Truth

In arenas of philosophy, religion and science it is our concept of truth that rules our thought process and pursuit of truth. Each of us would likely be able to place our thought process into a category favoring one of these avenues. Thinking out what is logical, faith in the power of a supreme being, or discovering for our selves through careful study and experimentation. All are necessary for complete understanding; one cannot be placed above the others. What if, however, truth changed? Not what we perceive as truth, but what is actually true. What if truth was relative while at the same time it was absolute? In science this is not possible. Science is the study of the laws that govern the universe. In Religion this is most definitely not possible because each religion sets itself up as the absolute truth. In philosophy this is a possibility. Also, we must consider the difference in thought between the east and the west. The east is holistic. Truth is circular and all encompassing, experienced before understood. Western is logical, linear. If a reasonable explanation can be given, then it is accepted.
Take for instance the writing of the bible. The Old Testament is written in one of the simplest languages, Hebrew, some words can even be translated differently, although simple it is still very poetic and picturesque. In this section of the bible God is described using pictures that we can relate with, he is a master, father, friend, shepherd, He is a Rock, and He is a Lion. The New Testament However is written in Greek, one of the most complicated. Words are loaded with meaning, each one having a very specific definition. Here God is described as Omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, words that we must understand the depth of and have knowledge of before completely understanding them. Each way of thought is inherently different, but both are needed for complete understanding of who God is and how we can relate to truth.
What if truth could change dependent upon the relationship we have with it? If everyone is connected to God to some extent then that relationship contains certain absolutes, because God is absolute. However, take Marriage. One person added with another person creates one person bound in the commitment of marriage. 1+1=1. Mathematically this is impossible, math is absolute. However in this, the relationships of the components within the equation are altered and truth changes. In the Old Testament of the Bible it was acceptable to spread the kingdom of God using physical warfare. Today that is no longer acceptable, because our relationship with God has changed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Truth changed because our relationship with it changed.
When I was child, summer was the time of year for which I endured the rest to experience. There was so much to do in those three glorious months that school could not interfere with. The days seemed to last forever as the sun only set about the time my parents sent me to bed. There were baseball games to play that lasted days, forts to build and wars to fight from them, fish to catch, rivers, ponds, pools to swim in, lawns to mow, hills to conquer with my bike, girls to taunt, and friends to be made. Life was a glorious adventure. The heat was always bearable because it only lasted until the cool water enveloped me or until the air conditioning kicked in. The entire world was a beautiful place full of joy, life and adventure.
My friend in Afghanistan, on the other hand, had a very different childhood. On the way to school in the middle of summer, he would see bodies hanging in the middle of the round about placed there as a deterrent from disobedience. At soccer games, some he would play in, during half time they would bring adulterers in to stone publicly. He had to learn a second language simply to survive so that when the Taliban stopped him he could speak to them in their language to appease them. One fall afternoon he was flying a kite from his rooftop when two tanks sitting on the hillside suddenly exploded, he then noticed the bomber flying overhead. His entire family moved into the mountains for weeks as the US invaded. His sisters for a time were educated in secret under penalty of death if caught. To him the world is a vicious place, filled with death and destruction. In his world war is not a game. Due to land mines walking through a field is far more dangerous than walking down the street. One of my other friend’s fathers is a Mullah who lost his leg to a car bomb left by those that claim to practice the same religion. To him there is little life in this world.
Both worlds are real, but our relationships with that world have determined what world is true for us. I still believe the world to be full of joy, life and adventure, although it contains pain, death and injustice. For my friends the world is full of fear, deception and war, although it contains beauty, friends and opportunity.
If we are to understand the world around we must understand that the worlds in which we live differ greatly. While some truths are unchanging some are not.