Chapter 1: Can We Handle The Truth? Flashcards
Why is truth so important to people?
Because knowing what is true and what is false impacts every area of our lives
Augustine quote about truth:
“We love truth when it enlightens us, but we hate it when it convicts us”
What point does Paul make in Romans 1: 18-32
How men suppress the truth by their wickedness / people rather suppress the truth so they can feel free to do what they want
God did not create evil why?
Because evil is not a thing - rather it is a lack or privation in a thing - evil only exists as a parasite to good
Ie if you take all the cancer out of a body what do you have? A better body. If you take all the body out of a cancer what do you have? Nothing because you can’t
Why is it important to know truth?
All ideas have consequences. False ideas about truth lead to false ideas about life. Only by knowing what is really true can we live in a way that corresponds to reality
Why do many people demand absolute truth in every area of their lives except religion and morality?
Most often this double standard is a result of our stubborn will - we just simply don’t want to be accountable to any moral standard or religious doctrine that would limit the way we should behave
List 6 truths about truth and why they are important
1) Truth is discovered, not invented, it exists independent of anyone’s knowledge of it
(Truth is not based on finite human understanding or fallible human application)
2) Truth is transcultural - it is true for all people, at all places, at all times (Truth is not based on society’s flexible description)
3) Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth may change (Truth is not affected by popular beliefs at the moment, it remains constant throughout history)
4) Beliefs cannot change a fact no matter how sincerely they are held (Truth doesn’t change based on sincerity)
5) Truth is not affected by the attitude of the one professing it (The way the truth is presented cannot change the truth itself)
6) All truths are absolute truths, even ones that appear relative like preference claims (this means that there really aren’t any relative truths)
What does “contrary beliefs are possible, but contrary truths are not possible”
Although we can believe everything is true, we cannot actually make everything true. Truth is not subject to our changing whims or desires
How is a preference claim still an absolute truth?
Take for example the statement “John likes chocolate better than vanilla”
That statement is absolutely true when referring to the person with the preference. It is absolutely true for all persons, at all times, in all places, that when referring to John, he prefers chocolate over vanilla right now. That is absolutely true.
Use the RR tactic:
“There is not truth”
Is that true?
Use RR Tactic:
“All truth is relative”
Is that a relative truth?
Use RR tactic
“That’s true for you, but not for me” and give example
Is that statement true for everyone?
If you went to withdraw $5000 from your bank account, knowing you only had $50 in it, would the bank teller hand over the 5 grand if you told her that the $50 balance was only true for her but not for you?
