24 of 37

Truth

Write now Article Tools

A favorite song lyric of mine comes from the band the Jayhawks; to paraphrase, it goes something like this: there's a little bit of truth in every lie.

While I am writing to say that I agree that the Bible is truth, I also must admit that my own beliefs fall in the middle of the line. Just as there's a little bit of truth in every lie, there's some subjective dishonesty in every truth. We all do it: we leave out a part or we shade our perception within writing.

One of the conversations in my life that has had the most profound affect on me was in a class back in high school. I was attending a Catholic high school at the time, and the Sister who taught the class said "The Bible is a collection of stories."

For a while, I took that to mean that the Bible was simply fiction, and I didn't understand how anyone could possibly commit her entire life to God based on a collection of stories. What I came to understand over time is that the truth is not contained in the words of those stories, it's in the meaning.

The truth behind parables within the Bible comes from those tales that teach the "Golden Rule" - treat others as you would like to be treated. Is it not the case that we would all be in a far better position within society if we accepted this as a rule and acted accordingly?

The 10 Commandments: while I don't know that there is truth in the way the story is told - I don't know that I can believe that God cast those commandments in stone at the the top of a mountain - I do believe that as guidelines for society, as regulations we all should follow, these commandments are extremely valuable.

Absolute truth changes over time - truth, in some ways, is fluid. This can be exemplified within the Bible itself and the differences between the Old and New testaments. As time changes, so does the way in which the truth will out.

The challenge isn't with whether or not the Bible does or doesn't contain absolute truths; for me, it's more a question of whether or not the Bible contained truths when written - I'm not in a position where I can determine that. I merely believe that picking and choosing which truths to believe and which to dismiss is a dangerous game and that, because of it, many people are hurt.

Learn more about this author, loveinvented.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Can information contained in the Bible be placed in the realm of absolute truth, or does it simply present us with fables and myths??
We want to hear your view. Write now!