Reality and Truth
Did Jesus resurrect from the dead? Did Moses part the Red Sea? Is suffering the ultimate
reality of life and that we must try to minimise our karma? There is only one absolute truth
which we’ll never be certain unless there are charted texts or records or other solid
evidence. Is Jesus’ resurrection real and is Jesus’ resurrection the truth? Two very distinct
questions. One questions more on the impact of the statement on reality; the other demands
absolute certainty of the matter.
I believe reality is perceived and truth is absolute, don’t you? The Christian lore may be the
truth but it is very real in the sense that it was a factor that caused wars for thousands of
years or at least a tool, changed billions of lives for the better and for the worse. Reality is
often more subjective than the truth, a child can think Santa is real and that very act
cascades to a million different things that the child will do such as their behaviour and their
actions. Is Santa real then? The belief of Santa caused an impact onto reality, it is real for
the child. Is Santa the truth? That remains a mystery, nobody can ever be certain. People
need a framework to make sense of their reality for them to cruise through life. Some stories
are more well defined than others but ultimately all of them are real in the sense of impact
they have made to the real world. Beliefs are very real. Which of them is true? We’ll never
know.
Historically, societies have always been eager and enthusiastic to prove their realities are
the truth, whether its religion or government policies or technology or fashion. Everyone was
more conventional in the past than we are today, ideas were ridiculed or, in some cases,
executed; whereas now we have too many ideas that we are starting to lose the frames of
reality. Then, it was anti-creativity, no new ideas; Now, its pro-innovation, pro-chaos. Will we
accept the different realities between individuals with peace and respect while not mustering
up new extreme ideologies that will result in society’s decay? Will we accept that our
conjured realities are not absolute truths and should never be treated as so? When will we
know the significant difference of the two?
Reality and truth
