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Imagine living in a world where the best answer you can get to the most profound questions in life is, “I can’t tell you for sure. The search for truth is still advancing.” That’s not a very satisfying response to me. The search for truth must end somewhere. It can’t simply carry on for hundreds or thousands of years with no resolution.

The “search for truth” can be taken a couple of different ways. For example, if I want to know the origin of life, that’s a pretty major search – it could take a while. We’ll come back to that one. But if I want to know the truth about what I had for dinner last night, that’s not too hard. Surely there’s some evidence which can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I had a chili-cheese, extra-long Coney Dog from Sonic. There may be physical evidence, like a used wrapper or a receipt. Or perhaps there’s anecdotal evidence, like the testimony of my neighbor, who I stopped and talked with around dinner time while holding a Sonic bag. We can use the rules of evidence to determine the truth about what I had for dinner last night. Therefore, the truth can be known for sure, beyond a reasonable doubt.

What about this scenario: I’m going for my afternoon run and a strange dog approaches me on the road. Can I know the truth about whether this dog is friendly or mean? Will I get bit or will I get licked to death? I don’t know. I might have an intuition about this dog based on past experience with other dogs, but I can’t know it’s nature for sure just by looking at it. At first I might say, “I can’t tell you for sure the truth about this dog.” But given enough time and experience with this dog, I think I could tell you beyond a reasonable doubt whether it’s friendly or mean. If I walk past it for 1,000 straight days and the dog never threatens me, then I can surely say it’s not a mean dog. Given enough time and evidence, the truth can be known about this dog.

Take this scenario: I’m out in the woods in search of mushrooms. Can I know the truth about whether the mushrooms I pick are edible or poisonous? Without prior knowledge and experience with mushrooms, I can’t tell just by looking at them. But if someone taught me the difference between good and bad mushrooms, if they showed me using authoritative books or other materials, then I would have the knowledge to determine which mushrooms are truly good and which are not. Which is a good thing, because I don’t want to get sick and die from eating bad mushrooms.

Recently I read a statement on the Unitarian Universalist website which describes their worldview. The statement reads, “As there is no official Unitarian Universalist creed, Unitarian Universalists are free to search for truth on many paths. To quote the Rev. Marta Flanagan, ‘We uphold the free search for truth. We will not be bound by a statement of belief. We do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed. We say ours is a non-creedal religion. Ours is a free faith.’” Elsewhere on their website, the UUA claims it “advocates freedom of belief and the search for advancing truth.”

I find it curious that the UUA claims as members followers of many beliefs, such as Christianity, Judaism, Humanism and Atheism. I take it that when the UUA refers to the search for advancing truth, it is not really referring to the truth about my dinner last night, or the nature of strange dogs, or how to determine whether a mushroom are good or bad for you. I believe it is referring to the larger questions of life, such as where did I come from, why am I here, and so on. The UUA advocates that many belief systems can potentially lead one to the truth.

I wonder if the law of non-contradiction has a place in their worldview? You know, the principle which says, “that two antithetical propositions cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense. X cannot be non-X. A thing cannot be and not be simultaneously. And nothing that is true can be self-contradictory or inconsistent with any other truth.” (Phillip Johnson, 1995) Followers of different belief systems make truth claims which are contradictory. Atheists claim there is no God while Christians claim God exists and can be known in a personal way. These are contradictory statements which cannot be simultaneously true. However, the UUA seems to overlook rational thought and established law when it advocates that many (contradictory) belief systems can lead to the truth.

I know that these kind of observations are considered intolerant by some. However, using faulty logic to avoid facing absolute truth may be taking tolerance a bit too far. The UUA has a lofty goal of all people achieving eternal life. But this pursuit has to be consistent with the laws nature and reason by which we live right now. I can ignore the rules of evidence which help me determine good mushrooms from bad, and I will suffer the consequences. The same applies to spiritual things. Ignoring the law of non-contradiction may also lead to the inability to discover absolute truth, which leads to true eternal life. Jesus claimed that He is the way, the truth, and the life. And nobody comes to the Father except through Him (Jesus). Sounds pretty exclusive, which upsets some folks. But that’s a statement which is consistent with the laws we know and live by everyday. Maybe we should give it some serious consideration.

I’m not sure if it’s wise to post the first blog on April 1st! Maybe this will be taken as one big joke. Perhaps that’s the way God ordained it, since Truth is so often mocked in this postmodern world. That’s why our task here is to bring His truth into the sights of regular people like you and me. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, I hope to have conversations about the Truth. I can share some insights and so can you. The more we think about and discuss the Truth, the closer we’ll be to Him. Proverbs 12:15 proclaims, “The way of a fool is right in his own opinion, but the one who listens to advice is wise.” (NET Bible) Can there really be many truths or many paths to truth in this world? Is every truth opinion equally valid? Jesus Christ was Truth Incarnate, and we would be wise to listen to His advice. Of course, I just made a truth statement when I declared that Jesus was “Truth Incarnate.” There are lots of people in this world who don’t accept that statement and have their own opinion. Is that foolish? Am I foolish? Whose opinion is ultimately right? Who gets to decide what’s right? On this April Fool’s day of 2008, let’s move from childish pranks toward real answers about Real Truth. This isn’t a joke, but the journey to truth insights is fun, and I hope you will join along for the ride!

Blessings (really, no kidding),

Doug