Tuesday, July 26, 2005

"What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer."

While visiting Eric, we went to a book store and I beat him, by a hairs-breadth, to a book on Bacon’s Essays annotated by Richard Whately, D.D. Archbishop of Dublin, who I have never heard of but really like his thoughts. The previous post came from that book. This piece I thought I’d share, is on truth.

“There is not necessarily any moral virtue in receiving truth; for it may happen that our interest, or our wishes, are in the same direction; or it may be forced upon us by evidence as irresistible as that of a mathematical demonstration. The virtue consists in being a sincere votary of Truth;-- what our Lord calls being ‘of the Truth,’ – rejecting ‘the hidden things of dishonesty,’ and carefully guarding against every undue bias. Every one wishes to have Truth on his side; but it is not every one that sincerely wishes to be on the side of Truth.”

I find this somewhat troubling because I see in myself a love for Truth and knowledge, a hunger for the mysteries of God, but the living up to those is sadly lacking.
Acts 17:21
All the Athenians and the foreigners who live there, spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.

There may be Athenian blood in me. I would be happy to apply one tenth of what I read, truth is I would do well to apply one tenth of what I learned in my first year as a christian.
I hope it's like nutritious food, it keeps you from disease but only by continual consumption.
That being said, when a season comes where I have no appetite, then I know I'm in peril.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great piece dad, I will have to post some thoughts on my blog about it too. I have had many conversations about this topic with Christian as well. His mind at this age is wrestling with the expanding universe of more than simply the truth of his home. It has required deeper answers than days before. He has a very inquisitive mind that beautifully desires more sustenance than mere bread and water mentally. The more help here the better.