Final Statements: Absolute Truth Valuable?

I admit that I haven't read every post in the "What has become of America" thread.

But I have read enough to note that you are discussing a subject I find very interesting -- the nature of truth. Truth is divisive, because people who think they have it often look down on those who "don't." This is not only the Christian religion, but also includes many others -- all that do not concede that every religion is equally valid.

However, I cannot stomach the relativist view of looking at things, which says that not only must one respect the beliefs of others, but we must also admit that the beliefs of others are just as good.

The basis of the Christian faith is essentially irrational. God cannot be proved by scientific or philosophic means. One philosophical tenet is that the basis of all our understanding today is irrational -- everything has to come from some unproven assumption, like a postulate. The Bible explicitly states that no one can know the truth except through the Holy Spirit -- something which Juntel objected to. What! you reject the power of human reasoning and individuality! This does not mean that nonChristians cannot learn anything -- rather, that even nonChristians who grasp truth are learning, inadvertently, from the Holy Spirit.

I believe that Jesus is the only son of God and that he died and rose again, but I cannot prove this. I have to accept it on faith and act in obedience. This is, of course, unreasonable and unscientific. Who was it that said humans are rational beings?

In linear analysis, it is proved that there are infinitely more irrational numbers than rational, although rational numbers are infinite. My father has shown me the reasoning behind the proof, and I understood it, although I haven't taken linear analysis. Any irrational number can be approximated by rational numbers, closer and closer to the truth, but never exactly -- consider pi, which people have tried to calculate completely, but can't ever all the way. Let me extend an analogy to faith and reason, and say that rationally there are an infinite number of possibilities. Through reason we can come closer and closer to knowing something irrational. We must, however, move into the realm of faith and obedience, accepting things that cannot rationally be understood, to gain an inkling of the truth that is infinitely more than what science can provide.

According to the Bible, to glimpse the truth beyond the theories proven probably correct by experiments and data, we must listen to the Holy Spirit.

Thus, I, a Christian, can easily claim that the leaders of the Spanish Inquisition, Albigensian Crusade and Holy Crusades were misled in their understanding of Truth, because they tried to approximate it without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The old thread has the wrong heading and has gotten to the point of replies to replies where it is downright confusing. I couldn't tell who was replying to whom -- whoms and whos grow confusing, too! I thought this would be a good place for people participating in the previous discussion to state, clearly and succinctly, their own personal views. If you wish to reply to someone else's, do so in a different post from the one in which you state your own. Keep your own post free of replies and discussion, so it will be available for referral. Does that make sense? I love this subject, but I think that to continue, we must begin afresh. Anyone interested?

I didn't mean to post this twice -- I was told that there was an error with my first posting, and to try again. Please post replies at the second one -- the Nature of Truth topic.

ok....so i'll close this one and we can post in the other one...