fine. This modern and progressive idea allows us such liberties as gender fluidity, abortion that’s not murder, and homosexuality. It allows for our government and anyone else to redefine the truth as is convenient for them. Who am I to say what their truth is, after all? Since we can “change” the truth just by wishing it to be so, what is truth? Observing the very definition of it becomes impossible, however, because it too can change whenever it is observed. Similar to Schroedinger’s cat, was the definition the way it is before we looked at it? Or did it change because we observed it? What a conundrum we have! Without a definition of truth, we can’t define what truth is, for by defining it, we change it to what we want it to be, thus changing all of our other definitions of what is true or false! If there isn’t a set definition, how can we determine anything to be true with any correctness? We must have a definition! This is turning into a big plate of noodles very quickly. Subjective truth doesn’t fit very well, for simply by having a fluid truth, we can’t define what truth is, which renders truth non-existent. We change the definition, and it goes into an endless feedback loop, and then POOF! It disappears. We are left with no truth. Truth can’t be whatever we want it to be then; that would clearly be too dangerous. There must be a set definition of what truth is in order for it to exist at all. Let’s take a look at the dictionary and see how it defines truth. We aren’t going to use the online dictionary; I’m going to pull out the ol’ twenty-pounder for this one. Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines truth as:

1. Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be.

2. Veracity; purity from falsehood

Funk and Wagnall’s 1978 New Comprehensive International Dictionary defines truth as:

1. The state or character of being true in relation to being, knowledge, or speech.

2. Conformity to fact or reality.

3. That which is true; a statement or belief which corresponds to reality.

4. Reality

We have two highly respected dictionary’s answers to what the definition of truth is. Much better! Truth is primarily based on facts (which are always true. If it’s a fact, it’s true. You can have your facts wrong, but then they are no longer facts, just your ideas.) and reality. This leaves us in a bit better spot. It completely defeats our premise that truth is subjective and the idea that we can have two different conflicting “truths” that clash with reality. If something is true, it’s true, and that doesn’t change unless the thing that is true changes. As an example, if I have an ice cube in my hand and say that it’s cold, that is only the truth so long as it remains frozen. Once it melts, the truth changes to reflect the physical change in the object. Now how do we apply this to our earlier example of gender fluidity and homosexuality? We’re going to bring in the Bible on this one as it is the ultimate guide to what is true or not. The Bible and science (and just plain old logical observation) tell us that there are only two genders or sexes, so you must be one or the other. Either male or female. What determines our gender is written on the level of the chromosome, so unless you can change your chromosomes, you cannot change your gender. Your gender must comply with the physical reality. If you are a man who feels like a woman, get some mental help, or better yet, eat a steak, throw something heavy and grunt. You will feel like a man in no time. That was easy, but what about homosexuality? It’s easy to see it’s wrong from the Bible. It’s condemned multiple times just in case we misunderstood the command the first time around.

Lev 18:22 'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It [is] an abomination.

From a logical point of view, it’s easy to see that it’s wrong as well. Males can only reproduce with a female of the same species. Thus if everybody was gay, the species would die out, and then no more people. Homosexuality is also thus against reality and, therefore, false. Abortion is also wrong then, because murder is wrong and it doesn't change just because you call the baby a clump of cells. We, too are a clump of cells, just larger. Murder is always murder, regardless of the terminology used to excuse it.

Unclean Lips, Unclean Hearts, and Unclean Quotes

Truth cannot be subjective and does not change based on who says it; otherwise, it would not be truth at all. Nowhere is this more certain than when we begin to look at the Bible. There is an odd tradition held over from the days of the Worldwide Church of God that claims that it’s wrong to quote sources other than the Bible and wrong even to read self-help or religious books written by those who are not of The Body of Christ. If it’s said by someone outside The Body of Believers, it’s not true. Even if it’s something that, if it was said by someone inside The Body of Believers, would be true. Wait a minute! We’ve already proven that truth can’t be subjective, or else it’s no longer truth! So what’s going on here? It’s an odd sort of exclusivism that leads one to feel that anyone on the outside can’t possibly have any truth even if they are saying the exact same things we are. If that were the case, the Bible itself would no longer be the ultimate source of what’s true. It wouldn’t even contain truth. It’s either all true all the time, no matter who says it, or none of it is. 

Wisdom From Above

\Who is the one who gives understanding and wisdom? 

Job 32:7-9 I said, 'Age should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.' 

But [there is] a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. 

Great men are not [always] wise, Nor do the aged [always] understand justice.

Job 28:28 And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to depart from evil [is] understanding.' "

Pro 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding;

Dan 2:21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.

God is the originator of wisdom and understanding, and He gives it to whom He wills. God created wisdom, after all. We can also get wisdom from His words in the Bible.

Psa 119:104-105 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word [is] a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Psa 119:130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

God created wisdom, and He gifts it to us freely. We have only to ask. How do we determine if God gave someone wisdom? We compare what they are saying to the Bible, our ultimate guide to what is true. God is the one who gives wisdom and truth; who are we to make judgments on who He can give it to, who He can call? A wee bit arrogant, is it not? If what they are saying lines up with the Bible, it’s truth. If it doesn’t, it’s not. This applies to people within The Body of Believers as well. We can say untrue things just as easily as someone outside can, and they are just as untrue if they don’t line up with the Bible. The idea that truth can’t come from someone outside the Church is a mistaken one, as we have seen, but what about just straight up not quoting from non-believers or reading non-Church of God religious books? What does the Bible have to say on the topic?

Mat 8:8-10 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 

"For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this [one], 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does [it]." When Jesus heard [it], He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  

Here we have someone outside of the Church who spoke the truth! There are multiple examples of this happening during Christ’s ministry, including a demon-possessed man. People who aren’t in the Church can speak the truth regarding Biblical matters and on some subjects with more understanding than we have personally. Paul himself quoted a secular author twice in his writings, and an entire chapter in the Bible was written by a pagan of all things. Daniel chapter 4 was written by King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. There is no record of him ever converting to following the true God, but his testimony is afforded its own chapter in Daniel. Why include this chapter in the Bible? Perhaps to answer questions just like this one and to demonstrate that the wonders and laws of God are observable in the very creation even by those who are not part of the Church. 

Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible [attributes] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

Psa 19:1-4 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 

Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 

[There is] no speech nor language [Where] their voice is not heard. 

Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

He made His truth easy to find. None of us has all His truth; we all have bits and pieces of it. We are growing towards all truth, but that is a lifelong process.

John 16:13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority], but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

We must continue steadfastly in faith, testing the spirits and only listening to the spirit of truth. We have a race to run, and it’s a lot harder if we can’t determine what is true or not. Truth is reality, and reality is truth.