Does anybody know the Truth… or are We all just Guessing
by Fergus Ryan
Just imagine for one moment you had found what people of countless generations have searched for, fought over, and died for yet seldom discovered -THE TRUTH! Now you knew who created the universe, what we are here for, and what happens when we die. What an incredible find -sitting there covered by dust for all those years, and now you’ve found it – THE TRUTH.
All the disputes over truth could end now -that is, if you could only persuade all the other people who thought they had found the truth too that you had the source of true knowledge. Is this just make-believe? Does anybody really know the truth, or are we all just guessing?
The Search For Truth
For thousands of years, man has searched for truth. Is there a God out there somewhere? Is he interested in me? Why doesn’t he do something? Am I just going to die and vanish like a wisp of smoke, or does life have more to offer than this “valley of tears”? Help! Is anybody listening?
With each new generation and civilisation new philosophies, arid religions have emerged offering answers to these questions, and millions have believed them one by one. The reader might be forgiven for being cynical at the variety of claims to the truth which clamour for our attention.
But where do people get these ideas? Do they just make them up, and more importantly, are any of the things they say really the truth?
Some people search for truth INSIDE THEMSELVES believing that by meditation or by -reason or philosophy they will discover the answers hidden in their own hearts. These include many who practice eastern forms of mysticism or hinduism·now sweeping the western world as well as our modem humanists who believe that all answers are found in man’s intellectual powers.
Some search for truth in SPECIAL PEOPLE looking to priests, imams, gurus, mediums and others who are believed to have contact with a source of truth unavailable to the great masses.
Some seek truth in SPECIAL PLACES, hoping as pilgrims to find some glimpse of God at shrines, wells, mountains, temples, and cathedrals. Different beliefs motivate millions of faithful to visit holy cities in every comer of the world.
Well then, does believing something make it true? Of course not! It really doesn’t matter how many people believe something if it isn’t a fact. Even three million Irish people believing it won’t help a bit! Believing something with great sincerity doesn’t make it true. Even believing with great faith won’t alter the facts. No, belief won’t help us discover the truth either.
Confusion
So what am I to do now? Could it be the agnostics are right after all? Am I to conclude with them that truth cannot be known? Or maybe the fact is that everybody is right, and we all have a little glimpse of the truth?
Is that it then? Are all religions really bits of the truth? Do all men really call the same God by different names? Are the spirits of Hinduism just another view of God? Jesus certainly didn’t support such a notion.
He said ”I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except by me.
The apostle Peter didn’t have much time for this kind of sentimentalism either concerning Jesus he said “Neither is there salvation in any other.” No, all men do not believe the same things. It is true truth we’re searching for, not merely beliefs. So can the real truth be known with certainty?
The Source of Truth
Yes, truth can be known with certainty! It isn’t just make-believe. It is here our journey begins, and step by step through this series of posts we will explore the most exciting things mankind has ever known. Prepare for a GREAT ADVENTURE!
Quite A Revelation!
Paul, one of the first followers of Jesus says an amazing thing in his letter to the Christians who lived in Corinth “God saw to it in his wisdom, that man in his wisdom COULD NEVER FIND GOD!!” What a shocker! No scholar or philosopher has the secret wisdom to discover God.
“Where is the scholar, where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolishness the wisdom of this world?” No, but there is something much more exciting which is surely one of the most wonderful and amazing things a person could discover. God, who cannot be found inside ourselves, or in special people or places – GOD HAS ACTUALLY COMMUNICATED WITH US!
Did you hear that? Read it again and again until you know it to be the most liberating thing a seeker after truth could ever hear! Truth can only be known with certainty if God should have told us about himself by revelation – AND HE DID! But how will I find this revelation of God’s truth?
An Open Secret
First, God has revealed his existence in the intricate design, complexity, order, and indescribable beauty of nature. King David exclaimed, “The heavens proclaim God’s handiwork.” In the face of such overwhelming evidence for design, it takes great faith to be an atheist!
Secondly, and more specifically, God has told us about himself -how he made us and loves us, and how he wants us to know him in The Bible. Over and over again this astonishing book claims to be the very words of the living God. If this is really the TRUTH OF GOD (and it is!) consider the wonderful fact that you may indeed discover for yourself the answers to our deepest questions because God has told us! And you may read it for yourself.
The GREAT TREASURE for which man searches is indeed buried in the dust, on your own bookshelf!
Truth For Beginners
Certainly, you may need the help and encouragement of others in reading and understanding God’s Word. But remember, God’s Word judges the teachers, not the other way ’round. The only unerring source of truth on earth is the Bible itself.
Some who claim to be teachers of God’s word know very little about it, and others say the Bible is filled with contradictions. (I wonder where they get their “truth” from!) Even those who listened to the apostle Paul were praised for checking out what he said against the Bible.
Yes, you may read God’s very words and discover wonderful truths yourself. Some of your greatest discoveries maybe things you thought you knew already, but now they take on a new and thrilling perspective as you encounter authentic Christianity in the Bible. But be careful! The Bible is a dangerous book. It exposes false thinking and demolishes manmade doctrines. But it is also powerful, like dynamite, and can change your life – forever!
So FASTEN YOUR SEAT-BELTS-we’re off on our journey of discovery!
IN THE SECOND BASIC CHRISTIANITY POST WE CONSIDER WHETHER THE BIBLE IS INDEED RELIABLE AND WORTHY OF MY TRUST. WAS IT A CONSPIRACY AMONGST THE EARLY FOLLOWERS OF JESUS? WAS THE BIBLE PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION BY WORD OF MOUTH? SHOULD I TRUST IT -OR THROW IT AWAY?
To help you think through this subject think about the answers to these questions.
- WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIFFERENT WAYS MEN HAVE SEARCHED FOR ANSWERS TO LIFE’S QUESTIONS?
- WHY DID EACH FAIL TO DISCOVER THE TRUTH? WHY DID PAUL SAY “GOD SAW TO IT IN HIS WISDOM THAT MAN IN HIS WISDOM COULD NEVER FIND GOD.”
(See 1st Corinthians chapter I verses 18-21) - IS IT POSSIBLE TO BELIEVE THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS AND THINK THAT ALL ROADS LEAD TO GOD?
(See John ch. 14 v 6 and Acts ch. 4 v 12) - WHERE DOES TRUE WISDOM COME FROM? (See 2nd Timothy 3 verses 15 and 16)
- ASK 3 PEOPLE WHERE TRUTH COMES FROM AND WRITE DOWN THEIR ANSWERS. (Their answers may be revealing)
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