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George Gallup is quoted as having
said, “It’s not that Americans no longer believe anything. It’s
that they believe everything.” Presently it would appear that there
is a great deal of truth to his opinion. For many in our society,
every opinion is a truth worth embracing. No one wants appear to be
disagreeable on the questions of life’s meaning, religion, morals or
values—least someone brand them as narrow-minded. Evidently for
some, all points are valid and all philosophies are to be embraced in
some form, unless they exclude some ideas as valid. Some clearly
feel that the line of demarcation between traditional belief systems
and new accepted norms must be erased altogether.
But can we really arrive at a
meaningful and accurate understanding of truth by attempting to
travel all roads at the same time? Perhaps what is really being
attempted in America, under the guise of intellectual enlightenment,
is the annihilation of certain truths that are based on a particular
religious belief system that has been rejected because of the demands
that it places upon each individual it confronts.
What many Americans love more than
truth is actually the freedom of self-expression, which can be a good
thing, as long as it is not confused with truth. The two are not
necessarily compatible. Truth is based wholly on what is legitimate,
justifiable, and valid—not what is merely pleasurable, exciting, or
gratifying for the individual. To confuse truth with self-expression
is to make truth subjective, ever-changing, and to rob it of its
objective—which is to bring stability to the reality of the human
existence.
To equate self-expression with truth is
to call into question the validity of all established beliefs
systems, which I realize is the goal of some. But, if we are
pursuing truth from a false or biased premise can we ever be assured
that we will ever reach our destination?
Yes, I am aware that truth can be
perverted, used wrongly, and become a weapon in the hands of some
through which the minds, hearts and even the lives of others are
injured. Yet, do we abandon truth in favor of self-expression and
self-gratification or do we simply make greater demands upon people
to abide by the truth? Do we change truth to fit our present desires
or do we separate the two without insisting upon being shielded from
the rejection of others by wrapping ourselves in a cloak of distorted
truth?
We are only scratching the surface
here, but it is nevertheless valid to question whether some are
actually on a search for truth or just out to promote an agenda which
includes the redefining of truth so that “truth” can accommodate
their choices and lifestyles. In the final analysis, humanity has
always had to contend with the temptation to become its own god.
Humans talk much of seeking out truth, but the underlying issue that
remains, and threatens to taint the best of intentions, is that some
want to be their own God and determine for themselves the difference
between good and evil without anyone to contradict them. It is an
old problem. (Genesis 3:1-19)
In the future,
Americans must be on guard against promoters of false “truth” as
never before. As we increase in knowledge and understanding let us
not be sidetracked by the trap of human pride that either tells us
that we have nothing new to learn or that all beliefs are valid.
After all, humans are prone to go to one of the two extremes.
Nevertheless, if we are more interested in validating real truth than
in validating human desires we can see a turn-around in America’s
thinking
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