by Ric Carter

“Why do I exist?” is probably the oldest question posed by Man. However, where we come from and why we are here hasn’t always been a mystery. There was a time when Man understood both the reason and purpose for his existence. That understanding was lost in the distant past and for the generations that followed, religious pundits, philosophers and scientists have argued endlessly over this issue. With each succeeding generation the arguments get more philosophical, technical, and by all means longer. The whole thing has been pointless however because it has all come out to about the same drivel. No real life changing answers can be offered.

Meanwhile, the debate rages on. Science and religion have somehow foolishly managed to separate the fact that we exist into two opposing principals. Science claims to know how we got here and for their argument the why part is not even important. Religion begs to differ and blathers on that the reason for our existence is all that counts. The “truth” is that both of these issues are one in the same. Regardless of which end one chooses to look at first, how we came to be and why we exist are intimately intertwined. The problem is not in the looking. The problem is in the seeing. Humans have a parallax view. The truth has never moved. It remains right where God placed it. We Humans redirected our focus and over time the truth became invisible to us.

There is one man who may have framed the real question better than any other. He was the Procurator Pontius Pilate (which was a politically correct title for a Roman puppet governor). He was the ruling Roman representative during the 1st century in the region that Rome called Judea. He presided over the inquisition of Jesus that led to his execution and it was he who posed the age old question to the Messiah. It’s difficult to know for certain if ole Pontius was being sincere or just attempting to be politically clever when he asked Jesus, “What is truth?” As there was no recorded response by Jesus we must presume that Pilate didn’t really want one. In fact, Jesus already told Pilate that the truth was available if he had any interest. Of course, like most of us, Pilate wasn’t nearly so interested in knowing truth as he was in finding a way out of the present uncomfortable situation that his choices had placed him in. More often than not, this is precisely what people want when they go to God for help anyway.

To some, the very idea that there may be real truth floating around out there somewhere is just too dangerous a prospect to be left to the…ignorant masses. Those who imagine that they wield some measure of power or influence over people have always had their own version of truth. Over the past five or six millennia men have decided that “the truth” all depends on one’s perspective. The problem is that we each have only one perspective; our own, and if you don’t agree with me then you are obviously wrong. And so the endless debate continues. However, if we understand anything it must be this. The truth does not come in versions. It is not derived from facts and it does not originate from the rational mind of Man. Facts, while significant, are nothing more than the logical conclusions of a healthy rational thought process. Truth is not a perspective. It is not a concept, a philosophy, an argument, an ideology and it is certainly not a belief system. You can’t “get to it”. You can, however, receive it. Truth has always been and can only be nothing less than the revealed understanding of God.