TRUTH and lie can sound and look
alike. Both can make use
of hard data and facts. The challenge now is how to distinguish
between the two. It can happen that the lie can have greater appeal
than the truth that often requires more effort, sacrifice, humility,
etc., while the lie can offer instant convenience and other practical
advantages.
Bluntly said, knowing the truth is dealing with God
through Christ in the Spirit. It’s living by faith, by God’s
commandments. It’s not just us with our human resources studying and
discovering things on our own, and accumulating all sorts of facts and
data.
This latter way can have an impressive show of evidence
but lacks the spirit that makes those facts and data the truth. That’s
because for truth to be truth, it will always be infused with charity,
mercy, justice, etc. It cannot be any other way.
Without God, without the proper spirit, those facts and
data would simply be at the mercy of our whims and personal interests
which are always tainted with our frailties. Sooner or later, malice
can animate those pieces of evidence and proceed to exploit them to
one’s own or selfish advantage.
Nowadays, it’s good that people are aware that there many
kinds of truth. You have truths that come from the physical sciences,
or from the social and political sciences, or from our legal system.
There are also truths that just come from our common sense, or from
our direct contact with people, things and events.
Because of these kinds of truth, we are also quite aware
that there are truths that are stable, and others not so, being
subject to some changes and are therefore evolving. There are truths
that we consider big, others small, some very important, others not
so, etc.
There are many sources from which the truth can come to
us. We just have to realize that truth has a range and scope that
spans from the here-and-now to eternity, that covers the material and
spiritual, the natural and supernatural, the created and contingent
truths on the one hand, and the absolute, necessary, primary and
ultimate truth, on the other.
We have to be wary when we confine ourselves in our
appreciation of truth to what is only here-and-now, material, natural
and contingent. That, I’m afraid, is the predicament of many of us, a
predicament that we need to solve and get rid of.
As we can readily realize, we are equipped to know the
truth. We have senses that can immediately capture the sensible,
material realities. We have intelligence that can discern intelligible
and spiritual (non-material) realities like essence of things, the
causes and effects of things, etc.
In pursuit of the truth, we can see, hear, feel, intuit,
then think, judge, reason, discuss, argue, conclude, discover, invent,
etc. We just have to realize also that we actually are also wired for
faith that would enable us to discern not only spiritual realities but
also supernatural ones. We can enter into the world of mysteries which
are also truths, in fact, a higher kind of truth.
Our problem now is that many of us refuse to go far enough
in seeking the truth. They get stuck somewhere, short of referring
themselves to God, the source of all truth. And thus, we can arrive at
a point once described by St. Paul in the following words:
“Know this also, that in the last days shall come
dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty,
proud, blasphemers, wicked, without affection, without peace,
slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness…” (3,1-3)
Every time I read these words and look at least at what we
see in the media that mirror the temper of our times, I can’t help but
notice the connection between the warning and the reality around us. I
can only gasp, “How true!”
Many people don’t pray anymore. They have made God a thing
of the past, or at best, considered merely as a museum piece or an
ornament. They now proudly talk about how the present is now a
post-religion era.
Obviously, with this mindset detached from God, the source
and measure of truth, we should not be surprised when we can witness a
lot of delusions and sophisms or circular, closed-circuit reasoning.
What to do? Go back to God, of course. Revitalize
religion. Strengthen the faith. Thus, St. Paul says: “Preach the word,
be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke in all
patience and doctrine.” (4,2)
Reason and science cannot go alone without faith, without
God. They’d be flying in dangerous circles.
of hard data and facts. The challenge now is how to distinguish
between the two. It can happen that the lie can have greater appeal
than the truth that often requires more effort, sacrifice, humility,
etc., while the lie can offer instant convenience and other practical
advantages.
Bluntly said, knowing the truth is dealing with God
through Christ in the Spirit. It’s living by faith, by God’s
commandments. It’s not just us with our human resources studying and
discovering things on our own, and accumulating all sorts of facts and
data.
This latter way can have an impressive show of evidence
but lacks the spirit that makes those facts and data the truth. That’s
because for truth to be truth, it will always be infused with charity,
mercy, justice, etc. It cannot be any other way.
Without God, without the proper spirit, those facts and
data would simply be at the mercy of our whims and personal interests
which are always tainted with our frailties. Sooner or later, malice
can animate those pieces of evidence and proceed to exploit them to
one’s own or selfish advantage.
Nowadays, it’s good that people are aware that there many
kinds of truth. You have truths that come from the physical sciences,
or from the social and political sciences, or from our legal system.
There are also truths that just come from our common sense, or from
our direct contact with people, things and events.
Because of these kinds of truth, we are also quite aware
that there are truths that are stable, and others not so, being
subject to some changes and are therefore evolving. There are truths
that we consider big, others small, some very important, others not
so, etc.
There are many sources from which the truth can come to
us. We just have to realize that truth has a range and scope that
spans from the here-and-now to eternity, that covers the material and
spiritual, the natural and supernatural, the created and contingent
truths on the one hand, and the absolute, necessary, primary and
ultimate truth, on the other.
We have to be wary when we confine ourselves in our
appreciation of truth to what is only here-and-now, material, natural
and contingent. That, I’m afraid, is the predicament of many of us, a
predicament that we need to solve and get rid of.
As we can readily realize, we are equipped to know the
truth. We have senses that can immediately capture the sensible,
material realities. We have intelligence that can discern intelligible
and spiritual (non-material) realities like essence of things, the
causes and effects of things, etc.
In pursuit of the truth, we can see, hear, feel, intuit,
then think, judge, reason, discuss, argue, conclude, discover, invent,
etc. We just have to realize also that we actually are also wired for
faith that would enable us to discern not only spiritual realities but
also supernatural ones. We can enter into the world of mysteries which
are also truths, in fact, a higher kind of truth.
Our problem now is that many of us refuse to go far enough
in seeking the truth. They get stuck somewhere, short of referring
themselves to God, the source of all truth. And thus, we can arrive at
a point once described by St. Paul in the following words:
“Know this also, that in the last days shall come
dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty,
proud, blasphemers, wicked, without affection, without peace,
slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness…” (3,1-3)
Every time I read these words and look at least at what we
see in the media that mirror the temper of our times, I can’t help but
notice the connection between the warning and the reality around us. I
can only gasp, “How true!”
Many people don’t pray anymore. They have made God a thing
of the past, or at best, considered merely as a museum piece or an
ornament. They now proudly talk about how the present is now a
post-religion era.
Obviously, with this mindset detached from God, the source
and measure of truth, we should not be surprised when we can witness a
lot of delusions and sophisms or circular, closed-circuit reasoning.
What to do? Go back to God, of course. Revitalize
religion. Strengthen the faith. Thus, St. Paul says: “Preach the word,
be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke in all
patience and doctrine.” (4,2)
Reason and science cannot go alone without faith, without
God. They’d be flying in dangerous circles.
No comments:
Post a Comment