Truth
I have abandoned my search for absolute truth. Somehow the meaning of truth has wandered from fact to belief, belief being merely a fervent wish. Political parties throw the word “Truth” around like a dogmatic Frisbee of dynamic altered meaning.
I think that politicians robbed the concept of truth from fundamentalist churches. It worked well for the churches, so why not for politics. It is so odd seeing the word “Truth” used to garner alliances and I’m surprised that so many people fall into the false hope of the truth trap.
I love it when I see people such as Steven Colbert exposing the power of the word as a tool and bring forward words such as “Truthiness” to further demonstrate the abuse that is being bestowed upon the word “Truth.”
In my mind I again realigned the meaning the word “Truth.” I return to what it meant to me many years ago when I read a book called “The Physics of True.” This was a very technical book about how to “True” a bicycle wheel, which basically means how to adjust your spokes. True is the state of perfect balance and is very difficult to achieve with a bicycle wheel. If all things were equal it would be easier, but on every wheel there is a hole for the valve stem. You might not think that a little valve stem would make any difference, and at slow speeds you never notice, but get the wheel spinning at 50 miles per hour and the centrifical force of that added little nubbin starts making the wheels bounce. At 60 miles per hour the tire starts leaving the ground as the stem approaches its apex.
I’m sure we’ve all driven automobiles with a tire that wasn’t balanced. It feels disconcerting at best. Now imagine being on two thin wheels that are not perfectly balanced at 50 miles per hour. It is frightening.
In conclusion, the word “Truth” must be a derivative of the word “True.” ”True” is an expression of perfect balance. Please note that I am not using the word “Harmony” in this definition. That word deserves an entire article of its own. Balance and harmony are so difficult to achieve together that it’s not even worth trying for it. The achievement of the perfection of “True” alone is enough to make the universe smile.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 5:26 AM
7 Comments:
I'm a cynic as to what is "true" or what "truth" is. Few things in life are. And so you honour and cherish the "truths" you do find (or believe you've found.)
>>>Now imagine being on two thin wheels that are not perfectly balanced at 50 miles per hour. It is frightening.<<<
How about 150 mph?
On the path to truth there is a gate called "honesty" that one must first pass through.
Although this gate is but a short distance from Truth, it is the point most people just cannot or will not pass.
The honesty gate appears to be uncomfortable on several levels for those that consider squeezing through.
The first thing one sees as they approach the honesty gate is the mirror in the way.
Then there is the tattered, frail and naked poor little gatekeeper.
One must wash his feet to continue.
Then looking up into his face, there is no face, but again a mirror.
How much more of this can one endure?
I give up! Maybe I'll try again tommorrow. Don't want to miss American Idol....
'... a dogmatic Frisbee of dynamic altered meaning."
I believe you've added new meaning to the term "spin".
Beth, I'm not finding anything true out there.
Moose, drink up and let this one go by you.
Gearhead, TV truth.
Crowbar, After reading that again I have to agree with you...I admit, I am a douche.
THE ONLY TRUTH
The ONLY TRUTH that you know is that you exist. Nothing else is ABSOLUTELY true.
You can sense that you exist because you are aware that you are conscious.
LET ME PRESENT AN EXTREME POSSIBILITY FOR YOU:
You are a solitary cloud, a mind floating in a void.
There is no Earth, no Universe: only your spirit, your mind, your consciousness.
Out of boredom, your mind creates for you a vivid dream about a life as a human on an imaginary planet called Earth. You cannot tell that this imagined Reality is just a dream.
Everyone that you meet is only imaginary. When you touch something, you imagine the sensation, but it was not real. Reality is only your cloud and your consciousness.
You can’t even prove to someone that the world exists, since that person is just part of the dream
The above scene MAY be the real Truth and Reality. PROVE that this Scene is NOT the Truth.
The ONLY FACT that you know is that you exist and that your ideas and thoughts exist..
All other observations require the assumption that this universe and planet exist.
(The real question is, “Do you really want to find and accept the truth, regardless of how cold and painful It is, or would you be better off if you held to unproven beliefs that suited your needs, culture and comfort level?”)
To seek the truth regarding religions, you should make an unbiased evaluation of each religion to find the True one. Give each one an equal unbiased chance.
You can't choose a religion because it suits your taste or culture. You should want the truth, regardless of how unpleasant. If you choose one religion at random and the world has, say,10,000 different religions, each one has one chance in 10,000 of being correct, if, indeed, ANY of them represent the truth. One in 10,000 equals nearly zero odds of choosing the correct God or religious doctrine.
If you study the religions, you find that there is no way to prove that any one of them is the
truth. They require that you must accept certain premises, such as that their writings are the absolute truth.
Why do people usually believe in their local religion?
Why should a certain religion, such as Buddhism, be so widely believed by people in a Buddhist country? Why do people become Christians in predominantly Christian areas of the USA?
Which Religion is correct?
For Christianity to be believed to be the true religion, you must assume that some statements in the Bible are the absolute truth. But when you study the history of the Bible, you find that the various books were selected or excluded by committees of clergy.
What about God? If He, She, They or It are good, bad or indifferent, you have no solid way of proving that he/she/them/it is/are the TRUE god/s.
None of the religions can PROVE that their gods and their beliefs are true and that other religions
are wrong.
SO DOES GOD NOT EXIST?
Atheists have no more proof that God does not exist than do other religions have proof of their
validity. Atheism is just another religion.
A more accurate position is to say that maybe God does or does not exist. You can never determine this by available information. So don’t waste time trying to argue the point.
Since you can't find ABSOLUTE truth, where do you go from here?
Since all that I can interact with is what I see around me, I instead must accept the earth and my limited human existence as the only reality. Such assumptions serve only as a necessary OPERATIONAL truth, not as ABSOLUTE truth. I always keep an open mind to the possible existence of God or Gods and realize that I may one day have a personal experience which changes my view of reality. Until then, my operational reality consists of the following:
1) God does not exist or does not matter.
2) This physical world and my existence are the only reality.
3) When I am dead, I'm gone. There is no afterlife or rebirth.
4) Any event or personal experience which suggests the possibility of the existence of God or a true religion should be viewed as a natural event of this world until proven otherwise.
I would call this viewpoint functional atheism. Whether God exists or does not exist cannot be
determined. So live your life as if God does not exist.
Anon, I happy I opened the door for your stroll, but it was really an article about bicycle wheels. I know I huffed it with a philosophical lean, but ... Anyway, in case you are interested, I am an Atheist. I try not to be too preachy about it because I don't want to offend any readers who believe otherwise. Everyone should believe in Santa for a time in their life as well. Thanks for your thoughtful reply
Sadly, truth is subjective. You hear people talk about "your truth" or "my truth" and you know it's completely bogus.
Personally, I think there are people with common sense and reasoning skills and those without. Those without have a very wonky sense of what truth is and their place in the universe.
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