Does Truth Matter?

You have to be living in a cave not to know about the whole Zimmerman/Martin case down in Florida.  It seems we can't get away from it.  What fascinates me about the whole thing is how different people can look at supposedly the same set of facts and come up with such wide ranging conclusions and reactions.  The jury, arguably the ones who heard most of the actual facts in the case, rendered a verdict of not guilty.  Thousands of people around the world, who granted have only heard the facts as presented by the media and so called "civil rights" folks, disagree so strongly with that verdict that they are willing to go on a rampage.

Now, apart from the ridiculous nature of that kind of response to one of thousands of similar cases that happen all the time in various circumstances, the question is: what is truth, what are the facts, and do they matter?

Liberal groups are protesting and attacking Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Law which allows citizens to defend themselves.  Interestingly enough, Zimmerman's lawyers never even appealed to that law in their defense. That's the truth.  That's the fact.  But does it matter?  Apparently not.  

This whole thing raises an important question.  Does truth matter?  Not just in this case, but in general?  Part of the problem comes from defining truth.  In this case, the jury saw truth in one way, the protesters believe the truth is something different.  So is truth just what we believe?  Or is it something else that stands outside of our belief?

I would argue the latter.  Truth is truth, period.  It's true whether you believe it or not, accept it or not, embrace it or not, discover it or not, etc.  It is true, and it doesn't change.  In this legal battle, there is a chance that we may never know the whole truth.  Only the two men involved know all the facts, the full truth.  Again, a jury heard the facts as presented and rendered their opinion on the truth.  Others hear the media firestorm, stoked by pictures of a much younger and innocent looking Martin, and believe the truth to be something else.  But there is only one truth in this case.

Does truth matter?  Or are we satisfied with having our emotions charged by "beliefs"?  And again, this is a question that reaches well beyond this one case.  In fact, it is a question with eternal consequences.  Because ultimately, truth has to do with the the Truth of God.

It's interesting how when discussing truth, we usually look at the facts, but when it comes to religion, we redefine truth in terms of preference.  It's objective vs. subjective truth.  And the swapping of those two is what leads some to say ridiculous things like "all religions are true," or "what's true for you is fine, and what's true for me is fine, even if they are different."  Really?

So, I can say that the world is flat, and you can say that it's square, and that's fine for both of us even though the facts, the truth is that the world is round.  How silly.  It doesn't matter what you "believe" to be true, or how sincerely you believe it.  Truth is true, period. 

Stop and consider the basic logic of things.  Hindus believe in thousands of gods.  Buddhists believe in no god.  Jews and Muslims believe in one God in one person.  Christians believe in One God, but in Three Persons.  How can all of those be true at the same time?  They might all be false, but they can't all be true.

Eastern religions believe in reincarnation and working toward eternal bliss.  Muslims and Jews believe in various forms of "works" salvation.  Christianity believes in grace through the finished work of Christ on the cross.  They can't all be true, no matter how much we believe them.

Here's the point. Truth matters.  Eternity is an awfully long time to be wrong.  So examine the facts.  Don't let emotionalism and "belief" get in the way.  Look at the historical facts and you'll find that only Christianity lines up with the Truth.  Jesus Christ came and died on the cross, and rose again.  Historical facts.  Doesn't matter how the "jury" or the "media" interprets the facts, they are facts.  It's true.  It's the Truth.

My favorite example is the old bumper sticker that says "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."  And my argument has always been:  God said it, that settles it whether you believe it or not.  Truth is true.  God has set it before us.  Whether you "believe" it or not doesn't change the reality of it.  So we'd better check the facts and embrace the true Truth.  Because, again...eternity is a long time to be wrong.