Truth? (Part 1)

Are you a lover of the truth? Or philosophically, can you know the truth? Truth has taken a lot of abuse, especially over the last century and a half. Beginning with Hegel’s musings and progressing through the relativism and tolerance of our age, truth is under fire.

Scientific methodology has progressed to a sophistication that renders man’s understanding truly astounding. In fact, man’s capability has such momentum—knowledge doubles every year...and IBM says knowledge will soon double every twelve hours—that truth derived via scientific methodology seems inevitable, and therefore dependable given enough time.

And that begs the question: What of truth can be known, and is there any such thing as absolute truth, that is, truth without doubt or question? Interject theology, and the question becomes: Can the absolute truth of God be known?

These are fair questions, and ones we should ponder. But asking the right question is only the beginning. Analyzing the question correctly is also essential, and this is where many stumble.

It will not consistently work to apply scientific methodology in our quest to determine the truth—or not—of God. To believe otherwise is an error in logic. God will not allow Himself to be figured out by man’s intellect. The Bible speaks of it this way: “Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Rm. 1:22).

Let’s be clear about our definitions. Science produces hypotheses, which in time progress to theories, and if proven predictable become laws. So, you have the laws of gravity and thermodynamics, and you have the theory of evolution, the theory of strings within quantum theory, and then you have the study of fields like archeology, medicine, and zoology.

But the question remains: What is truth and can you know truth? That's coming up next.