Truth — Is it Subjective?
I do believe truth is subjective. My truth today may not be my truth at twenty and may change at fifty, or at eighty!
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man/woman, I put aside childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11
It seems everywhere I turn someone is shouting their T
RUTH, no matter what day or social media site the “truth” each contradicting the other’s “truth” seems to be paramount.
Years ago I had a total break down of faith, I started to wrestle with the word. I was in my early twenties and I was beginning to have that crisis many of us have as we leave the nest. Do we believe what we believe because WE believe it, or is it because that’s all we know and all we have been told since we were a little child? For me this was very healthy, and I urge other young people to take time to figure our their own personal faith and beliefs. For that matter, we should all stop and think about what we believe and why. At the time, this led me into a downward spiral where I lost my truth, my beliefs. It seemed to me a literal black and white view of the bible and it’s words didn’t make intelligent sense to me anymore. I was at a crisis point. You have to understand, my understanding of the bible was that every word was exact. Jesus used a red Bic pen to write in the New Testament of the bible.
So since it was the absolute truth no exception:
Was I supposed to never speak in church? “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak;…” 1 Corinthians 14:34 Have slaves? “Exhort slaves to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things not answering back.” Titus 2:9 “Slaves be submissive to your masters..” 1 Peter 2:18 Wear gold or fix my hair? “Do not let your beauty be that outward adorning or arranging {braided} the hair or wearing gold, or of putting on fine apparel” 1 Peter 3:3 So it made sense to me that not everything can be taken literally, but was that acceptable? Where did that leave me and my faith, my truth? I mean we know there were dinosaurs?!?! Where were those in the Genesis? Noah…two by two animals that didn’t eat each other? What’s the poo like after 40 days? How many thousands of species are there??? For me there had to be so
me give and take or I was truly agnostic. Then in my life there came about a place that said you can think, you can study, you can question! When I was able to let go of the legalistic absolutes and look at the word in a new light, I was blessed to find my truth, although somewhat different, again. Because, what is the story of Thomas other than to let us know there are doubts and it’s ok to ask! He will gladly show you the way, the truth, the scars. I don’t know it all and that’s the truth I think we all can adopt. One of my favorite saying is “There are only two things I know for sure … there is a God, and I am not {her} him.”
I have shared with you part of my journey of knowledge and faith. I think on the dinosaurs alone we can hopefully agree we can’t take the bible literally at least not on every level every verse. There are verses we agree that can be for the time, or to protect people, such as women, instructions of a time where there were slaves. By the way, those same verses were used to keep the slaves oppressed years ago, and I hope no one would dare use those verses in that way today! When we know better we do better right? The book of John reminds us “And the word became FLESH and dwelt among us…” John 1:14 He became the word, we sometimes start to worship a bible instead of a God…The word became living and breathing, we need to live and breathe and grow with it. In the story of Jesus we see that the very obedient legalistic leaders of the time were offended by his actions, the ways he bent the Old Testament law, eating with tax collectors, healing on the Sabbath, getting a mule out of the ditch on the Sabbath! He was going against the truth they knew before Him. His radical message….LOVE. That’s a message we can all agree on, love your neighbor as yourself. We can agree because it’s theme not written once or twice but many times in his short ministry. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 Even if we disagree.
Now just because I “believe” something does it make it so? No, it does not. That is a difficult truth to accept, because when you truly believe something. it’s from your heart, your core, it’s something you feel deeply, but that does not make it true. For me I learned that the bible can be true and not factual. A story of a man and his family taking every animal to safety can be full of truths and not be literal, for me, that makes it NO less important, to my faith. Doesn’t make me right? No, I can be wrong, maybe there was a flood and all the animals etc…maybe Jonah really got swallowed by a big fish lived and was spit back up? 
Or maybe the people of the time, just like Jesus, told stories…and those stories taught very important lessons, truths. Important truths, not news report just the facts kind of truth but still truths. So yes, truth can be, in my mind, subjective, and that’s okay, the sky is not falling if we don’t have all the answers or if we disagree. What I do know is this “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2
My challenge to you – let no words come out of your mouth that could be interpreted as anything but Love. If you must disagree or argue let Love be the feeling that is shared between you. I am reminded of the song John Meyer wrote a few years back “Belief” part of that song says “..like punching underwater you can never hit what you’re trying for..”
How can you be a part of the Love equation in this day and time? Who can you love and uplift? Who needs your love in their life more than your truth? Can you listen to the one you disagree with in love?
#LoveYOURneighbor #ALLofTHEM
Go forth to Love and Serve the Lord.
I love you, keep sharing good, keep loving. Cameron
Episcopal Lotus Flower in Bloom 