Seeking After Truth

Sitting here on the sofa, leg raised, waiting for your broken bones to knit together, is in fact incredibly frustrating. Your mind races ahead of you all of the time, and because you cannot do so much yourself, you end up sending family members on little errands to assist you. I think my family are already a little tired of this! However, that may not be happening so much this week, as much of the time I'm going to be on my own while the family is out doing other things. It's that time of year!

I don't know about you, but whenever I am on my own, I tend to take after Mary and I sit and ponder on particular things. With so much time on my hands at the moment, this week I have been sitting and pondering one of the ways that I often describe myself - as a 'seeker after truth'...

It's often difficult to separate truth from fiction: I understand that people sometimes circulate what they believe to be 'news' without realising that what is being circulated isn't in fact the truth. It is such an eye-opener when you come face-to-face with the truth, because sometimes the real facts bear little relation to what in fact is being touted as 'fact'.

A case in point? Here's one from history, as recorded in BBC's programme 'QI', one of my favourite TV shows. Who invented the telephone? I remember being taught at school that it was Alexander Graham Bell, however we are now taught that the actual inventor is in doubt. Many claim it was Antonio Meucci, an inventor from Florence who unfortunately did not manage to finalise the patent on his new invention. Bell did. This fact was only formally acknowledged in 2004.

I'd rather have the truth in any situation. Not necessarily to make me any more comfortable, but just so I have a reliable base-line.

If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things - Rene Descartes

John 8:31-32 (New International Version, ©2010)

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”