(Abstract of the talk given on October 20th, 2008 at Stanford Religious Center)
Introduction
Truth has been one among the perennial quests of man. Sages have sought after it. Philosophers have debated it. Scientists seek to find it. All this is because truth matters. It affects our faith and actions.
But what is the essence of truth? How can truth be described? Is it merely a construct of the mind? Is it an experience that ought to be sought after?
Science and Truth
In today's world Science has been hailed as a 'bastion of truth' and all God talk has been relegated to the sphere of myths and superstition. In trying to understand how Science has attempted to discover truth about the 'physical world' around us people have come up with three theories:
- Verificationism - only that which is verifiable is true
- Falsificationism - only that (hypothesis) which is falsifiable is true
- Kuhnianism - truth is progressively discovered through 'paradigm shifts' involving people within a group
Even today many Scientists use one or more of the above methodologies either consciously or unconsciously to discover truth in their own fields of expertise. Each of the above methodologies possess inherent limitations in the extent to which they could be applied to all fields of knowledge and reality.
Science does not deal with the whole of reality. It only deals with the tangibles. It cannot address questions that deal with non-tangible aspects of life such as the purpose of life, life after death e.tc.. This is where Religions come into play.
Religion and Truth
Religions attempt to teach the truth about these signifcant questions of life such as
- who I am?
- where do I come from?
- where do I go?
For most of the eastern religions truth is an elusive, impersonal entity (eg. 'Brahman' in Hinduism) that can only be 'experienced'. Most of the western religions attempt to reduce truth to a set of propositions.
What is truth?
There exists a relationship between truth and the source of truth. We tend to believe truth that is communicated by those we can trust based on their character and capability in our day to day lives.
An astonishing claim about truth was made by Jesus Christ who said, 'I am ...the truth'. While making such an extra-ordinary claim about himself, he lived an impeccable life that attracted both followers and opponents. He performed extra-ordinary miracles demonstrating his divine attributes. In doing so he became the embodiment of truth itself, by displaying both the character and capability substantiating His claim for truth.
As the popular adage goes, 'Truth hurts'. When someone points out our faults, it can hurt us. In the same way, Jesus pointed out to the people the truth about themselves - that they fall short of meeting God's standard of perfection and are in danger of punishment despite their religious, moral and cultural heritage. His perfect life exagerated their anger that culminated in nailing him on the cross. However, he rose again on the third day to authenticate his life and message just as he had told them.
Anyone who desires to know the truth can do so now by seeking to have a relationship with Jesus Christ who is 'the truth'. Once we acknowledge that we are not perfect and attempt to connect with Him, we can begin to understand the truth about us, the world, the present and the future. What he said about life, death, you and me has the power to change us and help us become like Him. And life will never be the same again.
Do you want to know 'the TRUTH'?
About the Speaker: Jeyaprakash Samuel (Jp) completed his Ph.D. at IIT-Madras and University of Freiburg, Germany. Subsequent to a post-doctoral stint at Stanford University (Dept. of Chemical Engineering) he joined Lam Research in Fremont where he is now part of the 'New Product Development' research team.
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1 comment:
Kudos JP for this discussion forum.
I will get word out to friends with real appetite. Very much needed one. Congrats !
Science and Religion in their competiting claims to omniscience seem both to spring from the same tree of knowledge of good and evil that man ever wants to eat of and become god.
The quest for omniscience (be my own god) interestingly starts where the real God has been suppressed out of consciousness and is therefore a supposed celebration of man having finally arrived into his own.
Left with only himself to lay hold of omniscience, the lust for knowledge leading to divinity has seen man either making a god out of his reason that reaches to ultimate truth (philosophy) or a god out of his body which can arrive at ultimate truth of things (empirical science).
In practice the quest for knowledge based on human reason has led the Indian philosopher to the absurdly damning position of confounding his own Self as the only God there is, (e.g. A HAM BRAMASMI in Advaitic mysticism) and the quest for knowledge based on the human body the scientist to athiestic reductionism of everything to that which the human body alone senses. (Empiricism)
But God in infinite patience comes to man trapped in his own mind and body declaring what 'eye has not seen, ear has not heard,(i.e. empirical epistemology has failed) neigther has it entered the mind of man(i.e. philosophy of the human reason has failed) the things God has prepared for those who love Him'.
For no man understands the things of God except the Spirit of God. God's spirit searches the deep things of God. Therefore the elusive knowledge of ultimate reality the natural man using both his reason and his body has not grasped , God Himself reveals graciously to the woman or man who humbles herself before transcendence.
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