ever notice that?

 “Today not only in philosophy but in politics, government, and individual morality, our generation sees solutions in terms of synthesis and not absolutes. When this happens, truth, as people have always thought of truth, has died.” ~ Francis Schaeffer

I ran across this quote, and I thought to myself, yeah that's right. I looked up who Francis Schaeffer was, I hadn't heard of him. Turns out he was quite the guy. Educated, a theologian, scholar, author, and founder of a church. A Presbyterian. Well, at least a subgroup of Presbyterian. He didn't agree with everything. So, as a result he created his own "synthesis" which I found rather ironic given that statement. But I get what he is saying. Truth is an absolute and has always been thought of in that manner. Individual truth is, and indeed must be, absolute in order to be effective. Truth lives in our souls, and it is truth that brings comfort, even when the truth is uncomfortable. The synthesis of truth occurs when we make exceptions to truth. When we adopt that synthesis as a solution it poisons the truth, eventually killing it.

But, I do think that individual truth is founded in belief more so than fact. If you believe it you can achieve it. That's a slogan I've heard most of my life. Martin Luther King expressed that same thought as a dream. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. It is belief that makes us try! If we never attempted what the facts say is impossible, we never will. Today we are substituting science for belief. That's why the slogan, trust the science. Trusting the science is a synthesis of believing. If you can prove it, I'll believe it. Same thing Thomas said to Jesus in the Bible. For the others all that was necessary was belief, belief as the truth.

I'm not sure what year he wrote that passage, but he died in 1984. His son and daughter carry on his church in Switzerland. Known as an Apologist he authored many books and papers in defense of Christianity. That's what apologists do after all. I find the name a bit misleading until it is explained. Sounds like someone making an apology but the opposite is true. An apologist defends the faith just as commanded by the Bible. Christians are to defend the Bible and Christianity, even unto death.

Back to what Schaffer said. What people have always thought of as truth, has died. I'd suggest to Dr. Schaffer, and he did hold a doctorate in theology, is that truth changes with each generation. It isn't only today that the synthesis of truth has taken place. The reason is simple enough, each generation doesn't believe everything the previous one has embraced. Individual truth is what we are talking about. Absolute truth is only known to God himself. That is the purpose of a God! And God was created in our own image. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Comes with a built in excuse as well. We aren't God. Our failure to recognize the truth is excusable. Is that why the apology? The explanation of truth.

Now as to whether all of this is good or bad, I can't say. It is what we call progress. Progress is when what was once forbidden, is now allowed. Well that's what it means to those that didn't want to comply with the lessons they were taught. To those holding on to the lessons of the past it is a regression. Schaffer called in a synthesis, a combining of belief in order to create a new truth. A truth that person will then embrace and defend. Will that person defend that truth absolutely? Depends on the person right, on the degree of what we call faith. How strong is your belief in your truth? That's what we are really talking about.

As to Christianity, and the teaching of the Bible, that too has been synthesized over the centuries. The most obvious being the establishment of the different denominations. Each one carries the same message, a basic truth, but presented and apologized for in a different manner. Each one believing theirs's is the truth. Same goes for all religions. Same goes for those that don't believe anything at all, that is their truth.

Perhaps the greatest irony in all of this is we won't know the answer until we die. It is my belief that the truth will be revealed in death. Call it judgement if you wish, or maybe it will be a simple, told you so. It isn't going to matter a great deal is my thinking. I don't believe there will be any gloating, any big sigh of relief, a celebration that I made it. No, I think I will just simply know the truth, all the answers. The why will not be important. The why will be self-explanatory. The why will be, because I told you so. The only thing important being, who you listened too!

Well, that's a bit of my philosophy anyway. Too bad I can't make a living off of that. Truth is it does get a bit tedious at times and I view philosophy as an amusement. something to think about. Yeah, I'm thinking that's what I'll hear, told you so. And with that statement comes forgiveness. People don't mind you being wrong when they say that. Ever notice that?