February 13, 2010
Half-Full?...Half-Empty?...Half-Baked!!!
It is simply half-a-glass of something!!! "How much do you need to accomplish your objective?" is the real question. From inception to apparent omni-relevance, pondering "fullness" or "emptiness" has been a ruse designed to send a fundamental intellectual pursuit on a "wild goose chase." It is an intentional misdirection of focus! The only meaningful "fact" in this exercise is that there is half-a-glass. How you feel about it (full or empty, happy or sad) is irrelevant. The only pertinent question is, "How much of this do I need for the task at hand?". In other words, worrying about how "full" or "empty" it is means nothing compared to figuring out if it is "enough!" Once again, using your emotional response as foundation for the discovery of TRUTH leads to confused or circular thought. TRUTH is only rooted in fact and is therefore relevant. Feelings and perspectives fluctuate based on the individual; therefore, any assertions based on them are invalid as a foundation for enlightenment or advancement.
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We are designed creations and by nature are emotional beings who are influenced by our feelings. Truth of course is always truth but our perception of it will create negative or positive feelings; it will instill encouragement or discouragement within the heart and mind of a person. That positive or negative mind set is vital to ones determination and perseverence. "Perseverence produces character and character produces hope". These are necessary attributes as we journey through life. Encouragement, perseverence and attitude can get us through the toughest of times even when the "truth" or facts in themselves may not generate much confidence.
ReplyDeleteAs we trudge through the desert we STILL have a half canteen of water.
We STILL have 10 hours of a 20 hour deadline to get an assignment finished.
Our team is way behind at half time but we STILL have the 2nd half to go.
"It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings!"
There IS an absolute truth; truth that does not change and is not determined by our perspective or feelings about it: God is. God is love. You are. You are loved by God.
A person may not percieve Gods love and therefore cannot feel His love. But by changing your perspective through faith in His Word (His Word is truth; Jesus is truth--John 17:17; John 14:6)you can both know and experience God's love. But whether we feel it or not the truth is God is and God loves you
Well said. Let us be clear, however my friend, you are referring to faith. Faith is not the same as truth. To paraphrase the 2/18 "Think About It" on the right side of this website, "...Truth is. Perspective is whatever..."and clearly faith is hope. Faith is an inherent component of perspective. Faith is the "drawstring" we all use to seal the "sack" containing the final answers to all of our own philosophical, spiritual, existential, etc... questions. It is our best attempt to describe the indescribable and intangible. For example, the atheist professes an extraordinarily courageous expression of faith in that despite all the obvious physical evidence (current discoveries in micro-biology, mathematical probability analysis, logic, etc...)they continue to maintain that there is no higher authority, designer, creator, etc.. This requires enormous faith! Here's how: While there are overwhelming indications that a higher-intelligence exists, there is nothing provable through the "scientific method." This is the initial intellectual comfort taken by the atheist while rationalizing their belief. This is a temporary comfort because in their deepest, darkest corners of consciousness, the atheist knows that there is nothing provable through the "scientific method" that would indicate the lack of existence of a higher power. At the end of the day, faith is the only component of perspective that matters because it is our hope that what we believe is TRUTH. Faith is necessarily TRUTH in the perspective of the faithfull. It is, however, objectively different from TRUTH. This is why atheists display more faith than anyone who believes in any "higher authority." Most humans (from primitive tribal peoples to any modern or post-modern society) believe that there is something that exists on a "higher" level. Atheists are a miniscule minority who consciously choose to "bet" their existential "farm" on the biggest of conceptual "longshots". I am saying all this to clarify that faith is intellectually legitimate because everybody has faith in something (even if it is NOTHING); but, it is rooted in one's perspective; and, our perspective demonstrably does not always allow us to see the TRUTH. TRUTH can be the basis of faith, but faith can not be the basis of TRUTH.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. You have some insightful comments on the matter. You are right in saying "faith is not the same as truth". I wasn't contesting that idea but rather referring to the relationship between faith and truth (in the first half of my comment). I took issue with the "irrelevancy" of the perception of truth to actual truth (or facts)as presented in the original post. Perception is often relevant to the understanding of truth as well as maintaining hope and encouragement. The closing comments affirmed the original statement that Truth is. (constant) and Perspective is whatever. (variable).
ReplyDeleteTrue: faith is not the same as truth, as you said. However, faith is not hope, either. There is a distinction between the two: faith comes first; hope is established or grows out of faith. "Faith, hope, love abide, these three. But the greatest of these is love" 1 Corinthians 13:13.
You said "faith is rooted in ones perspective" and that "perspective doesn't always allow us to see the truth"--this is true. Our perspective (belief, bias, presupposition) determines how we interpret facts (a form or aspect of truth) which leads us either into truth or into a lie. That's precisely the reason for the creation/evolution debate. They both have the exact same set of facts. Both the creation and evolutionist start with their own bias or belief system. Wearing these "spectacles" they each view or interpret the same facts differently. If a set of facts are interpreted or viewed correctly they will lead a person into truth. Viewed incorrectly and one will be led into a lie. That's why circumstantial evidence is generally inadmissable in court. It's too easy to misinterpret the facts.
There is an interesting book you may enjoy written by Ray Comfort. The title comes from that old adage "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". The book is called "You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence But You Can't Make Him Think".
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