Prove All Things...


Carborendum
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We seem to now have a society in pretty much the entire developed world where we choose to believe falsehoods and stick with it no matter what.  The fact that they're sticking to their guns is actually an admirable quality.

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Prove all things.  Hold fast to that which is good.

 -- 1 Thes 5:21

One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds.

 -- Mahatma Gandhi.

People have the second half of that equation down pat.  The problem is that too often, they don't abide by the first half of the equation.  Why is that?

Human beings have a natural desire for truth.  Truth brings us peace.  The Light of Christ tells us all that this is true.  And truth provides a sense of security.

Virtually any continually surviving religion today will provide a moral framework for people to determine what is truth. Religious conviction should also be slow in forming.  We are raised through years of teaching.  One may call it indoctrination if one disagrees with what is taught.  But it doesn't matter.  The child growing up in it is always curious.  Some ask more questions than others.  But they still take years and years to form their convictions about that religion -- even if they were indoctrinated since childhood.  

Whether right or wrong, they have learned

  • There is such a thing as "truth".
  • To reason out (whether false foundation or not) how truths fit together.  They have learned how one truth will lead to another truth.
  • To understand that knowing the truth will help guide their lives.

They have put that system through their own natural curiosity of "how & why".  That much at least provides a foundation for "proving all things."

The problem we see today about the rising generation leaving religion in droves is not because they realize what they were taught was wrong.  The problem is that they were never taught "truth" in the first place.  Parents falsely believe that they shouldn't "force" their religion on their children.  And there is a genuine wisdom in not "forcing" it upon them.  But that often translates into "shield them from any religion at all."

If you're never taught what is true (or worse, that there actually isn't a "truth" at all) how can one recognize it when they hear it?  When people start off being told that there is no truth, then by default, they will believe what is false. 

As children of God, our spirits are fed by light and truth.  We NEED truth.  And if we can't find truth from our early surroundings, we desperately grab onto some falsehood as truth. "Hold fast to that which is false" becomes teh default.  No such thing as "slowly forming convictions". No such thing as "proving all things".   A starving person doesn't care if food is poisoned.  They will ravenously eat it anyway.

I would rather have a child brought up in a false religion than to have them raised with no religion at all.  The false religion has a foundation of the idea of truth that we can work with.  But to be raised thinking there is no truth?  Exits from such a deep pit are few and far between.

Edited by Carborendum
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51 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

We seem to now have a society in pretty much the entire developed world where we choose to believe falsehoods and stick with it no matter what.  The fact that they're sticking to their guns is actually an admirable quality.

People have the second half of that equation down pat.  The problem is that too often, they don't abide by the first half of the equation.  Why is that?

Human beings have a natural desire for truth.  Truth brings us peace.  The Light of Christ tells us all that this is true.  And truth provides a sense of security.

Virtually any continually surviving religion today will provide a moral framework for people to determine what is truth. Religious conviction should also be slow in forming.  We are raised through years of teaching.  One may call it indoctrination if one disagrees with what is taught.  But it doesn't matter.  The child growing up in it is always curious.  Some ask more questions than others.  But they still take years and years to form their convictions about that religion -- even if they were indoctrinated since childhood.  

Whether right or wrong, they have learned

  • There is such a thing as "truth".
  • To reason out (whether false foundation or not) how truths fit together.  They have learned how one truth will lead to another truth.
  • To understand that knowing the truth will help guide their lives.

They have put that system through their own natural curiosity of "how & why".  That much at least provides a foundation for "proving all things."

The problem we see today about the rising generation leaving religion in droves is not because they realize what they were taught was wrong.  The problem is that they were never taught "truth" in the first place.  Parents falsely believe that they shouldn't "force" their religion on their children.  And there is a genuine wisdom in not "forcing" it upon them.  But that often translates into "shield them from any religion at all."

If you're never taught what is true (or worse, that there actually isn't a "truth" at all) how can one recognize it when they hear it?  When people start off being told that there is no truth, then by default, they will believe what is false. 

As children of God, our spirits are fed by light and truth.  We NEED truth.  And if we can't find truth from our early surroundings, we desperately grab onto some falsehood as truth. "Hold fast to that which is false" becomes teh default.  No such thing as "slowly forming convictions". No such thing as "proving all things".   A starving person doesn't care if food is poisoned.  They will ravenously eat it anyway.

I would rather have a child brought up in a false religion than to have them raised with no religion at all.  The false religion has a foundation of the idea of truth that we can work with.  But to be raised thinking there is no truth?  Exits from such a deep pit are few and far between.

The problem is that we all think our opinions are the truth.  Then we assume that any criticism of our opinions are not so much a rejection of the truth but a personal affront of our character.   The reality is that truth has no problem at all with criticism - in fact the strength and more of it is displayed (made obvious) with criticism.  So it is that criticism always says more about its source than it does about what is being criticized.  It is also true that very few know enough of our character to gain much in criticizing that.  And yet the most harmful thing to serve to anyone (and their opinion) is flattery - even if most of it is true.

It is my opinion that it is more important and a greater accomplishment to have discovered how to recognize truth than it is to believe the truth.  The same applies to lies.   ????

 

The Traveler

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15 hours ago, Traveler said:

Because the biggest lies are the lies we tell ourselves.

It may be a question of semantics.  But I don't believe it is because we tell ourselves lies.  I think it is that often times we don't know the difference between truth and lies.

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4 hours ago, Carborendum said:

It may be a question of semantics.  But I don't believe it is because we tell ourselves lies.  I think it is that often times we don't know the difference between truth and lies.

Perhaps we need a rather long and deep discussion to consider each other's view in this matter.  This statement:

Quote

I think it is that often times we don't know the difference between truth and lies.

It is my opinion that this is a beginning excuse of a latinity of lies we want so badly to tell ourselves.   Every human that comes into this world is armed with the "spirit of Christ" by divine covenant.  It is impossible (my opinion) to be confused of what is true at any level without first rejecting that spirit of Christ - that I believe can only be done through a lie we tell ourselves to justify it.  I also believe that regardless of how far we have strayed from this light of truth - it will still haunt us and cause us shame and embarrassment - which is the beginning of secrets and distrust. 

I believe that the proving of things is nothing more than being aware or becoming awaken by that "spirit of Christ" which cannot be ignored except we lie to ourselves first.  One little side note that I believe is attached to this - is why Lucifer became Satan and the father of lies - because he first lied (that infamous very first lie) to himself.

 

The Traveler

Edited by Traveler
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1 hour ago, Traveler said:

It is impossible (my opinion) to be confused of what is true at any level without first rejecting that spirit of Christ - that I believe can only be done through a lie we tell ourselves to justify it.  I also believe that regardless of how far we have strayed from this light of truth - it will still haunt us and cause us shame and embarrassment - which is the beginning of secrets and distrust. 

I believe that the proving of things is nothing more than being aware or becoming awaken by that "spirit of Christ" which cannot be ignored except we lie to ourselves first.  One little side note that I believe is attached to this - is why Lucifer became Satan and the father of lies - because he first lied (that infamous very first lie) to himself.

When raised outside of religious conviction, there is nothing outside of oneself.  Self is the ultimate source of reason and truth.  Listening to this outer voice becomes a childish fantasy.  And, yes, they will unconsciously reject it.

Being raised with religious conviction, one is given the notion that they are not the center of the universe.  By that one trait, one has a greater propensity towards humility.  And humility is the beginning of learning truth.

Which is better?  To believe that one can come to the truth by one's own observations alone?  Or by trusting in a higher power to open up the mysteries of the universe to you as you open up your heart to infinite possibilities?

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10 hours ago, Carborendum said:

When raised outside of religious conviction, there is nothing outside of oneself.  Self is the ultimate source of reason and truth.  Listening to this outer voice becomes a childish fantasy.  And, yes, they will unconsciously reject it.

Being raised with religious conviction, one is given the notion that they are not the center of the universe.  By that one trait, one has a greater propensity towards humility.  And humility is the beginning of learning truth.

Which is better?  To believe that one can come to the truth by one's own observations alone?  Or by trusting in a higher power to open up the mysteries of the universe to you as you open up your heart to infinite possibilities?

While serving a mission, I learned that it is our opportunity as disciples of Christ to testify of the truth.  How those seeds fall upon the ground of other's hearts (ears) is between them and G-d.  It is likely, because each person is a different individual, that the spirit will inspire you how to best testify of the truth.  It is their agency to deal with it.

 

The Traveler

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14 hours ago, Traveler said:

While serving a mission, I learned that it is our opportunity as disciples of Christ to testify of the truth.  How those seeds fall upon the ground of other's hearts (ears) is between them and G-d.  It is likely, because each person is a different individual, that the spirit will inspire you how to best testify of the truth.  It is their agency to deal with it.

 

The Traveler

It may also happen that it is for someone else to harvest the seeds you plant. 

Likewise, even if you "only" plant a single seed, there's no telling how great a plant will arise.

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