Is It Really True?
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
So What?
By
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
December 3rd, 2014
Today is my 73rd birthday! SO WHAT? And that is exactly how you should have responded to "my news." So what that I turn 73 today? Really, what difference does it make to you - or even me - that such is so?
I just got off the phone with my youngest daughter, Melissa, who at age 36 called to sing Happy Birthday to me. That was really nice, Melissa, but SO WHAT? In truth, this day is no different than any other day in matters that count. My turning 73 has no bearing on what is really important in life; but by the same token, the birthday or anniversary of anyone should mean absolutely nothing - even though in relative terms, it probably should mean something to those related to it.
That which "absolutely" amazes me, however, is that most live their lives in strictly "relative terms." Absolutes mean nothing to most of the people living today; but many - if not most - live their lives like some "relative truth" is equal in importance to absolute truths.
Or one could say - Absolute Versus Scriptural. Earlier today, my brother, Bob, called to wish me a Happy Birthday. I told him I would be writing this article that is more philosophical in nature than anything else - and he said: Sorry, Frank, philosophy is not for me.
Well, when I was younger and ran about the farm with Bob, philosophy wasn't for me then either; but I have since realized that philosophy is the only way to discover meaningful truths. By that I mean that only philosophy - or philosophical speculation- can lead to truths that should be the same for everyone.
What truths do mean something to Bob? All I have to do to answer that is to go back to my (our) youth and ask what truths meant anything to me as a younger person. The answer: what can be called scriptural truths, defined in general as Faith. Boy was I into that kind of truth as a boy, but I am no longer a boy.
As a grown 73 year old man, I have realized that all so called scriptural truth is only truth consequent to one precedent: THUS SAITH THE LORD! Who is this "lord," anyway that anyone should listen to what "he" has to say - or had to say? Who is this "lord" that spoke such and such to Moses and Jeremiah and Isaiah - or whoever? What did this "lord" have to say that could relate to other than Moses or Jeremiah or Isaiah? Did this "lord" say something that had meaning for an Egyptian or a Chinese or a Sumatran - or a native American? Of course not. This "lord" said - and says - something that means only something to a few - but not to all; and that is a perfect example of another "so what?" truth - or idea - that is the topic of this article.
Yes, when I was a kid I was impressed by stories of what "The Lord" supposedly said - or asked of me; but after spending a good deal of time reviewing what that "lord" said, I have come to realize that what that "lord" said - or says - means nothing at all to me. That "lord" is all "division" to me; and I am into a "unity" thing. I don't want to hear what some "lord" is going to do "for me" that the same lord isn't going to do for everyone. I am interested in what is true for everyone - not just for some. All else can be primed and dined as examples of another "so what?" type of truth - or better expressed, idea. That which can be claimed to be true of all - and not just for some - is what can be called "Absolute Truth." And it is that kind of truth that most interests me because it is the only truth - or idea - of which I can be sure.
In truth, everyone wants to believe they have a truth that must be so; but obviously if two people disagree as to what is an important truth - or idea, then that truth (or idea) is probably not what can be called "absolute." Since one can claim that which is not "absolute" must be only "relative," then all truth not absolute in nature can only be relative - that is only true for some and not for all.
Furthermore, that which is "relative" may not be truth at all. If someone claims something is true that cannot be proved or demonstrated is true - or even was true - that truth may not be true at all.
Example. Let's go back to that THUS SAITH THE LORD notion. How can I know that "The Lord" ever said what is claimed of him by whoever claimed it was true? How can I know that "The Lord" really appeared to Moses on a mountain? How can I know that "The Lord" ever said what Moses claimed "He" said? Who was there with Moses when "The Lord" spoke to him? If no one was there beside Moses, how smart is it to believe that Moses ever spoke with "The Lord"?
And if it is actually true that Moses made it all up, where does that put me - or you - in believing that Moses spoke the truth? And if Moses made it all up and never really spoke to "The Lord," all that Moses claimed to be part of "The Lord's Law" is really nothing more than "The Law of Moses" - not "The Law of The Lord."
To continue, if Moses is fiction - or "The Law of Moses" is really fiction, what does that do to the story of Jesus who supposedly lived to "fulfill the Law of Moses"? Now you are really into a muddy swamp, aren't you? If, in truth, Moses made it all up and you believed that Moses told the truth, here you are trying to make sense out of that which makes no sense - and pretty soon, as descendents of a fictional Moses that you are sure really spoke the truth, you are out there claiming that there is a "Heaven up above" or a "Hell down below" - when if you had only stepped out into your front yard and looked up into the sky and became amazed at what you saw, there would be Absolute Truth which could be shared with everyone you know.
Now don't get me wrong. Personally I am a very deep believer that Jesus did live and that Jesus really did represent an ideal worth living, but I do not believe that Jesus was really tied in any meaningful way to Moses; but let me leave a discussion of that to other articles. OK?
Be that as it may, I may not know what Moses supposedly knew from possible - and I think, probable - fictional conversations with a lord of some and not of all, but I can know that I am part of a Fantastic World - simply by shedding all the THUS SAITH THE LORD precedents for arguments - and believing that which I see before me is no illusion. For sure, I am part of that wondrous Creation that I see before me - and that anyone else can see if they open their eyes to see.
It is important to realize, though, that what we are seeing may not be what we think. I can look up into the sky and have a sense of "looking up" as if "up" is really up; but given that the reality of my existence is that I am really on a sphere suspended in space, not even "up" is really up - but only "out" because up and down are relative to location. Out is the only absolute because whether I am looking up from one position on the Earth or looking up from another position on the Earth, I am definitely "looking out;" and in my opinion, it is always safer to look out and see no division between up and down and Heaven and Hell - and realize that Out is always the best way to go.
Over and Out, a "birthday kid" of Today,
Francis William Bessler