# 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:** 2\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/81 "2013-07-02T22:46:47Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > Some things need to be believed to be seen. > > If I were able to give you ‘solid evidence’ of God, what would you do? You think you would believe but you would not, just the same as the Jews who said they knew God but when God came, in the flesh, they knew him not nor did many of them want to know him. You’re no different, neither am I or anyone else. Look at what Jesus said in Mat 25 in the parable of the sheep and the goats. even those who recognized him as Lord were sent away. Believing what someone else tells you, and accepting traditions created and taught by men, is not a great path to the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288/82 "2013-07-02T23:13:30Z")
> [@tomana](#): > > 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] > [@tomana](#): > > a person can’t find God for the same reason a thief can’t find a police man … it’s because he ain’t looking. I found that this is incorrect. Of course, I can’t convince anyone of that, since all I have is my own experience as evidence, but that evidence is compelling. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Actually, there are plenty more possibilities: > 4) Mistaken > 5) Misquoted > 6) Fictional > 7) Poetical > 8) Mistranslated > > and so forth. Not only do these possibilities exist, but there are literally tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people who believe each one (probably millions, but I’m being conservative). Bingo. Doyle has Holmes say, “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” This is just about the most stupid thing Holmes ever said. While strictly true, it’s impossible to apply in practice. It applies only when all possibilities can be enumerated, which I find is very rarely the case, in the real world. Even when debugging computer programs, where everything is digital and the options should be enumerable (or it’s a hardware issue, not my problem!), the real answer turns out to be something that wasn’t even on the radar screen. > [@Mangetout](#): > > Now, how do you know for sure that you’re not in this category? Bingo. I’m pretty sure I’m not in this category, because I’m not terribly certain that what I believe is true. I’m nearly certain that there are things I’m convinced of that are false. Now if only I could figure out which … I’m pretty sure I’ll never get a chance to say “See? I TOLD you!” regarding life after death. I think I can count on that as solid. Did the OP ever answer his own (very good) question? I’ve enjoyed many of the thoughtful replies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-greatest-questions-you-can-ever-ask-knowing-truth-witnessing/662288.md?page=4)