Introduction to Truths

Today’s Menu

• Appetizer:– Truth…does it exist?….

• Main Course:– What is Truth?– Aristotle’s Cave

• Dessert:– P.E.C. Questions

What is Truth?

What is Truth?

1 min. with partners to answer?

What are Ethics/What are morals?Examples?

Our morals Actions

TRUTH

Ethics & Morality Cont’d

• Ethics is like understanding musical theory and knowing how to read the music. [how we ought to act]

• Morality is like playing music and hitting the right notes.[us acting out those ethics]

• Morality refers to the stands by which we judge our actions to be good or evil

Christianity is not merely a morality

• Christian morality is unique because it is based on absolute morality

• Christian morality understands that by worshipping God Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we discover the correct moral approach

Reality!

• __________________: reality as it exists independent of observer ex.) Earth’s existence

• Aka ___________________ Truths

• ___________________ : mental representation/ model that we build of the objective world

• Aka ___________________ • Does equal opinion

• ___________________ How accurate your experience is to the knowable truth

• Your world view is your ___________________ truth.

• There are such things as illusions. Why? Because the gateway to our world is through our senses. These are gateways or bridges which can be flawed.

An Example …• Ex. 500 years ago I could I said the sun rises in the East and

sets in the West. But you say the sun isn’t moving but the earth is moving and the sun is fixed. Based on my experience and knowledge what you say is difficult to understand yet you may be right.

• Now we know that the sun being fixed is indeed correct but my theory appeared to be correct based on my experience (subjective reality)

• Therefore, the truth (objective reality) did not change but our perspective (validity) changed.

• -   A Godman came to earth, ministered, died and three days later rose again (Josephus)

• -   Historical truths (you may use this as a means to defend the Resurrection based on the women’s testimonies and the death of believers…if necessary)

• -   The faith aspect of it comes into play when one chooses to follow Christ

• -   The strength of the Christian story lies in the historical event= a knowable truth

• St. Paul tells Christians that if the historical truths did not happen to go and find something else to follow because the Christian story will not survive otherwise

What we know about God?• GOD is…– Love– Justice– TRUTH

– Lovesick Father – If morality is based on truth then morality is

objective/absolute NOT subjective– Truth comes from God therefore it cannot be

changed

Relativism vs. absolute• ___________________= always comparing two situations

– Uses the word but– “stealing is wrong, but if don’t hurt anyone its

okay”

• _______________________= not relative, unconditioned– “stealing is wrong”

• Q:When you watched Million Dollar Baby what was he obligated to do?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIgV4X8BOcY

What would be the relativist response???

•eating this mushroom will lead you to experience abdominal pain and maybe even death

•Who was the first relativist?

Some schools of thought

• ____________________(a-without, theism=God) – There are no absolutes

• knowledge, material realities, non-material realties (God), even morals

– because God cannot Be if nothing is absolute

– No belief in a god

• _______________________– Affirms the uncertainty – Therefore, we can never know if God

exists

Some schools of thought

• ______________________in moral knowledge we know no more absolutes

• ___________________but no religion can be known as an absolute

• moral judgments are only subjective feelings- WRONG!!!– “Murder is wrong” does not mean “I

hate murder”

NO!!!Murder is wrong.

Who said that….

• “________________will damn our souls”

–You can’t repent if you don’t believe in sin to repent from, and you can’t believe in sin if you don’t believe in a real moral law, because sin means disobeying. Moral relativism eliminates the law, thus sin, thus salvation….

Quote Activity: 5 mins.

• “ Art, like morality consists of drawing a line somewhere.” G. K. Chesterton

1. Do you agree or disagree? Why? 2. What about modern slavery? Child

pornography?

Christian Morality

• Morality is not man made– Its origins are in the God’s revelation

• Moral _____________________– Application of morals– Ex.) thou shalt not kill = means abortion

too!

Why? Why? Why?• Why should we study ethics and morality?

– Since 1960(stats from USA not able to find Canadian stats)

•  • 500% increase in violent crimes• 400% increase in out-of-wedlock births • Tripled number of children living in single-parent

homes• Tripled number of teenage suicide • Doubled divorce rates

And…

• Relativistic religions…(those that say you can do as you wish if you feel right about it…)– The essence of all true religion is

ISLAM ???

•Islam= ______________________•Submission of the heart to truth, to God, to what God is, to truth and moral goodness

Here is why else?– It allows us to have ______________________,

meaning and coherence in our lives. Without absolute principles we are unable to fully enjoy happiness.

– As teens, you are in the process of making the moral decisions for yourselves

– Our actions speak to who we are…we are Christians…our actions should reflect Christ

Don’t impose your values on me!• Let’s take a look at how law is

created?– A_______________is enforced only by force– Your consensus really means SOME ppl

ex.) lawmakers, majority impose their personal values on others

– If morality is objective (never changing) rather than subjective (always) then it comes from universal human nature rather the judgment of a few

• G.K.Chesterton “Once you abolish God, the government becomes god.”

What is freedom?

• human potential, the ability and the power to act on your free will.

• does not equate doing whatever one pleases– Ex.) Your parents go away for the weekend for

the first time. Do you adhere to their rules or do you have a house party because you were given freedom?

Who said it…• Freedom consists not in doing

what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.