Thursday, March 15, 2007

Where Do You Go For Truth?

During my usual Kinja link search, I stumbled upon a blog link that mentioned how at least one college history department has banned the use of Wikipedia as a reference for students. As the blogpost states, this was due to:






... a report that Middlebury College's history department has banned use of Wikipedia as a reference, after a prof noted many exam papers had the same erroneous information, which could only have come from Wikipedia.


Well, maybe the biggest clue to the fact that erroneous information flourishes there is because "Wikipedia," as listed in the Libraryspot, is labeled as a site you can update.

I have always thought that Britannica would be trustworthy, but apparently, it is one that you need to pay for after a "free trial." It is probably worth it in the long run. Avoiding mis-information is something that is very important when investigating the truth.

Encyclopedia.com is a free, online source, but I haven't investigated its content, yet. Perhaps it is more reliable than Wikipedia.

Encyclopedias are great for getting to the truth about knowledge, education and history. However, there is erroneous information out there. One must be careful of one's source for truth.

Then, there is spiritual truth.

What is your personal source for spiritual truth?

I go to the Master - Jesus Christ. If you don't already have one, get a red-letter Bible. It shows you the phrases and verses that Jesus spoke.

Jesus is THE reliable source to determine truth.

Jesus said to the Father during his prayer, "Your word is truth."

Jesus is God's Word in the flesh.

Jhn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Bible is God's Word. It is trustworthy and true.

Seek out what it says. It will make you wise. You will learn who Jesus is and what he has done for your salvation. You will discover God's purpose for your life and what you should be focusing on in your lifetime.

Unlike "Wikipedia," the Bible is our ultimate reference guide. It is truth without any errors. There are Bible difficulties, yes. However, such difficulties do not arise out of any errors within it's pages; but from the errors of fallible, human beings who incorrectly use esogesis" (extracting own meaning from text to support pre-conceived notions, bias, and or justify own sins) rather than exegesis, (the scholarly investigation that seeks out what the Scriptures genuinely mean, and say, which have withstood the test of centuries of investigation) that incorporates "Sola Scriptura," "Scripture interprets Scripture" and archeological evidences to correctly identify what the Bible is telling us.

Where do you go for truth?

Pontius Pilate once asked Jesus, "What is truth?"

Jhn 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault [at all].

To bad that Pilate didn't recognize that the very Person who encompasses Truth was standing right in front of him at that moment!

Jesus speaking:

Jhn 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Mar 8:27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

Jesus asks that same question of each and everyone of us.

What's your answer?

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A thought for the day for all Christians out there:

"If God is your Co-pilot, swap seats! "

Victory Verse of the Week
"Put God first in all that you do, and He will crown your efforts with success."
Proverbs 3:6

*******
Can't agree with everything in this article, but this part is informative:

Biblical illiteracy is not just a religious problem. It is a civic problem with political consequences. How can citizens participate in biblically inflected debates on abortion, capital punishment or the environment without knowing something about the Bible?



And then there is this. Oh how far we have fallen!!

3 comments:

Andrew is getting fit said...

I would argue that most Christians don't know what is in the Bible as well.

Churches tend to just emphasise the palatable parts and not all the stuff we would have a problem with today.

For example: Numbers 31 where the good Lord blesses the slaughter of children and the rape of women. :)

Susan Smith said...

Hi Christine:

This is one of your best and a great one to read to bring in Shabbat and end our work week here in the Middle East. Not only is Jesus the Truth, He is indeed the Way and the Life as you quoted! Praise His Name.

So often the truth is something my flesh and my pride does not like when the Lord points it out. It is the truth about me, not about others that set me free from a lifestyle of sin.

We had beautiful snow flurries here in Jerusalem yesterday. Shabbat Shalom to my dear friend and "little" sister on the West Coast. (ss)

Christinewjc said...

Hi Susan!

So happy to see you here again! Thanks for your kind words. God's Word is so awesome!! I'm so glad that He has revealed His Truth to us mere mortals!

You always add so much to the posts here. I thank you for that!

When we get over the distaste we feel with "the flesh and pride obstacles" in our lives and give it all to Jesus at the foot of the cross, it is so freeing!

Would you ever want to go back and live a life without Him in it? I already know your answer to that question! Of course not! I certainly wouldn't, either!

He's such a marvelous Savior! Loving and obeying Him is a better way of life than any other!

The joy of serving the Lord is unlike any other kind of joy in life. And Susan, you spread such joy in a beautiful way...

Love & God bless,
Christine