A quick reflection on the pursuit of truth

Most definitions of science contain something akin to ‘knowledge of truth’ and ‘using the scientific method / methodological reasoning of study.’ Nowadays, they also contain a disclaimer of ‘from the physical world’ but the basic core of finding and applying truth is still there.

Jesus Christ, on numerous occasions claimed to literally be ‘The Truth.’ That’s fairly ridiculous, and to my knowledge isn’t seen in any other major prophet or religion. Isn’t it a fairly radical idea that Truth could be a person?

Christianity, in my opinion, is the study and application of that Truth. I form a hypothesis about Christ, record my observations as I test what he says, analyze what I’ve experienced in the physical world because of it or observed in scripture, report on it (through journaling, telling others, etc) and have fine people like yourself and other individuals peer review me as I apply what I know.

Make no mistake. I thought that Jesus was about as real as a literal Santa Claus, a ‘cosmic Jewish zombie.’ I abandoned Jesus in search of my own Truth. But once I seriously started living, applying and examining the Truth he had to offer (and for that matter, embodied) I quickly realized how wrong I was.

We should study Jesus similarly as we study science, because both are searching for the Truth. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of points where I find myself asking ‘the Truth’ to help me with my unbelief and there are some points that may take Ph.D. thesis’s to answer. I know though, that Jesus is the Truth. I believe Jesus is the Truth, but still need help with certain areas as I study and live the Truth. I believe in my published research, but I still need to put years of effort into it and may never receive a complete understanding of it. I could spend an eternity studying, living and being made complete in Jesus.

Pontius Pilate, the man who ordered Jesus’s crucifixion, had the guts to ask Jesus ‘What is Truth?’ as recorded by Luke. While Luke doesn’t record Jesus saying anything to Pilate after that, Luke did leave enough information through his entire Gospel for us to realize that Jesus claimed to be the Truth. We’re also welcome to cross reference that with the other Gospels. Maybe the question is not ‘What is Truth’ but ‘Who is Truth?’ then again, I find myself often asking “What is Jesus?”

Regardless, it seems that Truth is not a philosophical construct or a rational proposition or intellectual discovery, but Jesus himself. I’m not saying I’m going to stop looking for ‘Truth’ in my science classes, but know that the real ‘Truth’ of this world is Jesus. As a Christian, I must represent that Truth and find ways to ‘tell the Truth.’ If the ‘Truth’ is really in me, then I must research it and apply it always.

In a post modern world, our culture is cautious towards all claims to objective truth. I’d expect them to question me, experiment with me, collect information on me and report back in their own mind. A big fear that I have is that our generation has been given a watered-down version of the Truth. In ‘Soul Searching: The Religious Spiritual Lives of American Teen-agers’ Christian Smith noted that in today’s faith, most teenagers believe that God is at our disposal (and we’re not at his), we’re disappointingly told that the central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself, a God exists who created and orders the world and solely watches over human life on Earth, and we’re basically told that good people go to Heaven when they die. Notice how there’s no room for suffering, no requirement for sacrifice, and it’s fairly contradictory to the life Jesus led.

The uniqueness of Jesus Christ is not something to be ignored. We must tell, and be, the Truth of Him if we expect to adhere to the core Gospel rather than an insipid Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Imagine the good that could come of Christians accurately representing the Truth, being made complete in weakness and shortcomings as we do it. As we all know, the Truth will set you free.