I’ve never thought of myself very abstract when it comes to observations, thinking or creative design. Kind of simple, I suppose. So when I
run across a philosopher’s approach to most things, I find a bit of irritation
creeping around through my thoughts. Primarily when they are focused on truth. I suppose the discussions
are helpful to some folks and have their place, but I confess, most of the time,
they are out of my comprehending reach. Maybe it’s because I think the
philosopher thinks: knowing truth is a complicated matter. Sometimes, I also think many, especially
secularly trained, men and women have been convinced that truth is so
complicated that it is unknowable.
I am infatuated with my idea that the Bible is a book that thankfully does not
argue its case for truth purely at the philosophical level. Yet it offers
answers to the very questions that anyone cannot escape: Who am I? Where did I
come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? At times, early on, I wasn’t focused
on such questions but more on my lust for living independently and with gusto. But
once I began taking on responsibilities of deep relationships, like my wife, family,
I’m indebted to God’s grace for discovering the Bible drawling my attention
because it addresses issues of real life in the structure of a story and a historical
setting. It begins its exposition by assuming the existence of God in its
opening words. It was when I turned to the Bible for addressing issues of truth, I
began, and still am, finding myself facing the God of Scripture!
So, Truth. In my quest, over the years, has been appropriate to examine the pages of the Bible, discovering words used to describe the idea of truth. Knowing very minimal Hebrew, digging
a little, I found the words for truth, faith, and faithfulness all springing
from the same root. This particular association of words immediately suggests
important connections that I dare not afford to ignore. Truth is not just the
characteristic of a statement or proclamation; it is the character of the very
being of God. "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your
faithfulness to the skies" proclaims the psalmist in 36:5. God is true
because God is faithful to His Word and the character He has revealed. And
rightly, I can relate to God by being faithful to this call to draw near.
In my more recent fascination I have found that this word study quickly demonstrates
the tremendous moral and practical implications for words that are to be
understood beyond conceptual and cerebral terms. The Hebrew shows no dichotomy
between belief and behavior; the believability of God's objective truth
revealed by God and through God's Word is matched in moral behavior, which is
equally trustworthy. At the same time, I see, what seems to be, the New
Testament writers straining to express something of truth that is not simply
conceptual, but reflects the total character of God and those who believe. I’m
blown away to find Paul's use of the Greek word "pistis" which indicates going well
beyond simple belief, but also describes a response on the basis of belief.
I’m confirmed in the fact that Scripture brings to light a quality of truth that
is all too often lost in abstract discussions or in all these popular gnostic
descriptions. I’m more convinced than ever that truth at the conceptual and
content level must not be separated from truth at the practical level; the
objective and verifiable must always be set alongside the existential and
experiential. I'm thinking that in order to share appropriate answers to questions of truth
with someone else, my own heart must be satisfied, as well as, my mind stimulated.
The truth of God's being and character is far more than a set of doctrinal
principles. This truth without any doubt continues to transform my life in
terms of a loving and free relationship.
It is from my God who speaks, I am able to receive true answers to the
questions that are inherently raised constantly within me. The answers God provides me are simple enough
for Brayden, my grandson, to understand and yet so profound that the most
sophisticated philosopher can be satisfied.
I’m thinking that I’m at an age in life when enough of it
has passed that I can make some legitimate comparisons. The last five to ten years
have been strange. Several essays by Timothy
Garton Ash speak to the period he calls the decade with “no name”—the turn
of the millennium to the present. It is indeed a decade in which has seen some extraordinary events, some dreadful
acts of violence, an ongoing range of catastrophes, and some of the worst
economic and moral failures that burst the bubble of unending prosperity and
further shuttered confidence in many an institution. Sadly, even religious organizations.
Many years ago, the Czech writer Milan Kundera wrote of “the
unbearable lightness of being.” Like many others, he sensed the hollowing
out of existence, the thinning out of life, the emptying of meaning that seems
to occur under modern conditions. One friend of mine calls this “cultural
vaporization.” The thing is, this is not some vague idea or esoteric
notion. It is a description of how life is really being perceived.
I'm running into folks, all the time, that seem convinced that the
point of life is that there is no point. I think, for some time now, we
have been facing what Nietzsche called
“Das Nichte”—or, the nothing. Our
universities, even religious grounded ones are teaching our young people that we
are the result of blind force plus chance and/or necessity. On the other hand, yesterday, Bettyann and I went to view a movie and we saw trailers of films coming out, with
romantic longings, visions of other worlds, the hunger for transcendence, all mingled with love stories where there seems to be a greater unity of
life and being. I think we are facing a massive contradiction between what one
set of experts tells us is real and what many artists compel us to hope for and
reflect on. And somewhere in the middle is where I live among millions of others living
normal, day-to-day lives.
I know that I know the answers to the questions: chance and
choice: is that it? Does all of life come down to this? A roll of the
dice, the power of freedom, and the lottery of life? And I received the
answer from my Bible, the Word of God, when He spoke thru the writing of the honest
voice of a sage, crying, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” Why? Because
he was reflecting on life, just like me.
He was seeking happiness. I
desire it as much as him. He sought
justice. I do, as well. He sought
satisfaction. O’ yah. He sought the meaning of it all. Yes, me too, but I’m
not sure I can comprehend it all. And his journey was conducted under the
sun—in other words, he looked at life from within life. It was as Derek Kidner called it “a world without windows.”
However, the sage’s observations do not end there. His writing
along with the whole Bible has opened me up to another perspective. And that
is: there is a God and a God Who sees, knows, and acts. The Bible has never
descended into some simple resolution of my life’s hard problems nor my
on-going ambiguities. But what it does do is add something. It adds a
presence, it includes a perspective, it invites reflection: If there is
more to life than meets with my eyes, more than what I can measure or manage by my
senses, then this is what makes the big difference of how I live the remainder
of my life.
With such a difference, weight or weightiness it is going to be
restored. Absence will be filled, space will be occupied, and
meaninglessness confronted. As Nietzsche
wrote, “He who has a why to live for can
bear almost any how.” This is a far cry from the new atheists who invite me,
my family and friends to shed the childish and wicked delusions of whys and
hows and accept emptiness.
Loving Father, God Almighty, I adore Your presence! You
are not silent.
Thank You for Your Word, the Bible. There is no one that compares to You
in Love. For YOU are Love. And full of grace. I petition You, at the beginning
of the second month of this new year, those who find themselves empty, confused, or seeking but will not find through their own will allow the abundance of Your grace to penetrate their heart like You have done mine. A free gift, overflowing with truth! Amen
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