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I have an assignment for my English class that poses the question: What is Truth? For one of the sections I have to write, I’m supposed to ask people what their ideas and beliefs are on a few questions. There is no right or wrong answer, and can be as long or as short as you want. If you choose to answer them please tell me your age and religious affiliation as that is important to my survey and will be cited. I really appreciate your thoughts.

Questions:

1) Where did you come from? (before this life)
2) Why are you here?
3) Where will you go after you die?
4) What is your belief of god? (trinity or three separate beings, his nature, his purpose, etc.)
5) Finally, what in general does the word Truth mean to you?

Thanks again!

The only thing is…how do you know if people are telling the truth when they answer these questions?

Helpful as always Dan. =)

1 and 2) When a man and woman love each other very very much… Just kidding. I came from my creator. I believe that he had me in mind from the beginning of time and still decided to go through with creating me despite the faults he knew I would have. I find that beautiful and very hopeful. God created me for a purpose and all my energies should be focused on identifying my place in his kingdom and actively pursuing that fulfillment.
3) I’ll be with what I love most. My God, my family, my friends and creation, living the good life on a new heaven and a new earth. If given the option, you’ll find me reading a good book up in a maple tree on a comfortable autumn day. That or listening to Jimi Hendrix playing through a tower of amps the size of the empire state building. A guy can dream right?
4) I know where this one is going. =). I believe in three in one even though the Biblical concept three seperate beings but one God is a bit hazy. Call it faith.
It is my hope that God is more wonderful than I can imagine, and I have a good imagination. God created all things good. God loves beautiful things. I think that’s my ultimate goal—to be beautiful for God. God’s ultimate goal is to redeem everything to be beautiful again. It is his task, and in a small insignificant way, I’m a part of that. That in and of itself is a praiseworthy thing. I have divine and meaningful service. I have a calling to accomplish. I can be fruitful. All of this is only possible because of what God does for me—the way he made me. The gifts and talents he gave me. God wants everything redeemed because he is full of love and full of grace. Although I have no Bible verses to point to for this next statement, I believe it anyway. Despite God being just and jealous, I believe God has more love in him than anything else—more love in him than I could possible hope to comprehend. That comforts me and challenges me at the same time. There’s only one was that I know of to respond to a vision of a God like that. I’m not good at that response yet, but I’m learning.
5.) Truth is recognizing and striving for the beautiful. It is drinking in every ounce of goodness and beauty that is put before me and mirroring that beauty in everything I do. Truth to me is not an idea, but an process—an action verb. I want to truth. Again, I’m not good at truthing yet, but I’m working on it. May God shine his face upon me and give me peace as I pursue his perfect truth.

great questions, Stnwll64. just wanted to let you know i’m mulling them over, hoping i’ll get a chance to respond in full.

hi, Stnwll. i’ve been having a hard time finding a good chunk of time to respond, so i’ll just start and see how far i get.

2) Why are you here?

i believe i’m here because, in spite of my tendency to screw up, God enjoys humans like me. for some reason, God chose to create life with a mind of its own, with the capacity to love, think, desire, build, procreate, and imagine, both recklessly and obediently. not fully understanding God’s choice, i’m left to contemplate what i can do to honor God while i’m here. i believe i’m here in this time and place to announce the victory of Christ in all i do and to help shape up this earth in preparation for the return of the King. what would God say upon returning to find we had hoarded the treasure of the resurrection for ourselves instead of multiplying that knowledge? we’d be fired for sure. specifically, i believe i’m here to encourage the body of Christ to engage culture in ways that are creative, communal, intelligent, thorough, and don’t always make sense, thereby strengthening our witness and professing the mystery of the powerful, whimsical, perfectly just God. this encouragement primarily takes the form of writing and speaking.

3) Where will you go after you die?

i’m not sure “where,” in the literal sense, but i can somewhat imagine what it will be like. i had a small notion of it the other day, as i browsed used books at the 36th anniversary party of the Long Lake Food and Book Shop. in the background, a local chorus skillfully sang early American hymns and folksongs, as i discovered just the book i was looking for for a friend for $.70. i wandered around the maze of shelves cloaked in the smell of old wood floors and paperbacks, smiling quietly as i squeezed past folks i knew were enjoying the same sense of wonder. tibetan prayer flags, blank journals, cheap and exotic liquor, free cookies and punch, packages of recycled toilet paper, postcards with beautiful pictures of native americans, adults coloring with crayons on blocks of wood to be incorporated later into a secret project—heaven will be something like the Long Lake Food and Book Shop for me, a place where i can feel the endless wonder of God’s creativity, love, and sense of humor and have the opportunity to thank God face-to-face.

4) What is your belief of god? (trinity or three separate beings, his nature, his purpose, etc.)

I believe in the God who is revealed in the Bible, through prophets and in creation. fortunately, i can’t define God entirely, because that would leave me hanging in situations in which my own wisdom is insufficient. God is the source and the end of all things good. God is neither male nor female. God is perfect order, perfect love, perfect beauty. God is both loving and just—i don’t understand how. that’s what keeps me in fear and wonder.

okay, i have to go. i’ll try to get to the other ones later! anyone else willing to give it a go?

I’ll venture a few answers. If parts seem familiar it’s because I’m plagiarizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

1) Ultimately, I come from God, who created all things out of nothing, including me.

2) I am here to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

3) After I die my soul will pass into glory and be made perfect in holiness. At the resurrection I will be raised up in glory. God will know and love me and declare me innocent because of Christ. Thereafter I will be perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God forever.

4) God is Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity. God is one essence in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but nonetheless there are not three Gods, but only one God. God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. This God, who is the Creator all things and thus to whom all things owe honor, is also my heavenly Father because of Christ. I trust him because as almighty God he is able to do all things and because as my heavenly Father he delights to work things for my good. I am able to trust him because Christ died in my behalf and in behalf of all who call on his name, and because, as a result of Christ’s death, God has sent his Holy Spirit to assure me of God’s love toward me. God desires that all people know the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ. Those who trust in Christ will enjoy eternal life.

Nonetheless, God is not mocked. Those who continue to rebel against him and refuse to believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, stand condemned. For this reason, though I fail so often, I too desire that all people come to know Christ.

5) Truth with a capital “T” is known only by God. This does not mean, however, that we cannot know truth. God has created humans with the wonderful ability to know truth in a way that is appropriate to them as creatures living in God’s creation. Since we are creatures, all our knowledge of truth derives from God’s knowledge of Truth. There is no truth we know that God does not know in a superior way as Truth. This is just another way of saying that God knows quantitatively and qualitatively more than we do. In fact, the Scriptures declare that God is Truth, as Jesus claims, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Thus, Truth is not an abstract set of philosophical propositions to which even God must adhere. Truth is in a real sense personal because it derives from God, who is personal. Still, we can know truth even if we do not believe in God, because God has created with the ability to know truth as we live and work in creation. It is only when we believe in Christ, the truth God has revealed, however, that we can have eternal life. Thus, although all our knowledge of truth may be and often is good and useful for this life, it is ultimately worthless unless we also believe in Jesus Christ.

thanks for the replys so far, most interesting is anton’s belief that god created all things out of nothing. think so? couldn’t matter have always exsisted and god organized them? can god even create matter? anyways, just a thought. kristin if you could finish the last few questions, i’d really appreciate it. a few more resposes and i should have enough. thanks again for your time!

I’ll have a go at the questions, off the top of my head.

1) Where did you come from? (before this life)

I don’t know where I was before this life

2) Why are you here?

I am here because of divine and human choices—and now that I am here, I have an opportunity and responsibility to enjoy and glorify God, and to be an agent of God’s grace to everything and everyone I encounter. I do not do this as well as I should.

3) Where will you go after you die?

In the long run, I’m going to be somewhere that’s remarkably like this earth, but it will be whole—without the brokenness.

4) What is your belief of god? (trinity or three separate beings, his nature, his purpose, etc.)

God is love, and mercy, and justice, and is redeeming his creation back to himself, desiring to be in relationship with the world he created, and making that possible.

5) Finally, what in general does the word Truth mean to you?

Truth is anything that is in line with God’s heart and mind and desire.

just bringing this one back up to the top five. i think Stnwll’s paper is due soon…anyone else willing to help him/her out?

oh, and i just realized i forgot the part about including my age and religious affiliation—i’m 24-years-old, Christian (raised in the Christian Reformed Church, now attending a Lutheran Church).

I also forgot to give biographical info. I’m 26 and a Christian attending a Presbyterian Church in America.

Well, my paper is due, tomarrow, and my teacher, which happens to be Norbert, said the replys I have gotten would suffice for it. Thank you very much for your time, all your replys will be used and will be very helpful in writing my paper. Thanks again!