What is Truth?
“What is Truth?” John 18:38
The Roman Governor Pilate asked Jesus a question which could just as easily be on the lips of anyone today with a postmodernism worldview, “What is truth?” Is there absolute truth, or is all truth (and morals, values, etc.) relative to ones own unique perspective, as postmodernism seems to inherently believe without much thought. A comment might be “well that might be true for you, but it’s not true for me.” One of my favorite responses to people who chaff at anyone who claims there are absolute truths is to ask “are you absolutely sure of that?” Which is a no win response because if they respond, “yes” they have made an absolute statement thereby contradicting their argument. If they say, “no” they have allowed there to be a possibility of absolutes. Or I could invite them to defy the Law of Gravity (which of course no one can because it is a proven absolute Law). But someone might say, that is scientific truth, it is different. How? Because it can be proven? As though science is infallible and absolute and everything else relative? More likely we want something to be true or not to be true because it benefits or doesn’t benefit us. We don’t have to change or align with an absolute, we want it to accommodate us. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).” Jesus is truth, and came to testify to the truth, to deny his message of truth, particularly that he is God’s Son sent by the Father to save us from our sin and bring us to God, is to deny Jesus (1 John 2:22-23), which is also to deny the Father. We need to be very careful when we accept a worldview which begins and ends with us, and our perspective and desires, rather than a transcendent reality and truth presented through God’s Son who died and rose from the dead (thereby proving his claims). Not only is it incredibly self-centered, it is flawed by our own pride and limited perceptions. Are we willing to seek the truth presented by and through Jesus with humility and thoughtfulness? It is the only way to truly have eternal and abundant life.