Who is it that gets to decide what we find acceptable in our culture? In this world of political correctness and socially acceptable ideas we are often confronted with the realization that we aren’t being tolerant of others. Miss California recently discovered this when she was asked a question during this years Miss America pageant. The question was her stance on the controversial topic of gay marriage. Unfortunately it wasn’t her opinion of the topic that was challenged but rather her right to have that opinion. The onslaught of internet attacks began just minutes after the words left her mouth, and the mainstream media quickly followed. Many very personal and hateful things were printed or aired about Miss California without any rebuttal from any other viewpoint. The common theme was her intolerance and the intolerance of those who share her support of traditional marriage between one man and one woman. Why is it that she has been labeled intolerant for believing in traditional marriage while at the same time those who are vigorously attacking her are deemed tolerant for their openness to alternative lifestyles?
Truth is always exclusive. For something to be true, then there must also be something that is not true. Truth is either true or isn’t, and if it isn’t then it isn’t true. Truth is not an opinion. An opinion can easily exist among opposing views. “This room is too hot” this is a statement of opinion. You may be comfortable or even cool, but that too is just your opinion. You can challenge someone’s opinion with more information or creditable persuasion but they still have the right to consider the temperature to be hot. If the statement was “it is 77 degrees in here” that is a true statement. Your opinion of what 77 degrees feels like is up to you. If the room is 77 degrees but the thermostat is reading 84, you may agree with the reading or not agree with the reading but the truth will still be 77 even if you believe it is 84. The truth didn’t change. Additionally, find your favorite fishing pond in the dead of winter. Is the ice thick enough to support the weight of your car? You may conclude that based on your past experience and the cold winter that the ice is 4-5 inches thick and that should be more than adequate to support that weight. You trust your knowledge and drive your car onto the lake, it holds. Did your prior experience and knowledge make it possible to drive onto the lake? Nope. At the end of the day it didn’t matter what you thought, how you came to your conclusion, or if you believed or not. The ice was a specific thickness anyway. It didn’t change based on your trust, it simply was what it was. What is actually true and your opinion of that truth may not always agree, but truth will always be true anyway.
There are many truths about God. God created this world. It wasn’t created by a committee of Buddha, Mohammad or anyone else. One God one Creator. As God, He is who He is regardless of what we think. He is not defined by our concept of Him. He is who He is, period. Can we agree that when we say, “my God is this or my God is that” these are opinions of who we think He is and may or not be accurate? Can we also agree that when God speaks, He speaks what is truth? There is right and there is wrong. Truth is always exclusive and we need to stop apologizing for it but rather embrace it.
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