by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
Jesus claimed that it does and that it can be known (John 8:30-31). However, others make the claim that truth does not exist and that it is only what each person wants it to be. Some “intellectuals” say, “There is no truth.” But that itself is a truth claim. Is it true that there is no truth? The statement is self-defeating and does not pass its own validity test.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Truth.png\")
Some say, “That may be true for you but not for me.” That is absurd. Something is either true for all or it is not true. Would you appreciate a banker holding your money and telling you an absurd balance that depletes your funds and lands your funds in his own pocket? What if he said that balance may not be true for you but it is true for him? Talking about “your truth” versus “my truth” is absurd. Something is either true or it is false. Here are three crucial things to remember:<\/p>\n
1. Contrary beliefs<\/strong>\u00a0are possible, but contrary truths<\/strong>\u00a0are not possible.<\/p>\n 2. You can believe<\/strong>\u00a0everything is true, but everything can’t be<\/strong>\u00a0true.<\/p>\n 3. Objective truth can’t be denied<\/strong>\u00a0without being affirmed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Let me explain that last one. When you say “That is absolutely not <\/b>true,” you have affirmed an absolute truth, and thus you have entered into affirming that there is <\/b>absolute objective truth. So, pretending that there is no truth, is affirming that it is t<\/strong>rue <\/b>that there is no truth. Face it! There is truth, and it is absurd to pretend otherwise.<\/p>\n Now, Jesus claims to be the truth<\/strong>\u00a0(John 14:6), that God’s word is truth (John 17:17), and that you can know the truth and the truth can set you free (John 8:30-31). Those are truth claims. They are either lies or truth. You can’t pretend they are merely his<\/strong>\u00a0truths but that you have different truths. He stated the truth, and different views are false, but Jesus and different views cannot both be true. Jesus can be false and others true, but different views cannot all be true. If Jesus is true<\/strong>\u00a0and right, then Muhammed is false. Both cannot be true. Both might be false, but both can’t be true. There is a way to discover if Jesus is true or false, but merely choosing a position without searching the evidence is hardly the right way to go about discovery. Jesus claimed that if you continue listening and studying His word you would know the truth and the truth would set you free. I’ve found it so by search and discovery.<\/p>\n Truth is real and available, but an opinion does not invent it. We must search for truth, and quit pretending that every opinion is every person’s truth. No! Truth does not work that way! People hold to truth or error, but every error is not to be claimed as merely “their truth.” Now, as far as they know, they think they hold the truth, but thinking something is true does not make it so. “There is a way which seems<\/strong> right to a man, but its end is the way of death<\/em>”\u00a0(Proverbs 14:12). Something seeming<\/strong>\u00a0to be true does not make it true. Discovery sometimes makes us realize that what we thought was true was not really true. That is why honest search and evaluation is crucial to the discovery of actual truth. Have you searched and evaluated fairly Jesus’ truth claims?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton Jesus claimed that it does and that it can be known (John 8:30-31). However, others make the claim that truth does not exist and that it is only what each person wants it to be. Some “intellectuals” say, “There is no truth.” But that itself is a truth claim. Is it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1514,441],"class_list":["post-19239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-religion","tag-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23699,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-it-matter-what-i-believe\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":0},"title":"Does It Matter What I Believe? (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Kings 18:25-40 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It wasn\u2019t that the false prophets were insincere or had no belief at all \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They cut themselves, danced in a frenzy, and spent a day calling on their god. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44604,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/truth-or-free-thinking\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":1},"title":"Truth Or Free-thinking","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton To the modern man, it seems wrong to believe that you can actually \"know the truth\", and therefore be in a position to \"answer\" the false religious claims of others. While an open mind is indeed a good quality, that open-minded nature ought to eventually settle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/open-mind-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7235,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-historical-facts-make-the-bible-true\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":2},"title":"Do historical facts make the Bible true?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother, How would I handle the difference between the inspired text that makes claims and a comic book that someone can use to make claims? I was told this: \u201cFor instance, I can claim the existence of Spider-Man because he is from Queens, NY, and that is a real\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38797,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-can-know-the-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":3},"title":"We Can Know the Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Objectivity is not a strong point in our society \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Objective means the existence of something outside of oneself. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our society prefers things to be subjective \u2013 belonging to one\u2019s own mind \u2013 especially when dealing with matters of right and wrong. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38272,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/since-the-scriptures-can-be-unclear-doesnt-it-require-an-organization-to-state-what-is-true\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":4},"title":"Since the Scriptures can be unclear, doesn’t it require an organization to state what is true?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Scripture is unclear at times and at other times seems to be contradictory. With that in mind, there are many different interpretations from many different sources. So, my question is this; If what the Bible says is true, not according to personal interpretation, who or what organization is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33463,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-must-needs-be-heresies\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":5},"title":"There Must Needs be Heresies","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Edwin Harrell, Jr. Vanguard, Volume 1, #1 January 1975, pp. 21-22 After a few weeks of study at St. John's University and Abbey, I am impressed by the perceptive Roman Catholic analysis of the weaknesses of Protestantism. They insist that Protestants are pressed between two unacceptable extremes. One\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}