"'What is truth?' retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, 'I find no basis for a charge against him.'" -- John 18:38. Pontius Pilate may not have known this on that third day of April, 33 A.D., but he may have very well asked one of the most disconcertingly difficult questions to understand and answer in the philosophical world. I guess to better understand the topic, we need to delve deeper into two things: (1.) who was the man that asked that questions?, and (2.) how do we really define "truth?"
So, Pontius Pilate; who was he? Well, plainly put, he was the Roman Governor of Judea from 26 A.D. to 36 A.D. When the Jews fell into the hands of Roman power, they still allowed them to practice their rituals. However, there was one small catch. They were not allowed to put anybody to death without Pilate's permission. Now, it is possible that he acquired his position of: Roman Governor through marriage, because it is believed that his wife, Claudia Procula (a possible secret Christian), was the granddaughter of Caesar Augusta (the Roman Emperor at the time of Jesus' birth) and the daughter of the second wife of Tiberius Caesar (the Roman Emperor at the time of Jesus' crucifixion). It has been suggested that as Claudia actually accompanied her husband rather than staying in Rome, that their marriage was a happy one. Legend has it that they had a son named: Pilo who was disabled in some way, and was apparently healed in the Church. Pilate's two main duties were to keep order in the country and to make sure that all imperial tax revenues were collected and sent to Rome. However, Pontius Pilate did not have a good reputation with the Jews. They described Pontius Pilate as a stubborn, inflexible, and cruel man who had no respect for the Jewish people. He used cruel and merciless punishments for the guilty (such as flogging). And yet, one special Friday; one arranged for a particular purpose, he came face to face with Jesus. And as the Gospel John is written: When Jesus said: "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me", Pilate walked right up to Him and said: "What is truth?" Now, it doesn't say what Jesus said to Pilate, but it had to be something exquisite, because as the Gospel goes, "he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, 'I find no basis for a charge against him.". This man, who the Jews believed had a heart of stone, was not convinced that Jesus had done anything wrong. Between his wife telling him not to have anything to do with Jesus' death due to a nightmare she had the night before and whatever Jesus said about "truth", Pilate somewhere deep down believed that Jesus was an innocent man. However, even though Pilate wanted to and tried to save Him, he was pressured into ordering his death by the Jewish religious leaders and a disorderly crowd of spectators. Pilate washed his hands and reluctantly handed Him over to those who wanted to crucify Him. Now, what happened to Pontius Pilate afterwords is hard to say. The stories range from him committing suicide in 39 A.D. to him becoming a follower of Paul alongside Claudia, was baptized, and was even martyred. Nevertheless, nobody knows the whole story.
Now, truth; what is it? Well, let's break it down the simplest way possible, shall we? First off, truth is: a noun. If you remember anything from your junior high English classes, you would know that a noun is: a person, place, or thing. And in one sense, truth was a person at one time. If you remember important people from your high school history class, there was a person by the name of Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), who was an American abolitionist and feminist. Born into slavery, she escaped in 1827 and became a leading preacher against slavery and for the rights of women. However, in another and more common sense, truth is a thing. And now that we know that, we need to ask ourselves: "What kind of thing is it?" Well, to modify this thing we call: truth, we would most likely say that it's a good thing. After all, as we mature as children, we are taught right from wrong from our parents or whoever raises us. And generally, a "right" or a good thing would be to "tell the truth". Let's look for a moment at the most descriptive and deepest definition of truth that we can find. Truth is defined as: something that is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence. Truth is a comprehensive term that in all of its nuances implies accuracy and honesty. So, truth can either be observed or spoken. So, there is, as mentioned earlier, "telling the truth". And then, there is investigating it. In other words, truth is not theoretical but factual; something that cannot be denied or refuted. For example, let's say you live in a 2,000 square foot apartment. If it is genuinely accurate to say that "truth is absolute", then that would mean that I could measure your apartment a million times, and it would still come up as 2,000 square feet. It would be 2,000 square feet the first time; it would be 2,000 square feet the millionth time. No matter how I'd measure it, it would still result in the same number of square feet.
However, through many centuries, additional senses associated with or suggested by the word: truth have been placed. The connotations of truth is sometimes (but not always) fixed, and are often subjective. Let's take Secular Humanists, for example. They say that there is no such thing as truth. And if there is, there is no "absolute" truth. So, in other words, truth, to them, is not an absolute term but a relative term. They would say something like: "Your truth may not be the same as my truth. And our conflicting truths may not be the same as someone else's truth". "Truth" they would say "is all n the interpretation". But if you look closer, you would find that what they are talking about (even though they may deny it) is not necessarily truth. After all, interpretation is not considered truth but opinion. To interpret is to ascribe a particular meaning or significance to something. That is, giving meaning and significance according to the way you see it. Interpretation does not imply accuracy and honesty the way truth does. And keep in mind that truth was around long before Secular Humanism even came into the picture. Emily Dickinson once said: "Truth is as old as God." And whether you believe in God or not, it would be difficult to even fathom just how old that really is.
So, if a Secular Humanist were to walk up to me today, tomorrow, or whenever, and ask me: "What is your truth?", I would say: "My truth? I personally have no truth." "How could you personally have no truth?", they may ask. At this point, I wouldn't explain honesty like: "Tell me the truth." Or explain accuracy like: "Truth is absolute like the 2,000 square foot apartment." What I would say without argument is: "Because truth is Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is not just A TRUTH, He is THE TRUTH. Remember, in John 14:6 Jesus said: "“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." After all, it's been said that "Truth is as old as God." You can interpret books. You can interpret plays. But you can't interpret truth. Truth has never been open to interpretation. And because Jesus Christ is truth, as He mentioned, He is the ONLY way to the Heavenly Father who created us and loves us, despite our imperfections.
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