Is religious truth really true?
What is truth?Jesus claimed "I am the truth".Can we discover the truth from a secular perspective?
Is religious truth really true?
We, humans, keep faith alive through and around doctrines and concepts. Although they do not comprise the whole of religion, they represent the gates by which we enter the reality of God(s).These are symbols in the mind; as such, they constitute a very important part of spiritual life.
Different thinkers found it terribly difficult to accept religious statements as true. Regardless of what Freud, Jung and others may think, the followers of religion grasp it and rely upon it as statements of real knowledge and real truth. Based upon these observations, it is safe to say “Religious statements are truth claims”. No one can really access to truth in religion unless the claims made by religion are seriously taken for what it is intended to be( truth claims).
There are two(2) messages at once in a religious statement: the content and the structural message. The content is what is said; the structural message is what is said by the way it is said. With the same content, one can be seen as traditional; the second as liberal and the third as fundamentalist.
One key concept in religion is that of God(s). There are, in fact, three(3) basic ways in which God and the deity have been understood: impersonal absolute, personal monotheism, and polytheism. Humans turn to God(s) for their
well being. Whether as impersonal absolute or personal monotheism or polytheism, God is seen or gods are seen as the conscious center of being, knowledge and power superior to humans. God is or gods are the touchstone of meaning beyond which one cannot go - according to the words of H. Richard Niebuhr.
Creation, humankind, soul, separation from the absolute, salvation, life after death and many more are all important concepts by which and for which religion stands. Theories and explanations differ from one another depending upon the worldview of the religion. For instance, creation as seen by Western religions is quite different from that of Eastern religions.
There are different ways of determining truth in religion such as reason, experience, empiricism, authority, and existential choice. Strong arguments and weighty objections are available to any option considered. Indeed, the issue of whether or not religious truth can be convincingly determined is set on the spotlight. No one knows for sure when this matter will be settled. However, one fact remains certain: as long as the Absolute stays silent in the debate, there will never be any quite convincing answers.
About the Author
Harry E. Jean-Philippe is a former journalist.He is a born-writer.He has published various articles in English and in French.He likes to tackle on complex issues..He lives in Charlotte with his wife,Margarett and his daughter,Linda.
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