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WHAT IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH?

In formal discussion groups with students, I've asked them to define
"absolute truth" as a group. I approach the whiteboard with marker in
hand, ready to scribble down their profound answers.

"What," I ask, "is absolute truth?"

"When you think that...um, when..." This student's thought trails off, and
he looks at the ceiling with a sigh.

"Reality."

"What you like."

"What you believe."

Then I turn to the adults in the group and ask the same question.

One leader remarks, "When what you think is true?"

Oops. We can't use the word we're defining as part of the definition.
That's like defining sailing as, er, "to sail."

I've had adult leaders approach me and admit that students don't know
how to define truth because their teachers don't know much about it, either.

I hope you feel a bit relieved by that. It's hard to believe in something if
you don't even know what it is. It may not be your fault.

But you're still responsible to know what it is.

I'm confident that most teachers affirm absolute truth, even though
they can't define it. They have a sense of what it is; however, that
sense is not often clear enough to pass on to the next generation--your
generation. Is there any wonder why students today don't know how to
answer the question of whether or not there is absolute truth? We simply
don't know what it is.

The definition of truth is quite simple, but it takes some thinking. Like
the rules of tennis, truth is simple to understand. But you have to pay
attention to start getting it. And no matter who you are, whether you're
an A student or a D student, you can understand this and use it in your
everyday world:

"Truth is an idea or a belief about something that shows up in the real world."

Or to put it another way, "truth is when an idea reflects the way the world really is."

Or to put it another way, "truth is an idea or a belief that is a fact."

Or more philosophically speaking--"truth is a proposition that corresponds to reality."

Whew, there's the definition! All of these say pretty much the same
thing, just in different ways. Now reread these definitions to make sure
you've got it in your head.

TRUTH EXAMPLES

Suppose I'm looking for my car keys. I usually have a hard time
putting them in the same place twice. My wife, Jonalyn, set up a
system in our home where the keys go in the key box near the door.
But I keep forgetting about that system, and I only remember it when
my keys are lost.

So I'm still looking for my car keys.

Upon walking into my study, I suddenly see the keys sitting on my
desk. I see the keys. I now have the idea that the keys are sitting on
the desk. Because the idea that the keys are sitting on the desk
accurately reflects the fact that the keys are on the desk, I now
have truth. My idea mirrors the way things are. My idea links with the
facts, just as a rock climber links his carabiner with the piton drilled
into the side of the mountain.

Suppose I'm planning to drive to Gino's Pizza in Laguna Beach.
Unsure of where the restaurant is located, I go online and print out
the directions. Then I follow every turn, and I arrive at the pizza place
precisely as the map directs me. The map was true because the
map reflects the way the roads really are.

Many times, however, those online maps have led me astray, and
I've had to stop at gas stations to ask for the proper directions. In those
moments, we'd probably call the map false. Why? Because it does not
reflect the way the roads really are. (And my friends ate all the pizza
because I was late.)

Since we're using the topic of driving, let's suppose my Jeep is in the
shop for a flat tire. A few hours pass before I receive a phone call from
my mechanic who says the work is complete.

Suddenly, a new idea comes into my mind that I have a repaired tire
on my truck. I haven't actually seen the tire. I only have the idea of
this repaired tire because my mechanic told me about it. My wife
drives me to the shop. I pay the bill, take my keys, and go to my
Jeep. I look down at the wheel sporting a freshly repaired tire. In that
instant, the idea that my tire was repaired corresponds with the real
repaired tire I'm looking at. In that moment--when my belief about the
tire and the real tire link up together--I experience truth.

Truth is all about the content of ideas linking with the way the world is.

If this still isn't clear, go back a few paragraphs, read the examples
again, and see if it doesn't make a little more sense to you.

The goal of this chapter (like all important things) is not for us to
complete it quickly, but to understand it well. Give yourself the
freedom to take your time on it. And always be willing to reread.

TRUTH IN ROMANCE

When Jonalyn first caught my eye, it was because she let her
hair down--literally. She usually hid those beautiful, thick, brown
curls by wearing her hair up. But one evening she let her hair down,
and it caught my attention.

That's when I started talking with her more and sending e-mails to her.

I was getting the impression she liked me, too. I mean, after all,
do people keep writing you back and calling you on the phone if they don't?

My belief that she liked me continued to grow, until one day I
asked her to be my girlfriend. It took her a couple days to reply
(and I felt as though I were dangling on the edge of a cliff), but
she finally said yes.

In that moment of excitement, something happened (besides
sparks flying). Truth happened. My belief that she liked me linked
up with the reality that she did like me. I was a lucky guy.

Truth is everywhere, like the air we breathe. Even in our dating lives.

So let's review here: "Truth is when an idea links up with the real
world." Such as those times when I found my keys, realized my
tire was repaired, and discovered that my belief that Jonalyn liked
me actually reflected the fact that she really did like me.

This definition of truth is so important--I cannot stress it enough.
Burn the concept into your mind.

**

Taken from "Living with Questions" by Dale Fincher, copyright 2007 Youth
Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here:
http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=356