As I’ve said in other posts, I believe that in the extraordinary times that we are living in, it’s important that we talk to each other. We don’t have to agree on everything. But in open, humble, friendly discussions where we assume the best about each other, we might be able to find out the truth together, in areas where it’s still unclear. There are people in the world with a lot of power that want to hurt us. And therefore it’s important that those of us that are waking up to this fact stand together. This is the reason why I want to have a conversation with the New Age community, while at the same time lifting issues that I believe concern everyone.
As with so many other ideas, “my truth” can mean more than one thing. This was sort of implied in the question I posed a moment ago. And as with so many other ideas, it can create a lot of confusion when we think that we talk about the same thing, while in reality we’re not.
I firmly believe that the truth is to be found in the Bible, even if I think that we have yet to find it out completely. The concept of progressive revelation is quite firmly established within theology and other forms of biblical interpretation, so this is to be expected. This basically means that much of what was written in the Bible, was meant to be revealed in the future. Prophecies is an obvious example. But I also believe that many of Jesus’ sayings have an esoteric side. Some of this has been revealed to mystics. But I believe, as other things about the special times that we are living in are being revealed, more and more people will understand more and more these teachings.
The Bible is also a masterwork of statements with multiple meanings. For example: “The truth shall set you free” (John 8:32) can mean spiritual truth. But it can also mean that there is a natural law where lies enslave us, both on a personal and collective level. It can also mean that when we confess our secrets, something happens. We are no longer burdened by carrying the weight alone. Observing the effect this statement has when put into practice, is one way of discovering that there is a spiritual reality underlying our lives in the physical world.
This also highlights another issue. Are we talking about factual claims about our physical world? Factual claims about science, politics or standards for beauty? Or are we talking about the fundamental nature of reality? Or about moral truth? I’m talking about all of these things and I believe that when spiritual truth is the foundation, all of these things come together. And to make it clear, I’m an objectivist when it comes to all of them. I will explain more about what this means in a moment.
Another thing that I want to make clear, is that I don’t believe for one second that we have the right to interpret the Bible any way we want to. If something is there, it’s there for a reason. And neither science nor cultural norms are valid reasons to discard it. The only valid reason I can find, is when circumstances change in such a way that some particular statement does not apply anymore. And to be clear, I’m talking about actual, factual circumstances. Not our knowledge about the world or human nature. Or what we now think that we know. What qualifies as science within the soft sciences today, for example, is tainted by ideology. This distorts the lenses through which researchers view the objects of study. And much of what is produced in the universities today should be viewed as propaganda. Even though the propagandists often don’t realize that they are engaged in propaganda.
So, where am I going with this? In the beginning I talked about how “my truth” can mean two different things, which is something that I’ve been trying to illustrate with the prior discussion. On the one hand, it can be the truth the way I see it, when humbly doing my best to understand it as objectively as possible. This view acknowledges that there is such a thing as “objective truth”, while also acknowledging that when it comes to most contested matters, we may be wrong in our beliefs. We try, to the best of our ability, to take into account as many factors as possible, that distort our perception, when we try to figure out the truth.
The second view is that there are no absolute truths and that therefore everyone carries their individual truths. This view means that we are free to believe what we want and no one is more right or wrong than anyone else. Except, perhaps, when it comes to hard, indisputable facts.
In philosophy, the first stance would be called “objectivism” and the second would be called “relativism”.
While the second option might seem humble and inclusive to many, it in reality leads us into a fantasy land where there is no common ground to stand on. It also sort of makes everyone the god of their own world, which does not sound so humble anymore. Furthermore, if there is such a thing as objective truth, we will almost inevitably end up in the wrong place if we discard the idea that there is such a truth. And in my humble opinion, there is absolutely and undeniably such a truth. Even when it comes to moral issues. I have a somewhat simple view when it comes to this. One which cannot be used in an absolute sense. But what I basically believe, is that the best way of determining moral truth is when a particular moral stance is put into practice. And most ideas have been put into practice, in one way or another.
For example, if our current cultural values create a well functioning society, happy individuals and leaders that lead our countries in a positive direction, then our moral values are true. If not, they are false.
Many of our brightest minds tell us that we are nothing more than intelligent, pleasure seeking animals. If this is true, those that put this philosophy into practice should be the happiest, most well functioning individuals in society. I can of course only speak for myself. But during the time when I put this philosophy into practice in my teens and early twenties, I was poor, lazy, overweight, emotionally numb and I engaged in destructive partying every weekend, which would have led to addiction eventually if I had kept it up. I know that I’m an extreme example. But I met many people like myself in my youth.
Now, let’s get back to the question of “my truth”. We can use the worn out analogy of the map. Let’s say that we are going to walk through a forest. This is not the typical kind of forest. It’s a forest full of traps. Luckily, many people have gone before us through to forest. So there is a map that they all have contributed to. Someone gives us this map. It contains both the right direction and the traps clearly highlighted. But we take one look at the forest and the map, whereupon we decide that we want to find our own way. Following a map is no fun and the forest is much more beautiful in places that deviate from the known route. I think the answer is obvious to the question of whether this is a wise choice.
Is this analogy correct? Or am I simplifying things too much? Well, in my experience we don’t usually really know what we truly want. Our capacity self-deception is almost endless. Many end up destroying themselves. And even among those that don’t, many reach the end of their lives realizing that they have prioritized the wrong things. Which leads to a bitter end to an, on the surface, successful life. And even if we don’t feel this way when we reach the end of our lives, it’s still possible that we have prioritized the wrong things anyway.
This possibility is what I wish to wrap this up with. I’m not going to pretend that I know exactly what is going to happen after we die. Or if we are in danger of something bad happening to us after death if we make the wrong choices in this life. What I do know, is that life goes on after death in some way. Therefore, if we don’t view our life from the perspective of eternity, we will have the wrong perspective on a very fundamental level.
I also know for a fact that God exists, has an intelligence, a will and is personal. I know that God cares for each and everyone of us. Therefore, if we don’t view our life from this perspective, we will have the wrong perspective on a very fundamental level.
These two perspectives, if taken seriously, will have implications for how we view the factual claims about the world, as well as how we view moral truth. They will be the very mold that shapes our lives. They will demand things of us. Require us to change and become different from who we are. If we believe that we are going to live forever, many things that seem important from a finite perspective, such as career, wealth and social status, become unimportant. But I don’t think that the opposite is true. Our friends, family, our character and our moral choices are important both for this life and for the one to come. But some things that from a finite, atheist perspective are not just unimportant, but utterly nonsensical, such as going to church and in other ways spend time with God, become very important.
Therefore, I believe that these two perspectives need to be the foundation of the road that we travel on. They are true and written into everyone’s heart. And we don’t just need to believe that they are true. We also need to live as if they are. If we can’t feel them in our heart, it means that our hearts are numb. And if we don’t like the conclusions that they lead to and therefore decide to take a different route, we will inevitably get lost and fall into traps. This is why I believe that objective truth matters, no matter if that truth is about the physical world, spirituality or morals. In the end, when we start to see things clearly on a fundamental level, all of these areas fit together.
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