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Arriving at the Truth
In the eighteenth chapter of the
Gospel of John, we read of a verbal exchange between Pilate and Jesus that
ended thusly:
"You are a King then?" said Pilate
Jesus answered, " 'King' is your word. My Task
is to bear witness to the truth. For this I was born; for this I came into the
world, and all who are not deaf to truth listen to my voice."
Pilate said, 'What IS TRUTH?"
(John 18: 37,38)
Given the variety of truths
claimed in the Name of Christ, this ancient rhetorical question of Pilate's
would almost seem to be a premonition of what Christians must ask themselves in this day and age; especially, when it comes to
truth.
We cannot begin to discuss what
revelation is, until we define what truth is, or, even if there is any such
thing. Some philosophers argue that even reality is not truth, but merely an
illusion of some sort. For our purpose, we will accept that reality is truth,
but that reality is always distorted by perception, which is ultimately
influenced by knowledge, culture, and personal experience.
We can assume by Gospel
accounts, where Jesus emphasizes the priority of his personal example and his outrage
toward hypocrisy, that Jesus' definition of truth was:
to live what you proclaim. This idea of truth being manifested in the reality
of the way we live is very important to a theology that is striving to be
truthful and responsible. In the first place, we must reiterate that words
cannot be, of themselves, the truth. The truth to any word is in the
actualization of that word symbol into reality.
For example, for one to say that
they can fly an airplane doesn't make it the truth. If they have the expertise,
then it might be the truth. But the only unmistakable way we know for sure that
they know how to fly an airplane, is if we have experienced their flying one.
Another way to look at this is, we understand what the
word water symbolizes, only because we relate it to the reality of the
existence of water. Words are only words, which are merely symbols that express
a reality or actualization, which is the real truth of the symbol. If there is
no reality or actualization, then the words are nothing more than an
abstraction, which may, or may not, represent some truth that the words are
symbolizing.
This idea of actualization is
even more important when it comes to God's revelation than any other aspect of
truth as we experience it. Too often, those proclaiming "God's Truth"
fall far short of the standard that they are proclaiming as the truth.
In the first place, it would
seem most logical that God would not ask more of Her creation than it was
capable of doing; at least not if we consider God to be just. It should
therefore follow, those proclaiming the word of God, should also be setting the
example of how we might implement that word in the realities of our world. If
such is not the case, than we must seriously question the validity of their
claims.
Responsible theologians will
strive to set the example as to the practical application of their
speculations. It is not enough to reason their pronouncements; they must
demonstrate the practicality of their teachings. Ideally, in the actualization
of their opinions in their lives; and short of that, at least with empirical
data that is relevant to the world in which we live.
This also brings to question,
those who claim the Bible is the written word of God and then ignore much of
what is written in it - as the ancient laws of the Old Testament for example.
Such logic takes us back full
circle to the concept of the literalization of
Scriptures as truth, as we discussed in the last chapter. Such cannot be the
case, for if such were the truth, than the entire content would need to be
truth. That includes the dietary laws of the Old Testament, the economic laws,
and the social laws. It would include laws like:
Execution
for a child who strikes his parents. (Exod. 21:15)
Execution for Blasphemy (Lev
24:16)
Intercourse banned during a
woman's menstrual cycle (Lev
You should not plant fields
with two kinds of seed (Lev
Don't cut your hair or shave
your beard (Lev
Do not eat meat with blood in
it (Lev
And while many sects do not cite
these laws, claiming God has somehow rescinded them, they still cite others
from the same text claiming them as their authority. For
example, quoting Leviticus for the moral authority of their position on
homosexuality (although Christ never mentioned it). Or, that you should
not believe in fortunetellers, or that you should not tattoo yourself.
We are not addressing the moral
application of such laws here, but rather, the concept that if one word of the
Bible is the Written Word of God than the whole thing must be. This would also
imply that God sanctioned slavery at one point (Exodus
If the Bible were the written
word of God, it has to be entirely the truth. If that is the case, all these
implications and questions which must accompany such truth are justified.
Looking to revelation in Scripture, or any other source, for the literal truth,
will give us nothing but contradictions and misinterpretations.
Responsible Theology will
recognize that God's revelation is not about declaring truth; it's about the
manifestation of truth in reality. "My task is to bear witness to the
truth. For this I was born". Jesus' witness took the form of
everything he did in life through his interactions with people. His examples of
compassion, forgiveness; or his reaching out to the sick, the poor the
homeless; his self-sacrifice, self-denial and lack of egotism; his
non-violence, his simple life style - these were all the testimony of the truth
of his message. It is his actions that cry out to us from these ancient tales, and without those actions the tales would be
meaningless. Jesus could stand before Pilate and define truth by saying: 'It is
what I live.' Too often, we are spending so much time pursuing the Divinity
of Jesus; we are losing sight of the importance of his humanity. The
stories in the Gospels are not about the Divine, they are about Jesus the man,
a point so often lost by theology and religion. A point that when lost takes us
away from truth into a world of empty words.
Human beings want to believe
that God so loved us that he gave His Son. Nevertheless, no matter what we
believe about Jesus, no matter how we feel about the Redemption, if we ignore
the TRUTH of his message (the reality of what Christ lived): we miss the point
of his coming. We miss the point of salvation, however we might define it. We
can proclaim any belief in words, but our actions are the real truth of what we
believe. We cannot proclaim to believe in Jesus if we do not hold
ourselves to the standards he set for himself. In fact, it would do us well to
remember these words of Jesus which are every bit as applicable today as when
they were spoken:
Why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord' - AND NEVER
DO WHAT I TELL YOU
(Luke 4:46)
Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
'This People pays me LIP-SERVICE, but their heart is far from me: THEIR WORSHIP
OF ME IS IN VAIN for
they TEACH as
DOCTRINES the COMMANDMENTS OF MEN."
(Matthew 15:9)
And so this can be the
testimony of any Revelation: the truth becomes what is done with it. We can use
the Revelation of God to further the causes of justice, equality, and love; or,
we can use it to divide ourselves and judge each other. A Responsible theology
must ask - which seems to be more like God? We can use Revelation to promote
the concepts of charity, brotherhood, peace, tolerance, and advance the human
relationships in a world ever decreasing in size; or, we can use it to declare
ourselves self-righteous, persecute those who do not meet our standards, or
encourage isolation and division in our societies. We can use God's revelation
and see God's symbol as expressed in all reality; or, we can try to literalize it, and thus, remove the Creator from the
creation. We can hang on to God's revelation to better our world for the love
of God; or, we can hope and pray that God create a paradise for us.
Responsible theology must ask, which of these choices seems to be responsible? Which
of these choices are logical? And which of these choices would seem to be closer
to truth as it would be expressed in the reality of our world? Which of these
uses might seem closest to the one God might have intended?
Another factor entering into
truth equation is the interpretation or individualization of the particular truth.
If truth becomes experience
or actualization,
then in reality, even if the truth is universal the approach to it may differ
from person to person. For Example: Snow is a truth under our definition
because it is an actualization of nature many of us experience. But what we do
in the snow; how we feel about it; has to do with how we perceive it rather
then its truthfulness. If we like to ski, the snow will provide us with
opportunity, excitement, and make us happy. If we drive a school bus, it might make
us apprehensive, fearful or even cause us to loose a day's pay.
When we get into emotions and
religion, this perception has an even greater effect upon truth. Like snow,
love is something many of us experience so we might say it is a truth, but few
of us would define the experience in the same way.
It is here that responsible
theology will have its most difficult problems, and it is because of this that
dogma and literal interpretations become totally irresponsible. If we think
about our example of love, it can be every bit as destructive as it can be
positive. An overly possessive or jealous person will manifest love in
completely different ways then a person who might be filled with compassion.
This is why the "truth" of any revelation can only be presented in
symbol or metaphor; so, when we are told to love we
also might have a standard by which we can individualize the concept presented.
The example given by the inspiration doesn't become the literal truth, but,
more of a metaphor of an abstract concept, which we can use in an individual
way to actualize the abstract. The inspirations such as in the Bible do not
contain edicts for living, but examples of how we might approach life. They are
metaphors to help us change our perception, which is what all that revelation
can ever be about.
Despite what our theologies
have told us, the principle message of the Gospels themselves is its message of
salvation through loving one another. If we read the words of Christ without
all the theology and Pauline influence, they can be read no other way. But
Jesus offers us no edicts on how to love; rather, he sets an example. Now, this
doesn't mean we have to imitate Christ verbatim; but rather, that we see what
he did and try to adapt those ideals and concepts in
our own individual way. It is only in this manner that the words of the Gospel
become truth.
So the truth of revelation, be it the Gospels, or metaphors from the Old
Testament, or in Eastern Sacred writings, or in a myth, a poem, or another
form: is in the actualization of the concept that might be presented. It is up
to theology to help us understand the concept presented in a manner which is
most beneficial to us as individuals, balanced by its affect upon others.
Responsible theology cannot declare truth; God's, or any other, but it can help
us actualize the symbolisms expressed in the inspiration. It can help us look
with a bigger scope so our perception does not become so narrow that we lose
sight of the concept. Responsible theology needs to shift the emphasis from
belief in the revealed word to an encouragement of the actualizations
(individualized according to the diversity) of the concepts within those words.
In much of the present
religious structure, the words are what become sacred, and thus, the truth unto
themselves. We compound this ideal with an ideal that our words are sufficient
to be the truth. Thus, we can profess to believe: we can say we are sorry: we
can proclaim Jesus the savior of men: we can preach the "Word" to
one another - but we really do not have to FEEL and LIVE the concepts behind
what we say. There may be Christians who argue this, but given the message of
the Gospels and the proclamations of belief in Christ, many of the social
injustices we see should not exist. For example, if the message of Christ were
actualized, there would be far less starving children. Christians
in both church and the society would fight for equality, justice, and the
elimination of dire poverty. In order for the Gospel to be truth in our
societies every Christian owned business would pay decent and fair wages; would
refrain from deceptive advertising; and would be concerned about the health,
safety and the living conditions of their employees. A truly Christian society
would be every bit as concerned about the standard of living for the already
born as much as they are about the rights of the unborn. If the Gospels were
lived in truth, we would be responding to the needs of each other instead of
merely praying that God take care of things. We need to recognize that God's
help is essential to our being, but at the same time, we must be careful not to
project our personal responsibility upon Him.
And while all these things we
stated should happen, responsible theology will realize there is no one set of
rules which can bring them about. Laws and edicts cannot make them happen, for
the root of truth ends up in the human heart -not in the declarations of men.
The power of faith is not in our testimony; but in the change of heart that is
necessary to actualize the faith in the reality of what we do. The job of
theology is to help us see our personal responsibility in creating a real truth
from inspiration instead of offering us projections and excuses (words) to
avoid it.
If religion is to make a
difference in the twenty-first century, it must quit emphasizing the importance
of "words" which often seem so devoid of meaning in our societies of
today, redirecting people toward the meanings and actualizations represented by
the words. Our prayers to, our beliefs about and our worship of, God, are not in what we say. What we do to one another
speaks the volumes of our prayers. The way we treat each other and world God
placed us in, is the truth of our beliefs. And, our lives as we live them are
the worship of our Creator.
As we move forward with this
text, especially this chapter, we will try to offer advice as to possible
meanings to the universal messages from all scripture. But no matter how
correct these interpretations might be in what they postulate, the only truth contained
in this text is in the actualization of the concepts by individuals. Theology
that declares truth is irresponsible. Responsible Theology must help men make
truth in themselves, for if it fails at this, it has no truth!
NEXT
CHAPTER-3-God's_Revelation_is_the_Physics_of_Spirituality
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