Spirituality
24 Mar 19
24 Mar 19
The comment was made in the “Peace” thread about living in truth.
What does that mean to you? As Pilate said: “What is Truth”?
If at all possible, be practical and specific, don’t just mouth religious words like “Jesus is the Truth” .
Also, a heartfelt plea to try to keep this thread free from personal abuse.
24 Mar 19
@caljust saidIsn't the danger in how you present your question, is the rejection of the possible answer of the very question you are asking by limiting where it can come from? One of the things that Pilate didn't do was wait for Jesus' answer. Religious words if they convey the truth, convey the truth. Not much different than origin questions, if we limit all answers to the material world, and if those answers cannot come from there, but some place that is being rejected the questions will always remain unanswered.
The comment was made in the “Peace” thread about living in truth.
What does that mean to you? As Pilate said: “What is Truth”?
If at all possible, be practical and specific, don’t just mouth religious words like “Jesus is the Truth” .
Also, a heartfelt plea to try to keep this thread free from personal abuse.
@caljust saidI think it means reducing the number of deceptions/self-deceptions ~ whether they be small or large ~ that keep things ticking over in terms of the nuts and bolts and nooks and crannies of life... reducing them to a minimum or eradicating them altogether.
The comment was made in the “Peace” thread about living in truth.
What does that mean to you? As Pilate said: “What is Truth”?
If at all possible, be practical and specific, don’t just mouth religious words like “Jesus is the Truth” .
Also, a heartfelt plea to try to keep this thread free from personal abuse.
I think it means reducing the number of unsustainable make-do arrangements and the number of things-put-off - the sticking plasters, and crutches and splints of life - that shore us up sometimes or postpone the addressing of issues.
I think it means reducing the number of debts and uncomfortable obligations we feel we have.
I think it means finding equilibrium between work and not-work, personal space, with-others-time etc.
I think it means updating and modifying what you think about things - being open-minded - in the face of events, interactions, experiences and lessons learned.
Then, you'd be living a balanced life; you'd feel at peace with yourself and with others you love or interact with; you'd have more power and self-control to give of yourself to others and to impact them in positive ways.
I think that would be more or less "living in truth".
24 Mar 19
1 edit
@kellyjay saidWhat I meant when I said: do not just say “Jesus is the Truth,” but what it actually MEANS TO YOU that Jesus is the Truth. How do you live? How does it affect your choices, etc.
Isn't the danger in how you present your question, is the rejection of the possible answer of the very question you are asking by limiting where it can come from? One of the things that Pilate didn't do was wait for Jesus' answer. Religious words if they convey the truth, convey the truth. Not much different than origin questions, if we limit all answers to the material worl ...[text shortened]... come from there, but some place that is being rejected the questions will always remain unanswered.
I am not limiting, or excluding , the fact that, for example, the Bible says that Jesus said this. I know too many people (and some of them right here on RHP SF) who glibly quote pious phrases but one sees very little of it in their lives.
Pilate’s rhetorical question “ What is Truth? “ clearly expresses the well-known phenomenon that many people say This is Truth! but completely contradicting each other, often mutually exclusively so. It gives the clear impression that Truth lies (like beauty) in the eye of the beholder.
So, back to the OP - what does “Living in the Truth” mean to you?
24 Mar 19
@caljust saidLiving life with Jesus Christ.
What I meant when I said: do not just say “Jesus is the Truth,” but what it actually MEANS TO YOU that Jesus is the Truth. How do you live? How does it affect your choices, etc.
I am not limiting, or excluding , the fact that, for example, the Bible says that Jesus said this. I know too many people (and some of them right here on RHP SF) who glibly quote pious phrases but ...[text shortened]... ty) in the eye of the beholder.
So, back to the OP - what does “Living in the Truth” mean to you?
@caljust saidOh, so now you're capitalizing the word "truth" and sticking "the" in front of it? What I wrote was in response to the turn of phrase "Living in truth". The words "the Truth" [capital t] just invite religious posturing. And religious posturing usually results in bumperstickerism.
So, back to the OP - what does “Living in the Truth” mean to you?
24 Mar 19
@fmf saidThanks for a well-reasoned and detailed response.
I think it means reducing the number of deceptions/self-deceptions ~ whether they be small or large ~ that keep things ticking over in terms of the nuts and bolts and nooks and crannies of life... reducing them to a minimum or eradicating them altogether.
I think it means reducing the number of unsustainable make-do arrangements and the number of things-put-off - the sticking ...[text shortened]... others and to impact them in positive ways.
I think that would be more or less "living in truth".
I would not disagree with anything that you said. Perhaps in the Bard’s words: to thine own self be true. Don’t knowingly and willingly try to fool yourself and others.
Live according to the Light that you now have, in the here-and-now. Over the course of my life I have had to jettison (and recant) many things which I previously would have sworn were The Truth, and even defended them with my life, which I now believe were in error. So I will never again say out loud : everything that I today believe is the ultimate and absolute Truth!
24 Mar 19
@fmf saidSorry! No switch of focus intended. Please forgive me.
Oh, so now you're capitalizing the word "truth" and sticking "the" in front of it? What I wrote was in response to the turn of phrase "Living in truth". The words "the Truth" [capital t] just invite religious posturing. And religious posturing usually results in bumperstickerism.
Please feel free to resond to any aspect of the concepts Truth or Living in Truth.
24 Mar 19
@caljust saidBroadly speaking, I think one's individual way of living in truth, so to speak, comes from [1] finding equilibrium [often achieved by shedding stuff] [2] taking full and personal responsibility for who you are and what you do.
Thanks for a well-reasoned and detailed response.
I would not disagree with anything that you said. Perhaps in the Bard’s words: to thine own self be true. Don’t knowingly and willingly try to fool yourself and others.
Live according to the Light that you now have, in the here-and-now. Over the course of my life I have had to jettison (and recant) many things which I p ...[text shortened]... will never again say out loud : everything that I today believe is the ultimate and absolute Truth!
24 Mar 19
@caljust saidWhat is Truth? For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the question, who is qualified to answer?
The comment was made in the “Peace” thread about living in truth.
What does that mean to you? As Pilate said: “What is Truth”?
If at all possible, be practical and specific, don’t just mouth religious words like “Jesus is the Truth” .
Also, a heartfelt plea to try to keep this thread free from personal abuse.
Here are my thoughts: I divide the question of 'what is Truth' into two categories. The first is this; generic. For example: when one is called to the witness stand they are ask to tell the truth relative to the resolution of the case. Or, when one reads the ingredient label of a particular food product and expects to know the truth about what's in the food.
The second category, which I believe is the topic of this thread, is 'what is Truth' with regards to the meaning and purpose of life.
One might ask, who am I? Where did I come from? How did everything get here? Is there a creator God?
"Truth", in that sense, is embodied in something intangible. To my way of thinking it seems that only "The Truth" can answer the question.
One might ask, where is the Truth? Where can it be found? How can I make the Truth tangible so that I can know what the Truth is?
Bottom line; for the Truth to be made tangible it must be embodied in the tangible, or it will remain intangible and unknowable.
24 Mar 19
When it comes to the truth of things, I also think doubt is a healthy thing and not something we should seek to expunge.
I think the 'certainties' and 'truths' that ideologies give us basically seek to do away with doubt and therefore do away with curiosity and perspective as well.
24 Mar 19
@secondson saidWhy would anyone want or need - or think it is possible - to turn unknowable things into tangible things?
What is Truth? For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the question, who is qualified to answer?
Here are my thoughts: I divide the question of 'what is Truth' into two categories. The first is this; generic. For example: when one is called to the witness stand they are ask to tell the truth relative to the resolution of the case. Or, when one reads the ingredient ...[text shortened]... o be made tangible it must be embodied in the tangible, or it will remain intangible and unknowable.
24 Mar 19
@fmf saidYou're just being trite. Kellyjay's answer, "Living life with Jesus Christ", to the question, "what does “Living in the Truth” mean to you?", isn't "bumperstickerism".
This is an example of bumperstickerism.
It's a clear and concise answer to the question, but because you don't agree with it you trivialize the answer by the fallacious use of the word bumperstickerism.