What is Truth?

Its the question Pilate asked, but Jesus never really answered.

Growing up, I was sure I knew. I was surrounded by people who were sure they knew.

Truth was given to people who seriously read their Bibles, the Spirit revealed the truth to us. If other people came to different conclusions from their bible reading were being misled by the devil, because if they were truly reading the bible in the Spirit, they would come to the same conclusions as we had. There were very few people who really knew “the truth”.

One of the things that has drawn me to the Catholic Church is that they have an absolute truth claim that isn’t founded on each individual’s interpretation of the scriptures. Finally, one or two people won’t be able to lead hundreds or thousands astray simply because they are better at proof-texting the Bible than someone else!

But does that really change anything? Does that just mean that everyone will proof-text the teachings of the magisterium? And how do we know there is an absolute truth anyways?

I believe there is a God. I believe in the supernatural, and I know that the name of Jesus has power over evil. I have learned amazing things through Christianity. In many ways, I believe that the path of life laid out for Christians, is the best way to live. And yet I wonder, what gives Christians the right to say they’ve figured it out, that they know what God wants for every person? How can anybody decide that?

I wouldn’t say it’s easy to live the Christian life, and it has given me amazing blessings. But what about people that have to give up more than me?

It’s all fine and good for me to live without birth control, but what happens when I have a major health condition that would endanger my life and my child’s if I became pregnant? It’s easy for me to say that practicing homosexuality is a sin, and that people that have that temptation are called to life-long celibacy. But when I have a son who tells me he is gay, am I really going condemn him if he is not celibate for life?

How do we know that we are right?

What is truth?