What is Truth?

In the midst of a recent great discussion with a group of teens about spiritual matters, one astute young man asked how spiritual matters affected those who do not believe in God. He referred to a group of people who did not accept a certain spiritual truth as really being true. This led to an interesting discussion about truth. I used the illustration that a person could sincerely believe that snow did not exist, yet if that person walked outside the building we were meeting in, they would find snow everywhere. No matter how sincere the person believed there was no such thing as snow, it would not change the truth that snow was real and there were mountains of it outside our building. We then went on to discuss how the same thing would be true for a person who lives near the Equator and had never experienced snow. That person would have never seen snow, no one they knew would have ever seen snow, and in their own personal experience they would not be able to see how something like snow could possible exist. Yet, that person’s experience would still not change the reality that snow does exist and there are still mountains of it outside our building.

I went on to explain that God has declared certain things to be true. No matter how sincerely a person believes that those things are not true, they will remain true. Even if a person had no personal experience with God and couldn’t imagine a God who has the power to declare certain things to be true, truth would still be truth.

That young man, and so many of his peers, are caught up in the postmodern idea that each person can determine their own definition of truth. It makes a person feel good to think that they can decide what truth is for themselves. But when you look at it objectively, it just does not make sense. Truth is truth, regardless of whether I like it or not. Let’s help young people understand the truth; let’s introduce them to the Truth by reminding them that Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.”