Quid est veritas?

That question was once asked to a man who absolutely knew the answer. The one who asked used it as a rhetorical dig as he left the room, however. Romans. What can you do?

Been thinking though, and so I wonder; what is truth?

To a Christian, the answer is plainly spelled out. Jesus said "I am the Way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

So yeah. What's Truth? Dictionary.com defines it as:

1.the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.

2.conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.

3.a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.

4.the state or character of being true.

5.actuality or actual existence.

6.an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.

7.honesty; integrity; truthfulness.

8.(often initial capital letter) ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience: the basic truths of life.

9.agreement with a standard or original.

10.accuracy, as of position or adjustment.

11.Archaic. fidelity or constancy.

Truth then, is a fairly simple concept. It is, what is. God's word=truth. The existence of the planet you're standing on=truth.

Why then, is their a debate on what truth is? Watch your TV, or read the paper. You'll see countless people trying to push the idea that truth is up to the person. Any truth that limit's is simply corrupt people forcing their idea's onto you. My truth is different, but not better, than your truth, and forcing a certain truth upon someone is wrong. Or even better, that truth can be created by science.

In my thinking, it's a rejection of authority. To admit to there being a truth that is true for all people, you have to admit that someone higher than yourself set down that truth. There is some evidence in the book of Truth:

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 56:3).

And in Timothy "For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new" (4:3).

Supposedly, removing all rocks from the path (but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.), will allow world peace will come. Removing religion, all encompassing truth, and letting each person decide what is right for them, means no conflict. No conflict means no wars, no wars means no big guns and food that lasts forever on the shelves. Humanity can throw off stuffy, dogmatic, ideas and move on to a bright future.

And it may so, for a time. Lack of conflict may drive everyone into sleep, but it would also stop fighting. If everyone could accept each other, there would be no hatred.

But that ideology denies a simple fact: Humanity itself. There can be no rules if truth is up to each person; what you see as speeding, I see as simply getting there faster. Stealing is borrowing, and jaywalking is exercising my free will over the puny little light that attempts to rule me.

On the plus side, school get's easier because there's no way to fail a test. Drivers licenses are handed out to four year old's, and I can legally carry lock picks around. No wrong means breaking into McDonalds and borrowing all their chicken sammiches is only the way I choose to feed myself.

But if there is no rules, what is to stop worse things from happening? The concept of relativism and self truth relies on the idea that humanity itself is good...

And what if I decided my truth was best? Place three people in a room, each has their own truth, their own version of how they see reality. One is a scientist, one is a stock boy, and the third is a boxer. They each discuss how they see the world, and everything is fine. No reason to move backward and start arguing.

Until, that is, the boxer realizes his truth is the best, and really should be the one everyone follows. He could easily enforce this revelation. So he tells the other two, and they disagree. So the boxer decks the scientist across the face, and asks him to reconsider. Suddenly, his truth isn't seeming that bad after all.

So then, if someone has the muscle, they can define truth in a world without it. One force determines truth strictly by that force, to deny it is to be placed in pain. This is not--blessedly and with much thanks to Him--how God operates. He certainly has the muscle, but He instead chose to let us act how we want, giving His only Son as His own act--one of love.

Simple: just create a police force ensuring that no person is denied the right to their own truth, so the above scenario never happens. But that would require forcing a version of truth upon someone they may not agree with, and who controls them? There is no end to this chain.

Truth, the stuff from God, is a regulator. A fence, not keeping us locked inside, but keeping evil locked out. If, that is, we choose to follow and apply it to our lives. It can stare us in the face forever, but unless we open the door, it won't come in. God's not going to beat us over the head with a brick.

And the oddest thing is, the truth is a rock solid foundation, an unchangeable something, set down before time began, and unchanged since then... And yet still "Veritas vos liberabit". The truth will set you free. It unchains us, not ties us down.

To a Christian, the truth is especially important. Relativism has no place in us. It's part of the armor of God. Not only a part, but the part the brings everything together. The belt of truth (Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest" Eph. 6: 14). Meaning, if you leave truth behind, you're likely going to lose your pants at sometime during the battle.

Not only that, but sword's tend to hang off a belt. And the sword, in this case, is the Sword of the Spirit. Leave your belt behind, and not only with the metal mini skirt (Romans wore it in battle...I don't know why) drop, you won't have a weapon.

Standing pantless and weaponless on the spiritual field of battle...what a way to go.

Not that I'm claiming to know only truth, and that you should listen to me to find it. Jesus is the Truth, not me. Listen to Him. I'm totally fallible.

So what is truth? Necessary, for one thing. God sent, for another. And in the end, unchangeable. Defining my own truth doesn't change what the truth is. It's always there, the foundation of society, humanity, ETC. We can try to bury it, forget about it, or deny it's existence. But sometimes, you have to climb the mountain before you can see how big it is.