Veritas

Why is there such confusion today over what seems to be such a simple word? Relativism seems to have become the norm in today's society (or at least in schools of "higher" learning). Many believe that what is "truth" for you isn't "truth" for them. Another common view is that "all roads lead to the same God", so that no matter what religion you follow, it's OK. Those who claim that what they believe is the truth and that others are wrong are considered by many to be intolerant bigots or religious extremists. The word "truth", in and of itself, suggests it's exclusivity, with everything else becoming falsehood. Sure, all religions claim to have the truth. All of them can be wrong, but they all cannot be right - there would just be too many contradictions, which are also an enemy of truth. Pontius Pilate, upon questioning Jesus, asked him "What is truth?", displaying his own relativistic viewpoint, as the question was purely rhetorical.

Here is a quote from a book I highly recommend, called "Beyond Opinion". The quote is from Michael Ramsden, a well-known Christian apologist, which gives a great example of what I mentioned above:

I was asked to speak at an event a couple of years ago in which the audience wrote down all the difficult questions that they could think of and then the questions were drawn out of a basket at random. At the end of the event, a woman who embraced Buddhism came up to me. She said, "Michael, I've enjoyed this evening, but I'm a Buddhist and something bothers me. I want to ask you about it." I invited her to continue. She said, "You didn't say it expressly, but you seemed to assume in your answers, that there is only one way to God, through Jesus Christ. Would that be correct?" I said, "Well, yes. It would be correct." She said, "Well, I could never agree with you - I could never become an intolerant person like you by saying that other people are wrong."
I said, "You're a Buddhist, right?" She said, "Yes." I continued, "Tell me, didn't the Buddha say that Hinduism was wrong? Did he not reject the caste system, which is central to Hunduism, and state that the Vedas, their scriptures, were not divine?" And her face fell. She said, "He did say that. I read it this morning in my devotions." I said, "My question to you is really quite simple. If you're prepared to entertain the words of the Buddha, even though he said that millions of people were wrong, why are you not prepared to entertain what Jesus has to say when he says that some people are wrong?" She quickly replied, "I don't like where this converstion is going." I said, "I can appreciate that, but will you answer my question?"
The next morning she attended a church in which I was preaching on the subject of forgiveness. At the end, she sat in silence for a few minutes and then burst into tears. For the first time she realized that the Christian faith she had left behind for Buddhism was not true Christianity at all. She had simply exchanged one way of life for another; she had actually never known Christ, despite having gone to church almost every day of her school life.

The search for truth should be the most important thing in one's life, as once you have found it, everything else will follow. The search must be honest and without prejudice or pre-conceived notions. If you believe that there is a God, pray and ask Him to show you the truth and I'm sure that He will. There are four questions in life that form who you are - origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. Ultimately, the world view that you subscribe to must answer all those questions in a cohesive manner. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Based on what I've said above, His claims are perfectly rational. You can choose to believe Him or not.