What is truth?

I just googled "what is truth?" and a LOT of hits came up. There are entire websites dedicated to the question of what is truth.

Is there such thing as absolute truth? Some argue that there is. Others say that truth is relative.

It got me to thinking... if there is no such thing as absolute truth, then can we really affirm anything? Even the simplest things seem to became relative. "This sweater is blue." Is it really? Would a person who was colorblind agree with that?

If something so simple can be interpreted differently by a different people, what can we do with more complex questions, like the existence of God, what is truth, who is my neighbor, etc.?

Of course, so far I've been speaking in the general Truth with a capital 'T' sense. That Truth matters to our lives in a more cosmic sense, and consequently is much more important. But we usually manage to put that aside and not think of it so much. The one we can't put aside and have to deal with every day, every moment of every day, is the truth with a little 't'. We are constantly interacting with the world around us, and therefore everything that comes out of our mouths, our expressions, our actions, are based in either the truth, or in falsehood. It is also here that the question of "omission" comes into question: if you didn't lie, just didn't say anything, are you still to blame?

I had a professor in college a few years ago who defined my view of truth vs. lies forever. I don't know if he knew he would have that big of an impact on my life, and maybe some of the other students as well, but I have never heard a better definition:

"A lie is everything and anything, even the truth, if said with the intention of deceiving someone." 


We should all be more careful with what comes out of our mouths... 


"Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."

Inconvenient truth...

C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. Besides the famous Chronicles of Narnia, he wrote a lot of Christian books with lots of philosophy thrown in. He also wrote about literature, history, and even some poetry (which I find really great!)

He had a peculiar knack for saying things in the simplest possible way and make you think for hours. He spoke a lot about truth, and I found this interesting quote by him:

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair." 

                                                                          C. S. Lewis 

Looking for truth is inconvenient. It may be painful. Sometimes you'd just rather not know, because it may be too much to bear. But if C.S. Lewis is correct, in the absence of truth you don't get to live blissfully in ignorance. You get wishful thinking and despair. 

Finding your way through the dark to reach truth might be hard, and the truth itself might hurt, but you'll feel liberated and free at the end, and you'll be able to rebuild from there. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is like closing your eyes when the house is on fire and imagining you're on the beach and the warmth is coming from the sun. 

The only way to true happiness is grounded in truth. 

Honesty, truth, and when to shut up

Honesty and truth are universally considered as good things and necessary character traits. But today I started thinking:

-Is there such a thing as being too honest?
-Should we always "tell the truth, the WHOLE the truth, and NOTHING but the truth, so help us God"?

Aren't there lots of instances when we should just shut the heck up?


And if so, how can we tell the difference? Sure, common sense helps in most circumstances, but what about those complicated situations that involve other people's feelings? Should we always tell the truth, even if it's something that will hurt someone? Are we going to get shot for being the messenger?

Feel free to comment...