Do any of us really want the truth?

by Qcmbr 44 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  John Doe

  I don't think we can classify people as wanting truth vs. wanting to be right. How can you be right if you don't have a sensible version of truth? Of course, none of us can ever have complete "truth." Truth is an abstract concept that we can only comprehend through speculation.

  I think a more accurate analysis/common denominator of humans is that we all want something concrete to beleive. We are analytical creatures, and we do not like the unknown. That is why we have so many afterlife stories--we do not like the idea of the nothingness of death. Death--the ultimate unknown. Of course we want to be right about where we are going. Yet, at the same time, we long for our knowledge to be correct, not just "right." Do I make any sense?
• 

  AlmostAtheist

  >> How can you be right if you don't have a sensible version of truth?

  Ah, but who defines "sensible"? For some, if your view contradicts their holy book/doctrine/dogma/pet theories, then they aren't sensible. Period.

  Dave of the "been known to care for and feed pet theories" class
• 

  defd

  Yes I really want the truth.

  D.
• 

  misspeaches

  defd

  Yes I really want the truth.

  Interesting that you should say that.... I do to.
• 

  defd

  miss peach, I didnt mean that in they way of I want cause I dont have it. I meant I have got it because I want it.

  D.
• 

  seattleniceguy

  >> miss peach, I didnt mean that in they way of I want cause I dont have it. I meant I have got it because I want it.
  
  I think a person's desire for truth is tightly linked with that person's willingness to change their views. A person who cannot conceive of changing their views - even in the most fundamental ways - does not have a real interest in the truth, because they are not ready to consider the possibility that they are wrong. When someone says to me, "No matter what you say, I will never change my views," I know they have no interest in anything besides maintaining their status quo.
  
  On the other hand, I tend trust the honesty of people who have already changed their views in extraordinary ways, because they have already demonstrated that they are able to divorce their views from their sense of self and make changes if need be.
  
  SNG
• 

  jwfacts

  Many people want to believe something they are comfortable with more than wanting to know the truth.
  Before speaking to any of my relatives about the JWs I have been asking "Do you want "The Truth" of do you want to know the truth?. When they admit that they love being a JW, or they are scared their live will be meaningless with out it, or that their husband would leave them if he was not a JW, or if they refuse to read anything not in a Watchtower it becomes plain that they do not want truth, they want to defend "The Truth" at any cost for an ulterior motive. That person is not ready for change and it is generally a waste of time talking to them.
  I have two close friends that are active JW's that I discussed a few concepts with about why JW's are not directed by Holy Spirit. Both said they do not want to know, because they want to believe in an earthly paradise, otherwise their lives would be pointless. That it a common response and shows that not everyone is after truth.
  People are always searching for religion, and end up in any number of denominations. Every church has it's converts because they appeal to what some type of person wants to believe, or is sucked in to what they teach, not because it is true. One of my relatives is certain JW's have the truth because he went to JW and Born Again meetings and did not like the 'feel' of Born Agains. Looking at just two religious ideas and choosing on feel is a very improbable way to finding real truth.
• 

  Enigma One

  Buddhism holds that truth is truth, no matter what title or religious affiliation you may have. To clarify the Buddhist’s point of view, it’s like the parable of the blind men and the elephant. This parable is told many different ways, but the gist of it is this: Three blind men were introduced to an elephant and were helped to “see” it by feel. One felt the elephant’s leg. Another felt the elephant’s tail. The third felt the elephant’s side. When asked to describe an elephant, the first said that an elephant is like a tree trunk. The second said that it is like a rope. And the third said it is like a great wall. The point of this story is that all three blind men were correct in their perception of what an elephant is like. Yet, by using their descriptions, no one who had never seen an elephant before could ever identify one.
  
  It is somewhat the same with religion or philosophy. People get so close to their beliefs that they can’t see the whole or entirety of life and how to live it. Most of the commonly held religious beliefs or philosophies have an undeniable element of truth within them, yet none, other than Buddhism, are capable of “seeing” the whole truth of life.
• 

  Mysterious

  I think the question depends on who you are. Certainly some people are more concerned with winning an argument. Debate for me is an intellectual exercise rather than a chance to cram something down someone else's throat. That being said, on a subject that I have made an extremely intensive personal study of, or have personal experience with, it is far harder to convince me that my point of view needs to be changed.

  I have gone through several points of painful self examination in my life. It was a pursuit of truth that brought these on. It would certainly have been more comfortable to leave well enough alone and go on my merry way. However, forums are often unlike life and the posters feel attacked rather than instrospective. I think once again it is a case that the answer to the question cannot be an oversimplification simply because everyone is different and our motives cannot be boiled down to one universal truth.
• 

  jwfacts

  Defd
  You claim you have the truth, I claim that if you believe what the WTS teaches that you do not. Who is correct? (unless Enigma One is correct and we both have truth!)
  We both have studied much of the same information, so how do we decide?
  By weight of numbers? Then I win because it is 6 billion supporters against 6 million.
  By intelligence? Would an IQ test reveal who has truth?
  By sincerity? I believe I am sincere, and I am sure you feel the same about yourself.
  If sincerity, intelligence or popular support can not help a person prove truth then how can anyone claim to have absolute truth?
  The WTS attempts to overcome this problem by the claim that Jehovah draws his sheep. Is that realistic. If so, why did he draw me, choose me for privileges of service, to give public talks, allow me into bethel? Did Jehovah draw me as a sheep, but now I have had a genetic change to become a goat, or am I goat that was masquerading as a sheep?
  The only truth that I hold to is that no one can know absolute truth, at least not know what anyone elses absolute truth is. That is why judging others as worthy of destruction because they do not share your view of truth is more wrong than what your individual belief is.