Friday, September 8, 2017

Truth

The truth should be simple (it should be clear what is true and what is untrue/false), but sometimes it is complicated. One issue is the perspective/knowledge/insight of the person. A person who witnesses an accident, such as a car accident, may see  something (a detail) that another witness did not see. Maybe because of his or her location/angle of viewing. So there will be different "versions of the truth." A person may know more about what he or she is seeing, which could lead to: (1) more understanding and insight into what occurred (with better explanations), or (2) some bias because the additional knowledge leads him or her to believe there is a particular cause or issue (or maybe he/she paid attention to particular things while missing others).

This is an interesting issue...and just a fact of life. People are different. People will notice different things, highlight different things, and so on. It is even in the Bible (My intention is not to criticize or say that the stories are false. I believe they are true). An example is the information on Jesus' "arrest" in the Bible....

In the book of Matthew, the author explains that Judas kissed Jesus to give the others a sign (so that they would know who Jesus is). Jesus said "Friend, wherefore art thou come from" and they took him. (Holy Bible KJV, Matthew 26:50). There is information that Jesus could ask the Father for twelve legions of angels to assist.

In the book of Luke, in chapter 22, there is information that Jesus dealt with Judas by asking "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" In verse 5, there is information that a maid and two others reported that Peter was one of them. Peter denied it and the cock crew. 

In the book of John, the author reported that Jesus asked "Whom seek ye?" when Judas and the other men showed up. They answered "Jesus Christ of Nazareth" and then Jesus said "I am he" (Holy Bible KJV, John 17:4-5). There is no mention of the kiss in the chapter. There is no mention of a maid as one of the people who said Peter was one of them. Chapter 26 mentions that the servant and kingsman of the high priest whose ear Peter cut off did.

(It is my understanding that these authors were inspired by Almighty God to write).
The different details do not diminish the importance of the story. Maybe it makes it more believable because this is normal.

Truth is so simple yet complicated. 

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