Poster Archive : FEBRUARY 2010
Message: 'There is no truth' - Is that true?
Bible verse: John 14:6 "Jesus said ... "I am ... the truth."
'God is dead' said Friedrich Nietzsche (German Philosopher 1844-1900). In saying this he concluded that this also meant the death of any fixed and eternal reference point for truth and morality. In effect, the death of truth and morality itself.
So, what was left? Was there only one truth left in the universe? The simple truth that: there is no truth? That seems too ironic. Too good to be, well ... true! But if it's not 'True', then where do truths come from?
Nietzsche was right, they can only come from God. Without God, everything is relative or disconnected. Yet Truth or 'truths' seem to come creeping into every discussion we have. Is gravity true? Is it true that our earth has a Sun? Is it true that certain historical events took place?
The Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) showed why there's no absolute morality without God. He noticed that people happily move from what is to what ought to happen. He called this the 'is/ought' problem. If there is something, for example I see a car crash, it doesn't mean I ought to do anything.
Hume's observation has led to a great deal of moral skepticism in our world. How can people reasonably assert that we 'should' do anything? In other words, just because you or I say something should happen, doesn't mean it should. Why should we care about murder or theft or saving the planet?
Yet it's striking that, apart from a few philosophers, most people live their lives as though absolute truths and real morals exist. And people all around the world are passionate about truth and morality. They care about who killed JFK or pedophilia or whether it's right to poach rare animals. And most people know that only God has the ultimate answers. Only God can be the reference point for truth and morality. Only God can rightly judge questions about what's happened in the world according to his own standards.
When Jesus came into the world he spoke about truth in the most radical way. He claimed to be truth itself. Jesus was claiming to be God, that central reference point from whom all truths proceed. This is why Christians all over the world worship Jesus. So if you want to find the truth then Christians say you need to meet Jesus. You can meet him in the pages of the Bible.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for being the source of truth and what is right. Thank you for sending Jesus, who embodies all that's true and good. AMEN.
