The question "What is truth?" seems to be falling from the lips of virtually everyone these days. Like Pilate circa 30CE, the philosophical often look at it as a question of personal viewpoint. What is true for me may not be true for you.
There is a problem with this logic, though. There really is objective truth. The sky has a blue appearance even though the colorblind cannot distinguish it. A tennis ball is spherical even though the toddler holding it does not know the name of the shape. Some things are objectively true. Children learn to distinguish fantasy from reality when we teach them to observe with their senses what is concrete and what is mere trickery.
Why is it important for us, as people, to distinguish what is true and what is false? For starters, we need to know our limitations in order to understand our capabilities. A basic understanding of gravity prevents us from stepping off a balcony twelve floors up. The understanding that fire produces much heat prevents us from putting our hand into the flame on the stove.
Likewise, understanding objective truths about who we are helps us to attend to our mental and spiritual needs. If we attempt to live as if the truth doesn't matter, we are bound to be disappointed eventually. No matter how hard we try to make everyone be nice and bear with a person's personal beliefs about themselves, eventually someone will state what is painfully obvious and tear down the mental castle of sand that is self-delusion.
Let us always be truthful when dealing with others, but let us also always deal with the truth in love.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Monday, January 2, 2017
Being Reasonable
Many parents have watched sadly as their children have abandoned their Christian faith. It is often what the children believe to be the voice of reason and of scientific proofs that have led them to do so. But what if there are proofs which are more reasonable, what if there are proofs which are logical and consistent with the historical record?
This is not too good to be true, this is the basis of our continued faith! I recently began rereading "Life of Christ" by Fulton Sheen. In the first chapter of the book he makes an astounding and perfectly true statement which has been staring us in the face our entire lives: Jesus Christ is the only founder of a world religion ever to be preannounced. I would encourage you to read Sheen's book to realize the details of this claim, but it boils down to this: Jesus was expected by not only Jews but also by Gentiles throughout the world!
It is important that we introduce our children to these concepts at the very least. Better yet, we should introduce them to the works of spiritual giants. "Life of Christ" by Fulton Sheen is a great starting point because it is written in terms that are easy to understand. If we then move on to Chesterton, Lewis, Augustine, Ambrose, etc., that is wonderful.
It is also vitally important that our children are intimately familiar with the scriptures. Regular Bible reading is a must. In order for the scriptures to be intelligible, though, we must apply the scholarship of our spiritual fathers, the Church Fathers. We must show our children the reason that informs our faith.
If our children are not shown why our faith is not just spiritual but also reasonable, they will lose faith when their feelings and personal experience do not seem to support it.
This is not too good to be true, this is the basis of our continued faith! I recently began rereading "Life of Christ" by Fulton Sheen. In the first chapter of the book he makes an astounding and perfectly true statement which has been staring us in the face our entire lives: Jesus Christ is the only founder of a world religion ever to be preannounced. I would encourage you to read Sheen's book to realize the details of this claim, but it boils down to this: Jesus was expected by not only Jews but also by Gentiles throughout the world!
It is important that we introduce our children to these concepts at the very least. Better yet, we should introduce them to the works of spiritual giants. "Life of Christ" by Fulton Sheen is a great starting point because it is written in terms that are easy to understand. If we then move on to Chesterton, Lewis, Augustine, Ambrose, etc., that is wonderful.
It is also vitally important that our children are intimately familiar with the scriptures. Regular Bible reading is a must. In order for the scriptures to be intelligible, though, we must apply the scholarship of our spiritual fathers, the Church Fathers. We must show our children the reason that informs our faith.
If our children are not shown why our faith is not just spiritual but also reasonable, they will lose faith when their feelings and personal experience do not seem to support it.
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