A Rose by Any Other Color
I believe there is such a thing as "absolute truth."
I believe that, if two people both looked at something scientifically measured to have a certain wavelength in the visible spectrum its wavelength would be the same for both, even if one were to pop the other's eyeballs out and put them in their own sockets and see "green" whereas both previously saw red.
In other words, I don't believe that "truth" changes, even if our individual abilities to perceive it accurately falter, or if our perceptions of it differ. WE are the variables, not the "truth."
People run into problems when they decide their perception of the truth is THE truth.
This is a big part of why I became allergic to Religion. I have learned to be as "colorblind" as possible about such things, and in the process I have learned that you may see the apple as what I would call yellow, and I may see it as what you would call purple, but the important thing is that it is an apple and it is good to eat, and good for you.
Now I'm not trying to say that all religions are the same. Frankly, religion is precisely human perception. The Catholic sees a red apple. The Muslim a red banana.
The Baptist sees a purple apple and the Methodist sees a blue apple. I am learning to try to see the APPLE.
The Man said that you know a tree by it's fruit. If it bears figs, it is a fig tree, not a tomato plant. If it gives birth to kittens it is a cat, not a crocodile. If it tastes tangy sweet and is crispy inside with a tough, tart skin on the outside, and it is chock full of vitamins and minerals, and keeps doctors away ... it's an apple, even if it looks gray to me.
Similarly, when one "Christian" says "Kill abortion doctors," but another says, "Go to Borneo and bring medicine to sick children," they may both call themselves "blue," but they "taste" different and their "wavelengths" are not the same.
I heard a clever (and smug) Christian expression once that, for all it's cuteness, is profoundly useful. "I don't judge people ... but I am a fruit inspector."
If it walks like a Nazi and it talks like a Nazi and it kills like a Nazi ... it's a Nazi, even if it calls itself a Saint.
I believe that, if two people both looked at something scientifically measured to have a certain wavelength in the visible spectrum its wavelength would be the same for both, even if one were to pop the other's eyeballs out and put them in their own sockets and see "green" whereas both previously saw red.
In other words, I don't believe that "truth" changes, even if our individual abilities to perceive it accurately falter, or if our perceptions of it differ. WE are the variables, not the "truth."
People run into problems when they decide their perception of the truth is THE truth.
This is a big part of why I became allergic to Religion. I have learned to be as "colorblind" as possible about such things, and in the process I have learned that you may see the apple as what I would call yellow, and I may see it as what you would call purple, but the important thing is that it is an apple and it is good to eat, and good for you.
Now I'm not trying to say that all religions are the same. Frankly, religion is precisely human perception. The Catholic sees a red apple. The Muslim a red banana.
The Baptist sees a purple apple and the Methodist sees a blue apple. I am learning to try to see the APPLE.
The Man said that you know a tree by it's fruit. If it bears figs, it is a fig tree, not a tomato plant. If it gives birth to kittens it is a cat, not a crocodile. If it tastes tangy sweet and is crispy inside with a tough, tart skin on the outside, and it is chock full of vitamins and minerals, and keeps doctors away ... it's an apple, even if it looks gray to me.
Similarly, when one "Christian" says "Kill abortion doctors," but another says, "Go to Borneo and bring medicine to sick children," they may both call themselves "blue," but they "taste" different and their "wavelengths" are not the same.
I heard a clever (and smug) Christian expression once that, for all it's cuteness, is profoundly useful. "I don't judge people ... but I am a fruit inspector."
If it walks like a Nazi and it talks like a Nazi and it kills like a Nazi ... it's a Nazi, even if it calls itself a Saint.
posted by Author | 5:49 PM
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