Welcome to the first in my blog series I've deemed "The Truth Sessions." In a nutshell, this is the deal: I've come up with a handful of questions to ask people of many different walks of life---all pertaining to truth. I love getting to know people's stories, and I also am very interested in how truth plays into the chaos and noise of our culture. Through this series, I hope to tell a small piece of others' stories, as well as share their perspectives on truth and the role it plays their life and the lives of others.
This week's featured answer-er is one of my very best friends, Nicole. I won't always be interviewing people I know, in order to get differing perspectives, but I thought it'd be a good place to start.
Nicole---for those of you who don't know her---is a 24-year-old writer, grad student, residence director and modern-day abolitionist, and she is one of the most compassionate people I've ever met. (I've also seen her do the Soulja Boy in its entirety.) Here are her answers to the questions I asked:
Do you believe in the existence of universal truths?
Yes, I do believe in universal, or absolute, truth. Basic logic tells us that that for a statement to be true, it must always be true, or at least not able to be contradicted. Saying, "There is no absolute truth." is an assertion of an absolutely true statement and is, in itself, a contradiction, therefore, basic logic tells us that there must be at least some absolute truth.
What do you think truth is?
I think of universal truth as a form of happening and existence. The saying goes that there are three types of truth: the actual truth, the truth you perceive and the truth others perceive. I think the term "truth" gets a little muddy sometimes, so I think that it's important to make a distinction between universal truth--meaning consistent ideals or existencing being/bodies-- and perceived truth--meaning feelings, memories, or experiences.
Do you think truth is important? Why or Why not?
Despite the different variables different situations may provide, I think that the power of truth is unlike any other. I think it's important to examine the gray areas of "truth," but complete all discussions on truth with a big, "BUT..." because truth exists as truth despite our perception or attempts to grapple with it.
I think a great resource for this might be the chapter "How to Tell a True War Story" from the book The Things They Carried. (Warning for you: Rated R.) Also, Mere Christianity.
What experiences in your life have led to your beliefs about truth?
I think the only word I can use to sum it up is peace. I feel a great sense of peace when I experience what I feel is truth and feel a great sense of unrest when I encounter anything that conflicts with my understanding of what is right and wrong.
What is a statement, ideal or principle about the human experience you have found to be proven most true throughout your life?
Truths like, "Jesus Christ died to save you from you sin" and "God is with you always" have been very important to me in my life and have created the frame of reference from which I operate and see the world. Something about deep seeded, unchangeable truth, especially truth that speaks to our deepest needs and our deepest hurts, changes us. Something within us longs for absolute truth and for an understanding of right and wrong. As a Christian, I feel that it's the calling of Christ to restore us back to our true roles as humans, but even within out an affiliation with Christ or the church, I feel that it's undeniably true that we are born with an inherent sense of right and wrong, true and untrue, and although our experiences and stages of development may interpret it differently, the truths still exist.
Feedback request: Does this series interest you? Are there any questions you think I missed? Is there anything about Nicole's answers that resonated with you? Is 4 questions at the end of a post too many? :)
Thanks, Nicole, for being my first interview!
To read my introduction to this blog series, click here.