What is Truth?

Truth is something which is still real, even when you don’t believe it. In other words, it is an absolute. I’ve heard of a group of people who believe that the world is flat. That doesn’t change the fact that the world is round. I could persuade myself that gravity doesn’t exist, and walk off the edge of a skyscraper. All I would prove is that what I thought was truth was a lie. Or what I thought was a lie was the truth. Either mistake can be catastrophic.

The opposite of truth is a lie. And the word lie is just as objective as the word truth. Both words mean exactly what they say. You can believe that a lie is true, or the truth is a lie, but that won’t change a thing. No matter what some modern philosophers try to say, truth is true, unless it’s a lie, and nothing can change that.

A friend of mine was following his GPS through a rural area he had never visited before. It took him down some rough back roads, then finally told him to turn left into a dry creek bed. Now it is possible that this route would have led him to where he wanted to go, but he would have had to walk. So, the GPS had given him a route that looked good on screen but didn’t work for him in real life.

So, was it telling him the truth, or a lie?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of ideas about truth floating around to day that are similar. They look good on a computer screen, or in a book. Hypothetically, they make sense. But when you try to make them work in real life, they prove to be a lie. Or if they are true, in a sense, they are not practical enough to use in real life, which still makes them a lie.

So, if an idea works, does that make it truth?

We could add one reason the GPS instructions didn’t work for my friend. He had hip problems that made it hard for him to walk, especially on rough terrain. So, does that mean that what the GPS said was a lie for him but might have been the truth for someone else who could walk better?

In other words, is truth subjective, depending on circumstances?

Not really. The GPS in his car was intended for use in a car. It should not have tried to take him anywhere that a car couldn’t go. If you need to twist and turn something or adapt it to a purpose it wasn’t intended for in order to make it true, then it really isn’t true.

Truth is an absolute. If not, it isn’t truth.

Jesus said that God’s word is truth. The New Testament records the words and actions of Jesus and we can find truth there. A good place to start learning about truth is by reading the Gospel of Matthew.