Philosophy: Research-based Truth
Upon what should we base what we believe? We have many possible alternatives; for example, we may choose to base what we believe on dreams, myths, folklore, hunches, science fiction, rumors, opinions, what others (some of whom we consider trustworthy, some we consider untrustworthy, some we are uncertain about) tell or teach us, what we want to believe or hope to be true, etc.; or, we can base what we believe on conclusions reached by the unbiased application of accepted, proven research methodologies, i.e., on the basis of the facts. The latter is, of course, the only rational approach. For one in academia who claims to be a scholar (and for anyone, really), how could there be any other answer? It would, however, be impossible for every individual to personally research every question, so we must, at some point, choose to trust what we hear or learn from others, assessing their trustworthiness in the process. So the question then becomes, what questions are so important that we should ourselves thoroughly investigate them and the existing research surrounding them, and what questions do we base our beliefs on the conclusions of others? A rational, scholarly answer to this question is that we must rank the questions, thoroughly investigating those which are most important in life, and relying progressively more on a rational assessment of the trustworthiness of others, logic, etc., to answer those questions of progressively lesser rank. So then, this approach, a rational, logical, scholarly research-based approach, represents my philosophy of life.
The most important discovery resulting from application of this approach is summarized in these two conclusions:
Conclusion 1. The most
important question in life is, by far, this: Is there a God, and, if so,
Who is He? And...
Conclusion
2. The quantity and quality of scholarly evidence is overwhelming that the
book called the Bible is
true, and is, therefore, reliable as a source to learn the truth
about God.
In addition, experience
tends to either confirm or refute research-based conclusions. For example,
my doctor, whom I trust, prescribes an approach to alleviate my headaches. I ask "why?"
He says "the medical research shows that this approach has these effects which
cause headaches to stop." I ask, "So you have prescribed this approach for
others who have headaches, and it has caused their headache to go away?"
He says "yes." I then personally apply the prescribed approach, and the
result (my headache either continues or stops) tends to confirm or to refute the
original research-based conclusions, and the experience of others, associated with the approach.
In a similar way, my experience related to research
Conclusion 2 above, that the Bible contains truth, has consistently confirmed
the conclusion. That is, every time that I apply the truth contained in
the Bible to, and in, life, the result has confirmed its truth.
So, what is the essence of the truth contained in the
Bible? It can be summarized in these few statements:
1. God exists, and
He is the God described in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments.
2. God loves you personally; He desires to have eternal fellowship with
you; He has an exciting
plan for your life.
3. The way to have this fellowship with God, and to be a part of His
perfect plan for you, is the way
described in the Bible; that is, to establish a
personal relationship with Jesus by accepting what He
has done for you and trusting your life to Him.
4. The Bible is God's blueprint, or manual, that describes how to live the
most meaningful, fulfilling,
and exciting life possible.
If you would like to know
more, or have questions, please feel free to contact me. My campus
address, phone number, and e-mail address are listed at the top of my home page.