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 The truth will set you free

This is an interesting statement, attributed to Jesus in the set of ancient writings known as John's gospel. I always found it very appealing, as I have an innate strong intellectual and emotional commitment to truth and honesty, and the idea of freedom brings up so many delightful images. What springs to mind when you hear this word? For me, it's wide, open spaces; lack of constraints; breaking out of a prison; the opportunity to make my own autonomous choices without being directed or controlled. A bird being released from a cage and soaring into the blue sky. 

On the Tour du Mont Blanc in 2017

I've been playing with ChatGPT, and I asked it how the truth can see you free. I got a very good answer:

The truth can set you free in several ways. Here are some examples:

1. Relief from mental and emotional burden: When you face the truth, you may initially experience discomfort or pain, but once you accept it, you can find relief from the mental and emotional burden of denial or deception. This can lead to a sense of emotional freedom and well-being.
2. Empowerment to make better decisions: When you know the truth about a situation, you are better equipped to make informed decisions. This can empower you to take action and make choices that align with your values and goals, which can lead to a greater sense of control and autonomy in your life.
3. Improved relationships: Being truthful and honest in your interactions with others can improve the quality of your relationships. When you are honest, you build trust with others, which can lead to deeper connections and stronger bonds.
4. Increased self-awareness and growth: Facing the truth can help you gain greater self-awareness and insight into your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This can lead to personal growth and a deeper understanding of yourself and your place in the world.

Overall, the truth can set you free by providing a foundation for personal growth, healthy relationships, and a greater sense of well-being and fulfillment in life.

This is a great psycho-therapeutic way of looking at it, and indeed knowing the truth about a person or situation is an important basis for progress. 

But the words attributed to Jesus are used by Christians to mean something much more all-encompassing than this. Jesus claimed to BE 'the truth', along with The Way and The Life. Evangelical Christians add in a little word 'only' to their understanding of this: not just 'a Way', but 'The Only Way'. And not just 'some Truth' but 'the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth, and also the Only Truth'. 

As I started to question the categorical statements in this world view, but still trying to hold onto a belief in God, I wondered if there could be another way of understanding it. Could it be that any expression of Truth is actually an expression of something about God, whether conscious or not? The problem I then encountered is that this path leads to 'God' just meaning 'Everything' or 'The Universe', and becomes fairly meaningless as a result. And why should 'Everything' be benevolent, or even a conscious being?

So I came to the conclusion that truth claims need to be based on empirical evidence, testable and independently corroborated. Any claims which are made by people with an axe to grind, a product to market or an extremist worldview to defend are innately suspect. And claims of 'ultimate truth', before which all other truths must bow, are particularly in need of very serious evidence. I don't find this evidence is available with respect to Christian claims. When you dig down, they are based in circular arguments (the Bible says it, so it's true) or emotion-based reasoning (it fits with my experience, I feel so peaceful, I feel loved). And many are totally untestable, such as claims about invisible spiritual 'realities', an afterlife, predictions about the end of the world, God's ultimate plan, etc. I guess we'll see one day! Or not 🤣 But I don't respect a system of thought which depends on believing impossible things without evidence (aka faith).

My Christian friend from University days says:

We need to reclaim the concept of truth. If there is no truth, then the assertion that there is no truth is nonsense. Communication collapses. Truth matters. It matters if it is true that Jesus is God. It matters if it’s true that Jesus can save me. 

We certainly need truth and not lies. We need to look carefully at scientific evidence to assess what is true, and we see that we are destroying the planet and ourselves. There isn't a God to rescue us. 

Without noticing, we fall for the lie that this life here is all there is and so death becomes a terror.

How is this meant to be a logical progression? I'm not terrified of death, I just despair of the waste of time and effort that goes into propagating false hopes when we need to be preparing for a world that will not be comfortable, or even very habitable in large parts, with massive and unprecedented movements of climate refugees, a breakdown of our current food and energy systems, huge changes that are difficult to anticipate.

I have another dear friend who used to be a Christian but no longer believes in God. Instead he now talks about Universal Consciousness, and claims that we all have an innate wisdom, nature's energy and intelligence living through us, the source of peace, love, and wisdom. This seems another way of describing God, and equally untestable, and therefore meaningless. Why do people go down this route? Is it reassuring to think that there is a benevolent intelligence behind everything, a big Daddy that will catch us when we fall? 

Of course, many people enjoy these perspectives as a poetic metaphor, and I also love poetry. Mountains lift my emotions. I might say 'mountains lift my spirits' but in a metaphorical way - I don't believe that having a sense of awe at the beauty and size of a mountain means that I have an eternal part of me (a spirit) that is connecting with God or the Universe, it just means I have a bizarre ability to experience elevated mood and emotion when looking at something. And reading Shelley's poem about Mont Blanc, while looking at it, added a level of enjoyment which was more than intellectual. Music often has a transcendent effect on me, and some of my most memorable experiences have been deeply diffused by music which I know very well, taking pleasure in each note. But certainly doesn't prove anything about invisible beings or ultimate realities. 

I'd rather commit to being truthful in the way I live with other people and myself. I don't pretend to have it all worked out, and I am open to learning from other people's perspectives (as long as they don't set themselves up as gurus who have found enlightenment!) I try to be honest about my own thoughts and feelings, knowing that thoughts and feelings are just that and certainly no proof of ultimate reality. I find it amusing that humans have this need for 'ultimate' reality, truth or meaning. We love to make stories for ourselves - let's not be afraid to call each other out on them, rather than disappearing into our metaphors! 

Me doing some yoga at the end of the Tour du Mont Blanc trail in 2017, a trip I fitted in between cancer diagnosis and treatment, and a profound commitment to life, nature and beauty.