By Carol Walker
Last weekend at a conference called “Heroic Truth Experience,” Sean McDowell gave his answer to the age old question, “What is truth?” by saying a statement is true if it matches up with reality. He went on to say objective truths are facts of the external world, while subjective claims are personal, private and can change.
Having a jar of Skittles containing various flavors, one would demonstrate objective truth by counting how many are in the jar, while polling people for each one’s favorite flavor would typify subjective claims. McDowell, who is particularly concerned about youth, said research shows that 81 percent of youth have adopted the view that all truth is relative to the individual and his or her circumstances.
My belief that lime is the best flavor of Skittles is my personal opinion, but a statement of truth is how things are in the real world. McDowell went on to talk about Jesus Christ as a real person who walked the earth more than 2,000 years ago, and though many people reject the historical resurrection of Christ, the fact is, either the tomb was empty or not. Philosopher J.P. Moreland said, “Truth is disgustingly indifferent to what we believe.”
In regard to Christ, C.S. Lewis said that it would be ludicrous for someone to say they can believe Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not God, because considering the claims He made of being one with His Father, he could not be a great moral teacher. He would be, in essence, a liar or a lunatic. Lewis said, “You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”
McDowell ‘s father, Josh McDowell, well-versed in the Bible, said there are more than 300 prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah, Christ.
Josh has a passion for documents of antiquity, particularly the Bible, and believes the preserved written words over the centuries, adds validity to the truth of the history and journeying of God’s people as well as Christ and His words. Josh brought with him to the weekend conference a 600-year old, 72-ft. long scroll made of calf-skin, on which the first five books of the Bible were meticulously copied by scribes from earlier documents. He showed much older portions of Biblical text extracted from layers of burial masks. He said of all the manuscripts of antiquity, the Bible has far more documentation than any other. Currently, 66,000 scrolls and documents from the Bible have been discovered, with the Iliad coming in second at about 1,800.
Josh went on to say that the move away from objective truth is one of three things that are dramatically changing the way youth (or anyone for that matter) look at the world today. The second thing is the Internet, offering subjective claims of all “flavors” at our fingertips, and third, pornography. The prevalence of those who view pornography is high and it colors one’s view of the world, possibly even changes the brain chemistry.
When I hear men like the McDowells express the absolute truth of the Bible, I realize my limitations in communicating as they do, but I have read and experienced enough in life to concur with their conclusions. There is absolute truth, and it is expressed in the Bible and the living Word, Christ.
Last weekend at a conference called “Heroic Truth Experience,” Sean McDowell gave his answer to the age old question, “What is truth?” by saying a statement is true if it matches up with reality. He went on to say objective truths are facts of the external world, while subjective claims are personal, private and can change.
Having a jar of Skittles containing various flavors, one would demonstrate objective truth by counting how many are in the jar, while polling people for each one’s favorite flavor would typify subjective claims. McDowell, who is particularly concerned about youth, said research shows that 81 percent of youth have adopted the view that all truth is relative to the individual and his or her circumstances.
My belief that lime is the best flavor of Skittles is my personal opinion, but a statement of truth is how things are in the real world. McDowell went on to talk about Jesus Christ as a real person who walked the earth more than 2,000 years ago, and though many people reject the historical resurrection of Christ, the fact is, either the tomb was empty or not. Philosopher J.P. Moreland said, “Truth is disgustingly indifferent to what we believe.”
In regard to Christ, C.S. Lewis said that it would be ludicrous for someone to say they can believe Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not God, because considering the claims He made of being one with His Father, he could not be a great moral teacher. He would be, in essence, a liar or a lunatic. Lewis said, “You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”
McDowell ‘s father, Josh McDowell, well-versed in the Bible, said there are more than 300 prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah, Christ.
Josh has a passion for documents of antiquity, particularly the Bible, and believes the preserved written words over the centuries, adds validity to the truth of the history and journeying of God’s people as well as Christ and His words. Josh brought with him to the weekend conference a 600-year old, 72-ft. long scroll made of calf-skin, on which the first five books of the Bible were meticulously copied by scribes from earlier documents. He showed much older portions of Biblical text extracted from layers of burial masks. He said of all the manuscripts of antiquity, the Bible has far more documentation than any other. Currently, 66,000 scrolls and documents from the Bible have been discovered, with the Iliad coming in second at about 1,800.
Josh went on to say that the move away from objective truth is one of three things that are dramatically changing the way youth (or anyone for that matter) look at the world today. The second thing is the Internet, offering subjective claims of all “flavors” at our fingertips, and third, pornography. The prevalence of those who view pornography is high and it colors one’s view of the world, possibly even changes the brain chemistry.
When I hear men like the McDowells express the absolute truth of the Bible, I realize my limitations in communicating as they do, but I have read and experienced enough in life to concur with their conclusions. There is absolute truth, and it is expressed in the Bible and the living Word, Christ.