Our Truth Galaxies

Truth is vast and complex, but “What is truth?” Pilate famously asked roughly two thousand years ago. If you’ve struggled in a relationship, been caught up in a political argument, taken sides in a science-versus-religion debate, or ever worried about there being life after death, you may have asked that question as well.

Rather than attempt to answer it, let’s just talk about truth: my truth and your truth, marital truth and political truth, scientific and religious truth. We can appreciate the beauty of how these realms of truth are organized much like we can enjoy the varied formations in the Grand Canyon with its vastdetail in time and space. What you will see will depend on the excursions you take.

Here are six possible explorations of the Grand Canyon of Truth (GCT). It begins with a look at both the simplicity of your statements and the complexity of their interpretation. It then takes you over some common truth formations. Sounds simple, but you will soon see how trying to grasp and circumscribe our realms of truth is like trying to visually grasp and differentiate the galaxies of the night sky—Milky Way being but one. The first exploration is a flight over the GCT. It may leave you thinking that truth ultimately resides in our minds.

The next three excursions are explorations into our marital, political, and institutional truth formations. While these truth formations are easily recognized, siblings and friends and those in other communities and countries can be quite differently caught up in them. This may leave you wondering whether the GCT is not ultimately cultural.

The fifth excursion takes you into the realm of our spiritual pathfinders and their interest in the eventual consequences of the different ways that we choose to address our most fundamental concerns. It also looks at how “the End Times” have been differently envisioned, a topic worth contemplating and discussing. This excursion may leave you wondering if the GCT isn’t somehow sourced in our genes.

In the last excursion, you will be rafting down the GCT in a contemplation of your truth. This excursion is best taken with some well-meaning friends who are willing to discuss the consequences of how you address your most basic concerns.

These excursions will leave you with a clearer orientation toward life, an integrated view of science and religion, and a more structured way of understanding wherein lies your joy of life.