Truth verses Beliefs. Great topic. Have you noticed that every person in every belief group on the planet knows that they love truth and that they have the truth. Thei beliefs are “fact”. All the while knowing that everyone “else” with opposing beliefs is deceived, deluded, or just plain wrong? Have you noticed that everyone with unquestionably true beliefs …
1.) Gathers tons of proof they know verifies their positions as fact.
2.) Accumulates Massive amounts of proof that every opposing position is wrong.
Have you noticed …
3.) That, since their beliefs are “fact” the only correct interpretation of all valid data must line up with the truth … i.e. their beliefs … and that …
4.) Anything that doesn’t “appear” to line up with their beliefs is either misinterpreted, or is invalidated, discredited, or just plain ignored.
5.) And that people have other reasons for believing as they do… my family has believed such and so for 12 generations. We have more college professors and highly educated people who believe as we do than any other group, a statue of Mary came to life and a womans foot grew back while everyone heard that they were supposed to worship Mary and the Holy Roman Catholic Church, we had a burning in the bosom, we speak in tongues, cast out demons and do many powerful works in the name of the Lord …
I call these 5 things the Methodology One, the Methodology of belief Groups.
I was an evangelical Atheist and I had these things… floor to knee scientific data to prove we evolved and weren’t created, 10,000 errors gathered from the scriptures, I KNEW my beliefs were fact, and I was out to win all the Christians I could find to the truth of Atheism.
The problem … the only thing the above methodology can ever do is harden those who use it into their beliefs. Think about it. Gather more facts to prove your beliefs true, how long before you see that you believe lies? Answer: You can’t. You aren’t gathering that data. Gather more proof an opposing position is incorrect. How long before you discover it really is the truth. Again, you can’t. Not gathering that.
All this Methodology does is harden those who use it into whatever it is they want to believe “as” truth. It can never get anyone “to” the truth, no matter how much time and effort is put into it. It just closes the eyes and ears of those using it from ever considering anything else, hardening them more and more into their current belief set. Getting to truth is a much different process.
1.) Rule #1: Avoid “Methodology One”: Proving your beliefs true and holding fast to them, is not the same as, “Proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of life, and holding fast to what is good/true.”
2.) Open-mindedness: All belief groups believe in being open minded … “until” you accept their beliefs. Then they believe in being as closed as possible. If you love truth, you will continually remain open-minded to altering any or all of your beliefs in the light of the fullness of the truth, when everything that “might” pertain to the topic at hand is rightly divided.
3.) Habitual ongoing Labor/ Getting Every Piece of Data that Might Pertain: If you Love Truth, you, personally, must become a manual laborer and keep on gathering every fact anyone thinks might pertain to every topic at hand. Then gather all the data that “might pertain” no belief group gathers because they can’t use that information to prove their beliefs true or opposing beliefs false.
4.) Consistency with Background Context: Pick a meaning that fully aligns with the historical, legal, architectural, agricultural … context.
5.) Consistency of Meaning of words/root words/figures of speech: Hold to a meaning for all words, root words, and figures of speech consistent with their usage throughout the Old and New Testament. We have a Greek Old and New Testament and a Hebrew Old Testament, pick a meaning fully fitting everywhere the same word, root word, and figure of speech is used.
6.) Consistency with the Surrounding Discussion: Hold to a meaning consistent with the entire discussion surrounding the verse or passage being considered, hold to the flow of thought, flow of arguments, meaning of points made …
7.) Consistency with conscience: Example: If your interpretation would be a sin if a man did likewise and your interpretation results in believing God does what would be sin for us, your interpretation is wrong. i.e., there are no illustrations in the Bible where God says He commits adultery. If your chosen meaning for the word adultery would make God an adulterer, and by His own admission, you picked the wrong meaning for the word.
8.) God, God’s People and God’s Word are 100% consistent: Pick an interpretation for all the data that makes God, God’s people and God’s word 100% consistent in “all” they say and do and “all” they don’t say and don’t do. Any inconsistencies, are proof of incorrect beliefs/definitions.
9.) Always apply logic, reason, and rational thinking: Pick an interpretation fully fitting with all logic, reason, and rational thinking. (i.e., if the writer spent a whole chapter saying all gifts are equal and necessary, that none are greater than any others, … do not choose an interpretation for the very next verse that would command us to desire what God spent the previous 30 verses saying doesn’t exist, and that you can’t get, period, regardless of your desire. “Earnestly desire the greater gifts”, contradicts everything prior. Look for the “other” possible meaning. Note: There is one.
10.) Start with the Easiest/Clearest … data on the topic: Interpret the clearest, easiest understood, most straightforward data/passages first—then the more complex or difficult passages. The complex, convoluted, and difficult passages are easy to distort to fit beliefs.
11.) It ALL fits together: Pick a meaning for the parts that fully fit with the whole of the data that might pertain without adding meaning, subtracting meaning, or distorting anything to force it to comply with your beliefs. If everything gathered (#3 above) does not fully fit with everything in #4-10 above, you have the wrong meaning, and you are forcing the scriptures to fit what you want to believe “as” truth.
12.) Keep on continuously proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of life and never stop … and hold fast to what is good/true. Getting to truth is an ongoing process that never ends. One single verse, one fact you missed, one slight change in interpretation … can force a complete reevaluation and even a complete a change of beliefs. That is, if you love truth, and obey what God commands all His people to be continuously doing for and by themselves. If not …
13.) It’s all on You! Trusting others to get to truth “for” you, is like trusting others to have a relationship with your wife / husband / kids “for” you. It cannot be done. Your failure to keep on habitually doing as God commands all His people to keep on habitually doing, proves you have gathered enough using Methodology One to hold fast to what you want to believe and fall short of 2Th. 2:10-12
Understand, “Agreement with me might only make us both wrong.”
Want a summary passage to explain why all the people in the world who know their core beliefs are unquestionably true can use the exact same Methodology to hold fast to every belief under the sun?
2Th 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
The point is, 99% of the people in the world, including those who believe themselves to be Christians with all their heart, mind, soul and strength are using Methodology One to hold fast to every different belief you can think of. Sure, if they believe themselves to be Christians, they believe the gospel is simple. They all just believe “different” simple gospels. And if you try and discuss anything with them, what do they all jump to? Everything gathered using Methodology One…
Everything they know proves their beliefs true,
Everything They have verified that shows opposing positions false …
Those who use the second methodology will always find that those using the first trample everything they have to say under foot, and if they even get the slightest idea that you believe they might not be right with God, you will see how close “Christians” can get to wanting to tear you to pieces.
Everyone always loves either the truth, or their beliefs. That which we love least is always forced to conform to that which we love more.
