What is Truth?

Published on June 26, 2004 By Gangadhara In Philosophy

I just saw "The Passion of The Christ". Or, is it called "The Passion of Christ"? Whatever.

I think that this isone of the most powerful movies that I have seen. And, one of the most disturbing. It's violent and, the relentless violence can seem, by some to be overdone. And yest, I don't think so. I believe that the violence is essential to the movie and, it is the violence that makes the movie and, it is the violence that should force us to question ourselves.

I am quite sure that what happened to Christ was quite similar to what was portrayed in the movie. There is no way to sanitise the events, no matter how much we may try to do so. And, this is what is so disturbing. For, at one level, this is not a movie about Christ. This is a movie about humanity at large.

This is us, that was portrayed. Us then and, us now. What has changed except that the methods may have become more and more refined.

The jews/pharisees who tortured and crucified Christ did so in passion. Bestial? No. No animal does this to another. They kill only for food, not for sport, the way we do.

Look again through history. The Crusades, the With Hunts, the treatment of slaves, the Second World War, the India-Pakistan partition, Saddam, the Americans torturing the Iraqis.

The list goes on and on. And, all in the name of God. Christ was killed for a "God". Who's word we interpret. This is us in the movie. No one else.

Pilate asks - What is truth? Is there a universal truth. The truth is perception. Your reality and perception versus mine. Who's truth is the truth? Yours? Or mine?

This is the veil that is always in front of us. The veil of illusion. What is the truth? And, where is it?

Comments

Poetmom99

on Jun 26, 2004

The jews/pharisees who tortured and crucified Christ did so in passion.

While I agree with the basic premise of your article, and feel much the same way about the movie as you do, I had to take issue with this statement. The Jews did not torture or crucify Christ, the Romans did......

Gangadhara

on Jun 26, 2004

Okay, error on my part there!! I guess that I was still in the 'emotion' of the movie that I kinda got mixed up on that one. But, the basic premise remains.

AndyBaker

on Jun 28, 2004

What is truth? Is there a universal truth. The truth is perception. Your reality and perception versus mine. Who's truth is the truth? Yours? Or mine?

There must be a universal truth. Otherwise there would be nothing at all. Our perception of truth will depend on our degree of spiritual growth and wisdom.

Is everything an 'accident', with no intrinsic purpose to anything at all? Or is there a deeper meaning to life, the nature of 'the Infinite' endowed with transcendent purpose?

I think our answer to these last two points will determine whether our ladder is against the right wall.

BigDreamer415

on Jun 28, 2004

This is kind of off the subject, but inspired me to write this article. I Killed Jesus Link

Truth? What is truth? Jesus said, right before pilate asked, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born and for this reason I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

Nice article.

~Sarah

David St Hubbins

on Jun 28, 2004

Truth is directly experiencing reality. But first you have to stop. And look. In my opinion, words and thoughts (and opinions) are abstractions of truth, rarely if ever 100% true.

AndyBaker

on Jun 30, 2004

I believe that thoughts and opinions are tools of the soul, (our self-aware essence - that which is Who We Really Are), tools that can be used to align our perceptions with Truth.

Jesus came into the world to represent Truth, to testify that the Truth (or the nature of 'the Infinite') is Spirit / Person / Father in Heaven. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father"; "I AM the Real Vine" etc. Whether we believe that Jesus was telling the truth or not is our individual choice. We can use our thoughts and opinions to discern Wisdom from falsity. Significantly, because our finite minds cannot fully understand 'the Infinite', Jesus said that all we need to comprehend the Truth is to possess a "child-like faith".

Gangadhara

on Jun 30, 2004

I agree with the last comment. Some more of my thought on this subject. I believe that there is, in a sense, no one universal truth. I say this because everyone's reality is different and, is madeup of each person's perceptions. So, what is false? This, if taken to a logical or, illogical extreme, also becomes difficult to define. Now, history is written by the people who win wars and conquer countries, or so it is said and, what we have in history books is, sometimes, versions of the 'truth', written by the conquerors. In some cases, maybe mistaken perceptions, in some cases deliberate falsehood. But, a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth. Yes?
The Word of God is written by man. It is not possible to write about the Word of God. If there is indeed one God, as so many religions testify (not mine, the Hindu religion!!) or, one Supreme Deity, then this Deity should be the same for all religions. Yet, all religions interpret the Word of this One God differently. So, even the Word of God is not absolute.
Probably, the closest thing that defines the universe is mathematics. Apart from this, the Truth has to be experienced and cannot be talked about. As soon as you talk about it, it no longer becomes the Truth. And yes, as Christ, among others says, to experience this, you need "child like faith". I agree here.

AndyBaker

on Jun 30, 2004

If there is indeed one God, as so many religions testify

... then this Deity should be the same for all religions

Good point Gangadhara. In my opinion, all religions are in touch with the same Universal Spirit (God), only from a different perspective and cultural context. The common ground within all world faiths is actually very great. Most people spend their time bickering and fighting over the differences and contradictions, however. (Am I right in saying that Hinduism declares that there is only One Divine Being, which Hindus call Braham? The different gods are simply ways of assigning different attributes to the Divine. Even Hinduism really declares the existence of One God, ultimately. )

I agree that the Truth has to be experienced and cannot be talked about. For example, it has been said that we cannot break the 10 commandments. We can only break ourselves against them. I believe that we all possess an 'inner compass' which shows us the Way to Truth. Imagine, for argument's sake, that there is a "Word of God", (which Christians might call Logos). I believe that the degree to which our perception and interpretation of this "Word" is aligned with the Truth, (i.e. the way things really are), depends on our degree of spiritual growth and wisdom. Maybe it takes many life times to become enlightened? I believe that our religious texts are maps, which can show us the Way.

AndyBaker

on Jun 30, 2004

... just to make it clear what I meant by "the Word". I wasn't referring to a written word, like the Bible or the Qu'ran. I was talking about the metaphysical Word, by which all things were created.

i.e. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1.1). ... "And God said, 'Let there be light'" (Genesis 1.3)

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