One Truth... or Many Truths?

"...then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

truth [trooth]
noun, plural truths [troothz, trooths]
1.the true  or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.
2.conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.
3.a verified or indisputable fact, or the like: mathematical truths.
4.the state or character of being true.
5.actuality or actual existence.


I hear the question a lot; is there one Truth-with-a-capital-T, or are there many truths? I assume what people often mean by this is, "Is this religion thing right, or do we have fudge-room to get into heaven? Will other people be there too?"


As a Christian, I feel obliged to believe there is only one truth, and it's pretty well-laid out in the my Bible: 
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6


(Hmm. There's no fudge-room in this statement, is there?)


But...
As a deep thinker (humor me here), I look around and see people following different truths: Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, Atheists, and many, many more. I can't believe they're all going to hell because they don't understand John 14:6. It's not that I don't believe in hell, but, um, God, that's pretty harsh, isn't it? Some of these people are my friends!
But...
As a human, I think there's one truth-with-a-small-t. Something's got to be right, and something's gotta be not-right. Unless there are parallel universes, but, well, I'm not going there today.
But...
As a hippie wannabe, I like the "follow your truth" stuff. It's empowering. It's all warm and fuzzy and makes me want to go hug a kitten. (I like kittens. That's one of my truths.)


Out of the two possibilities, (one Truth/many truths) I see a third: 
There is ONE TRUTH.
We don't know it.
Nobody.
Because we're not God.


Yup. That's it. So, here's my truth, for now: I'm going to keep plodding along in the direction I'm going. It seems right to me. I believe the universe is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. There's more to life than what we can see and touch. I admit, I can't get my mind around some parts of the Bible (mostly the Old Testament), but I like the idea of a personal God. I like the stuff Jesus said. That's MY truth.


I see people following other paths, though. Do their paths lead to God? I don't know. Sometimes I like to think... and this might be wrong; I'm just thinking aloud... that Jesus is a LOT more than just a 2000 year old Jewish Carpenter, and that He speaks to people in different ways. I don't mean everyone, because not everyone is seeking Him. (Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7) But if people seek Him, and they find someone called Vishnu or Allah, and they put their hearts into following the wrong god, does the "right" God close the door? Or... does He leave it open until they see Him face-to-face, and they realize the Truth? If I see God when I die, and it turns out He has green skin and His name is Barbara, will I reject Him? Or will He say, "Too late. Go to hell."? I don't know.


I'll keep praying for more understanding. After all, I believe in God, and God knows the Truth.
Peace, Love, Truth

What I’d like to say to the people of Westboro Baptist Church:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:43...

But they wouldn't listen anyway. "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8

God is love.

God IS love.

God is LOVE!

Peace, Love, Coexist

Christian... American... Interchangeable?

Saying America is a Christian country is neither Christian nor American.

What does it mean, anyway? Every American citizen is a Christian? It simply isn’t true. Every citizen must become a Christian to live here? That's just stupid. Saying everyone who isn’t a Christian must leave is blatantly and horribly unchristian AND unamerican... and unconstitutional... and really scary!

It cheapens both my religion and my citizenship. I belong to a religion of love. I belong to a country of openness.

So, guys. Stop it already!

Peace, Love, Acceptance

Is America a Christian Country?

Some Christians like to think so. I’m not sure why. Maybe they’ve gotten us mixed up with Israel from the Old Testament. Maybe they feel more comfortable thinking everyone around them feels the same way they do. Maybe they’re afraid. I’m not sure.
What I do know is, AMERICA is NOT a CHRISTIAN COUNTRY! (Ooh! Blasphemy!) Some of our founding fathers were Christian, and some were not. Jesus isn’t mentioned in our beloved documents. (The Constitution prevents the Federal government from making a "law respecting an establishment of religion", and guarantees the free exercise of religion. How is that Christian?) If 76% of Americans are Christians, what about the rest? Are they not Americans?
Is America a great country? You bet! One of the best. I’m happy and proud to live here.
But...
I’m not wrapped in a flag. I’m at the foot of the cross. I’m a Christian first, and an American second. That means I respect strangers and friends who worship Allah, who worship other gods, and who don’t worship at all. I don’t assume they’re evil, I don’t assume they’re un-American, and I don’t pretend they don’t exist, either. I do know God loves them as much as He loves me. He said so.

"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

'The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

There’s the other side of this; of course. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 But that’s God’s job, not mine. My job is to tell people the Good News. What's the Good News? "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24

In the wake of 9-1-1, we’ve become more xenophobic than ever, and we’ve made some pretty huge mental leaps; like, for instance, all Muslims are terrorists. (That’s like saying all Christians bomb abortion clinics.)
But if God wants them to know Him, than so should we. I dare you to make friends with an American of another faith. Don’t preach, don’t condemn, and don’t assume they’re going to hell. Don’t assume you’re superior, either. God loves both of you. Just let Jesus shine through you. He’ll do the rest.

Peace, Love, Coexist