What is Truth ?

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ChristisGod

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John 18:33-38

Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this [j]on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”

John 14:6

I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life

The Greek word for “truth” is aletheia, which literally means to “un-hide” or “hiding nothing.” It conveys the thought that truth is always there, always open and available for all to see, with nothing being hidden or obscured. The Hebrew word for “truth” is emeth, which means “firmness,” “constancy” and “duration.” Such a definition implies an everlasting substance and something that can be relied upon.

From a philosophical perspective, there are three simple ways to define truth:

1. Truth is that which corresponds to reality.
2. Truth is that which matches its object.
3. Truth is simply telling it like it is.

First, truth corresponds to reality or “what is.” It is real. Truth is also correspondent in nature. In other words, it matches its object and is known by its referent. For example, a teacher facing a class may say, “Now the only exit to this room is on the right.” For the class that may be facing the teacher, the exit door may be on their left, but it’s absolutely true that the door, for the professor, is on the right.

Truth also matches its object. It may be absolutely true that a certain person may need so many milligrams of a certain medication, but another person may need more or less of the same medication to produce the desired effect. This is not relative truth, but just an example of how truth must match its object. It would be wrong (and potentially dangerous) for a patient to request that their doctor give them an inappropriate amount of a particular medication, or to say that any medicine for their specific ailment will do.

In short, truth is simply telling it like it is; it is the way things really are, and any other viewpoint is wrong. A foundational principle of philosophy is being able to discern between truth and error, or as Thomas Aquinas observed, "It is the task of the philosopher to make distinctions."

The philosophy of relativism says that all truth is relative and that there is no such thing as absolute truth. But one has to ask: is the claim “all truth is relative” a relative truth or an absolute truth? If it is a relative truth, then it really is meaningless; how do we know when and where it applies? If it is an absolute truth, then absolute truth exists. Moreover, the relativist betrays his own position when he states that the position of the absolutist is wrong—why can’t those who say absolute truth exists be correct too? In essence, when the relativist says, “There is no truth,” he is asking you not to believe him, and the best thing to do is follow his advice.

God and Truth

During the six trials of Jesus, the contrast between the truth (righteousness) and lies (unrighteousness) was unmistakable. There stood Jesus, the Truth, being judged by those whose every action was bathed in lies. The Jewish leaders broke nearly every law designed to protect a defendant from wrongful conviction. They fervently worked to find any testimony that would incriminate Jesus, and in their frustration, they turned to false evidence brought forward by liars. But even that could not help them reach their goal. So they broke another law and forced Jesus to implicate Himself.

Once in front of Pilate, the Jewish leaders lied again. They convicted Jesus of blasphemy, but since they knew that wouldn’t be enough to coax Pilate to kill Jesus, they claimed Jesus was challenging Caesar and was breaking Roman law by encouraging the crowds to not pay taxes. Pilate quickly detected their superficial deception, and he never even addressed the charge.

Jesus the Righteous was being judged by the unrighteous. The sad fact is that the latter always persecutes the former. It’s why Cain killed Abel. The link between truth and righteousness and between falsehood and unrighteousness is demonstrated by a number of examples in the New Testament:

• For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11–12, emphasis added).

• “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18, emphasis added).

• “who will render to each person according to his deeds; to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation” (Romans 2:6–8, emphasis added).

• “[love] does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:5–6, emphasis added).

What Is Truth? - Conclusion

The question Pontius Pilate asked centuries ago needs to be rephrased in order to be completely accurate. The Roman governor’s remark “What is truth?” overlooks the fact that many things can have truth, but only one thing can actually be the Truth. Truth must originate from somewhere.

The stark reality is that Pilate was looking directly at the Origin of all Truth on that early morning almost two thousand years ago. Not long before being arrested and brought to the governor, Jesus had made the simple statement “I am the truth” (John 14:6), which was a rather incredible statement. How could a mere man be the truth? He couldn’t be, unless He was more than a man, which is actually what He claimed to be. The fact is, Jesus’ claim was validated when He rose from the dead (Romans 1:4).

There’s a story about a man who lived in Paris who had a stranger from the country come see him. Wanting to show the stranger the magnificence of Paris, he took him to the Louvre to see the great art and then to a concert at a majestic symphony hall to hear a great symphony orchestra play. At the end of the day, the stranger from the country commented that he didn’t particularly like either the art or the music. To which his host replied, “They aren’t on trial, you are.” Pilate and the Jewish leaders thought they were judging Christ, when, in reality, they were the ones being judged. Moreover, the One they convicted will actually serve as their Judge one day, as He will for all who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Pilate evidently never came to a knowledge of the truth. Eusebius, the historian and Bishop of Caesarea, records the fact that Pilate ultimately committed suicide sometime during the reign of the emperor Caligula—a sad ending and a reminder for everyone that ignoring the truth always leads to undesired consequences.got?

hope this helps !!!
 
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ChristisGod

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Lets look through the Apostle Johns writings about Truth

Thayers Lexicon (Truth)

In reference to religion, the word denotes what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man, (`moral and religions truth'); and that a. with the greatest latitude, in the sceptical question τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια, John 18:38;

"the truth, as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man," opposed alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and to the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians:

John 1:1,14,17- In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 3:21
But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

John 4:24
But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 5:31-40;45-47
“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”


John 8:31-32
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”


John 14:6- Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

John 16:13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

John 17:17- "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth

John 18:37-38
Therefore, Pilate said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’”

1 John 4:1-6
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

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JohnDB

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The truth is something that seems to be so elusive today.
It seems like everyone wants to shade the truth to make something else true that just isn't.

That's what Pilate was talking/asking about.

Politics shades the truth to the point where the real truth is obscured.

CIP: The national firearm debate is framed all concerning crime and lives lost because of firearms in the hands of criminals and law abiding citizens. And both sides have merit to their arguments.
BUT
The truth is that the vast majority of people who do get injured by a firearm are done so by self inflicted gunshot wounds. IOW we are much more likely to shoot ourselves with a firearm than to be shot in the commission of a crime with a firearm while surrounded by police. In fact we are more likely to shoot ourselves while surrounded by armed combatants.

So....
Where I'm not taking a particular side in the common debate...what I'm pointing to is the elephant sized truth that neither side of the debate is actually discussing how people are usually getting harmed by these things.
 
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ChristisGod

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The truth is something that seems to be so elusive today.
It seems like everyone wants to shade the truth to make something else true that just isn't.

That's what Pilate was talking/asking about.

Politics shades the truth to the point where the real truth is obscured.

CIP: The national firearm debate is framed all concerning crime and lives lost because of firearms in the hands of criminals and law abiding citizens. And both sides have merit to their arguments.
BUT
The truth is that the vast majority of people who do get injured by a firearm are done so by self inflicted gunshot wounds. IOW we are much more likely to shoot ourselves with a firearm than to be shot in the commission of a crime with a firearm while surrounded by police. In fact we are more likely to shoot ourselves while surrounded by armed combatants.

So....
Where I'm not taking a particular side in the common debate...what I'm pointing to is the elephant sized truth that neither side of the debate is actually discussing how people are usually getting harmed by these things.
Yes truth is not relative it is absolute and we can know beyond all doubt the Truth contained in Scripture regarding Jesus who is the truth and His word that is the truth.
 
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DPMartin

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well christophany, there's a statement that stands: the truth is the truth no matter what the truth is.

in that context what is true always was true and will always be true, and seeing that the Word of God made flesh declares Himself as the Truth, we should understand that all thing that are true are of the truth. such as nothing that was made was made without Him (the Word of God the Truth)

consider how wise does God have to be, because every thing He says must come to pass because its the Truth and creation has to respond accordingly.

there's a situation where the Lord was to deceive the prophets that served Ahab:

1Ki 22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 
1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. 


note the Lord God did not lie, but He did command another to do so.

________

of course there is what others think truth to be, such as what is truth to one isn't truth to another. and that is a matter of what is believed not what is the truth.

we know as believers that Jesus is the Word of God and He is the Truth, what seems to be lacking in the conversation is what is Truth. and the Truth always was for it always was true and always is because it is true and always will be because it will always be true. Jesus says God is a Spirit. therefore what is of spirit that goes out from spirit but its word. in the case of the Almighty its the Truth, nothing more nothing less, which is the foundation of all things that are, and are true.
 

JohnDB

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Yes truth is not relative it is absolute and we can know beyond all doubt the Truth contained in Scripture regarding Jesus who is the truth and His word that is the truth.

The truth is that by God's favor, that we have not earned, through our faith in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (although putting up with humans can be successfully argued as another sacrifice) is what grants us salvation...

That's the truth...
Anything else being discussed is something else.