Before we can engage someone in dialogue or conversation of any kind both parties would have to accept that truth exists. Now this may sound ridiculous to some, but think of statements such as, “I’m glad that is true for you” or “That’s not my truth” and suddenly it seems to make sense. So, perhaps the simple starting point is to ask if someone believes in truth. You may encounter something like, “Well, that depends on what you are talking about.” Remember, that we need not jump to the defensive or aggressive position, but rather it is important to understand the perspective of anyone we are trying to have a genuine conversation with. I would follow up asking what sorts of topics that person feels are definitely able to be spoken about in an authoritative and true sort of way and which they suggest are not. Obviously, their response may dictate where you would go from there.
At some point if there is difficulty in solidifying the fact that there is truth in the world and it is knowable and definite I might ask if I say I am wearing a red shirt when I am in fact wearing a blue shirt, would that be true or false. Most everyone would say that is false or not true. I would ask, “How do you know?” The likely response would be, “I can see that it is blue with my own eyes.” I might make a joke at this point indicating that I identify blue as red, but I would follow-up with that people can see, hear, taste, and apprehend (come to have knowledge) of reality and truth. Yes, at times we can be mistaken, but this very fact that we can know that we were mistaken indicates the fact that truth exists.
Truth: As Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek submit truth is “Telling it like it is” or more formally, “Truth can also be defined as ‘that which corresponds to its object’ or ‘that which describes an actual state of affairs.’”[1]
So, in answer to the question of whether there
is truth the answer is a resounding yes! But some may not let me off that easy and
if we are interrogating truth claims let’s not let ourselves off that easy.
Let’s interrogate my claim that there is in fact truth in this world and we can
know it.
[1] Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 37, Kindle.