many people hold their beliefs in their hand..
we can hold money, and statues and bibles and
diplomas, the cross and flags in our hands...
all objects of worship...
we hold these objects of worship as signs that we have mastered
or understood the truth.. but each of them hold a different meaning,
a different truth...how can we be sure that the truth in
our hand is the sole and final truth? Epistemology, how
can we know the truth about that object in our hand?
by what standard or criteria can we discover what the "truth" is?
perhaps, the truth is not something we find, but in something
we seek?
The ancient Greeks defined history and philosophy
and math by the word "inquiry"
Inquiry: an act of asking for information
asking questions... and from that word, asking questions
we get history and philosophy and math and social science,
and theology... notice the word "inquiry" doesn't say, finding
information, it says ''asking for information"
the truth is about seeking information, not necessarily finding information...
and where are all the places we can seek out information?
schools, churches, the media, books, TV, radio, museums,
computers and finally, within ourselves........
the path to information is wide and broad and very, very long....
and how do we know what information we find is true? We engage
in the scientific method and compare and contrast that information
to other available information that we have....
is the truth universal, comprehensive, global, ecumenical?
or is the truth limited, partial, scarce, specific?
traditionally, the 'TRUTH" is limited, restricted,
confined, individual to what we can hold in our hand, be
it a flag or a book or the cross....... but that can change,
must be changed.... Pilate once asked, "what is the truth?''
and has an answer ever been found?
Kropotkin