# One of the Greatest Questions you can ever ask \[Knowing Truth -- Witnessing \] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 30, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288 "2013-06-30T21:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tomana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e68b1a/32.png) [@tomana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomana)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/1 "2013-06-30T21:16:09Z")
This is my first post … thanks for the opportunity to join in I believe one of the greatest questions that can be asked is: “What do I base my truth upon?” Upon what, or whom, do you base what is correct, accurate, factual, the truth? How do you know it’s correct, the truth? What, exactly, is the foundation on which you build your depository of what you call truth ? One of the greatest barriers to knowing the truth is the presumption that we already have it. Ignorance is darkness and yet, those who possess her think they are in the light. That’s called self-deception (to be in darkness [error] while you’re thinking you’re in the light [correct] is a deception). There are other types of deceptions as well but many seem to prefer to tell themselves they are not, or are seldom, deceived. Or that they can only be deceived if they carelessly let their guard down. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus Christ said, “They have eyes but can not see and ears but can not hear.” Many like to think they see and hear the truth but they do not. Truth is that which is correct and right, as compared to what is in error and therefore wrong. But according to whom - you, me or is there someone much greater whom we must turn to? Many say they want the truth but many really do not want it, they just like to think they do and more often prefer to tell them self they already have it. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/2 "2013-06-30T21:31:55Z")
I turn to facts, reason and the scientific method. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/3 "2013-06-30T21:36:32Z")
Truth is a bad idea. It suggests a degree of epistemological certitude which is impossible to attain through any real-world process. Instead of the truth what we actually possess are a collection of provisional ways of understanding the world that have larger or smaller amounts of evidence backing them up. These ways of understanding are true only to the extent that they have so far resisted falsification. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/4 "2013-06-30T21:43:20Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > Truth is that which is correct and right, as compared to what is in error and therefore wrong. But according to whom - you, me or is there someone much greater whom we must turn to? Yahweh? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/5 "2013-06-30T21:46:26Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yahweh? That’s YHVH, you infidel! I try to keep my truths supported by evidence. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/6 "2013-06-30T21:56:25Z")
SInce I cannot perform the verifications and experiments myself, I look to people or organizations that have a historical record of _both_ being right _and_ self-correcting when they are shown to be wrong. I also consider the willingness to evolve as time goes on, based on the facts they obtain and corrections they make. A group, organization, news source etc that meets these standards get trust from me. Beyond that , I have to make sure that what I believe to be true agrees with what I see in reality, or there is a good explanation for why my reality (“common sense”) doesn’t align with stated truths. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/7 "2013-06-30T21:57:41Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > Jesus Christ said, “They have eyes but can not see and ears but can not hear.” Jesus, if he existed at all, was just a guy who grew up in a primitive time, in a particularly backwards area. He has nothing useful to tell you, bro. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/8 "2013-06-30T22:23:36Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Truth is a bad idea. It suggests a degree of epistemological certitude which is impossible to attain through any real-world process. Instead of the truth what we actually possess are a collection of provisional ways of understanding the world that have larger or smaller amounts of evidence backing them up. These ways of understanding are true only to the extent that they have so far resisted falsification. I agree, and I think the term you are looking for is Wisdom. Truth is absolute, Wisdom is relative. Wisdom is more useful than Truth. “Believe those who seek the truth; doubt those who find it.” ~~Andre Gide Wisdom is acquired in the search for Truth. When one is convinced they have learned the Truth, they stop looking, and stop acquiring Wisdom. It not about the destination, it is about the journey. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/9 "2013-06-30T22:41:07Z")
Anyone else guess what the answer was going to be? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/10 "2013-06-30T22:47:06Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > Jesus Christ said, “They have eyes but can not see and ears but can not hear.” Jesus may have said that, but he was quoting Psalms 115. ---
**Author:** ![tomana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e68b1a/32.png) [@tomana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomana)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/11 "2013-06-30T22:58:44Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Jesus may have said that, but he was quoting Psalms 115. Jesus Christ inspired Psalm 115 because Christ is God and it si God who inspired the writer of Psalm 115 To Feat Itself: Regarding your reply about wisdom vs truth, Christ said he was the Truth, but according to you he got it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/12 "2013-06-30T23:06:53Z")
And the truth of this thread comes out. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/13 "2013-06-30T23:07:22Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > Jesus Christ inspired Psalm 115 because Christ is God and it si God who inspired the writer of Psalm 115 > > To Feat Itself: Regarding your reply about wisdom vs truth, Christ said he was the Truth, but according to you he got it wrong. No, he might be right; we have no way of knowing. The problem is, there are to many contradictory truths for them all to be right. I just find Wisdom more useful than Truth. ---
**Author:** ![tomana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e68b1a/32.png) [@tomana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomana)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/14 "2013-06-30T23:10:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Anyone else guess what the answer was going to be? I read this before posting this thread: Great Debates For long-running discussions of the great questions of our time. **This is also the place for religious debates and (if you feel you must) witnessing.** the bible says: For what can be known about God is plain to them [all people], because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse [when they have to give account to God Himself] ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/15 "2013-06-30T23:11:11Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > And the truth of this thread comes out. Surprise!! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/16 "2013-06-30T23:19:21Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Surprise!! Sad part is, minus the witnessing, it’s an interesting question. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/17 "2013-06-30T23:22:51Z")
Why do every single one of them post as if this “Great Truth” is something brand new that never occurred anyone else in the past, like they are speaking to a bunch of savages that never read the Bible, went to church, or even thought about the concept of gods? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/18 "2013-06-30T23:31:44Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > I read this before posting this thread: > > Great Debates > For long-running discussions of the great questions of our time. **This is also the place for religious debates and (if you feel you must) witnessing.** > > the bible says: > > For what can be known about God is plain to them [all people], because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse [when they have to give account to God Himself] It doesn’t matter what the bible says. It’s just a book written by ignorant men thousands of years ago. There is no special truth or relevance in it. ---
**Author:** ![Itself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/19 "2013-06-30T23:38:32Z")
Well, I’m convinced. I had never heard of this “Jesus Christ” person before; and since I base all of my major religious and philosophical decisions on what I read on Internet mesage boards, I guess I’ll have to convert to whatever flavor of Christianity the poster endorses. I’m just glad the Time Cube site doesn’t have a forum. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/20 "2013-06-30T23:43:36Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > the bible says: > > For what can be known about God is plain to them [all people], because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse [when they have to give account to God Himself] The problem is that this is begging the question. The Bible is only a valid authority if you accept the Bible as an authority for telling you what’s valid. And that’s ignoring the fact that there are several different religions that each cite the Bible as proof that they’re right and the others are wrong. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288.md?page=2)