God and Truth

One of the great mysteries of life is how do we understand our very own minds.  The process of trying to do so is called metacognition or to put it simply, thinking about thinking.  Metacognition enables us to understand our values, where do they come from and why are they valid.  This is in opposition to accepting ideas merely because some authority has declared something to be so.  I am reminded of a bumper sticker that reads “God said it so I believe it.”  That could mean “God said it so it’s true.”  That is a very economical way of thinking that requires the consumption of very few calories.  But how about asking ourselves, “Why did God say it?”  Now we have ramped up the burn.  Serious thinking enhances weight loss.

Does God saying it make it true or does God say it because it is true?  In Titus 1:2 Paul says something that is translated in the King James Version as, “God cannot lie.”  But in the New International Version Paul is translated as, “God does not lie.”  A word for word translation of the Greek says, “the unlying God.”   This leaves it viable for either idea.  I personally like the New International’s idea because it makes God a moral being with choice and not the KJV’s idea  that denies omnipotence.

It is important to know that God tells the truth because it is the truth.  He tells us not to steal because stealing harms us and others.  He tells us He loves us not because He has to love us, which would then not be love, but because He chooses to do so.  God is loving and moral because it is, has been, and always will be the right thing to do and be.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 22, 2016

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