One From Column A, Two From Column B

First, let me say that I'm very happy you're still vertical (see my previous post). About 150,000 others, unfortunately, won't be joining us today.

Now, on to today's topic.

I remember going to Chinese restaurants as a child. I was amazed by the number of selections on the menu. It seemed like you could order something different every time you visited, and never run out of selections.

I also recall how they sold combination plates. You could choose a main entree from Column A, then one, two, or three items from Column B, depending on the price. Using this method, you could personalize what appeared on your plate in endless ways.

That's fine for marketing and customer satisfaction, but it simply doesn't work for determining truth.

For example, on a math exam I can't choose a number from Column A, then from Column B choose my favorite operator, a second number, and then my personal choice for the answer to create my own personal answer-plate. Unless I choose the numbers carefully, I'll get the answer wrong.

I don't want to get the answer wrong on a math exam, and I certainly don't want to get the answer wrong if it matters for all of eternity.

Unfortunately, we're bombarded with beliefs about life after death that can look a lot like that Chinese restaurant menu. The number of choices from Column A is long, and limited only by man's imagination. The number of ways you can pick and choose components of a faith from the Column B of doctrine, philosophies, and rules allows us endless possibilities to create a lifestyle-plate to suit our personal desires.

Such a creation might make us comfortable for a time, but what if we create the wrong collection? How would we know it's wrong? Does it matter? Of course it does!

It matters because of something that many readers will find very hard to accept, and that is: Truth exists. In addition, truth is knowable.

But how do we determine what truth is? How can we know truth with regard to faith, life, death, and eternity?

Before we tackle that, let's take a look at a few of the choices from Column A, the world's major religions and philosophies.

Hinduism is a man-created set of beliefs. The beliefs that make up Hinduism are quite diverse. So diverse that you will find both agnostics (uncertain of the existence of God) and atheists (who dismiss the concept of God) who call themselves Hindu.

Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, and the oldest. Its beliefs have evolved over time, with many of them captured in various documents. There is no single god in Hinduism. There is no final creed or doctrine, and no single truth.

Even one of the most recognized followers of Hinduism recognized these limitations. Mahatma Ghandi said, "It is a constant torture to me that I am still so far from Him whom I know to be my very life and being." Why might Ghandi feel that he was so far from this supreme being that he sought, if he was in possession of the truth?

With little effort you can find a wealth of information on Hinduism. However, for our purposes this brief overview will do.

Closely related to Hinduism is Buddhism, the fourth largest of the world's religions. It too is based on man-created rules and teachings. The widely recognized founder of Buddhism, Budda Shakyamuni (usually referred to simply as "Buddha") saw himself as a teacher of self-discovered "truths".

Over the years, these truths have been augmented and modified. There is no central document or church. Because of this, you can also find agnostics and atheists who identify themselves as Buddhist and feel right at home. This is because the concept of God is not part of the core set of beliefs. Rather than pursue a god , they strive to live like their founder, known simply as the Buddha or the Enlightened One.

I think a fair summary of the core beliefs would be something like this: Life is filled with suffering. Suffering is caused by selfish desires. Suffering will end when all desires end. If you live like Buddha, desires and suffering will end. In the meantime, you are endlessly reincarnated to try, try again.

The other set of beliefs we'll look at today is what has become known as the New Age Movement.

New Age is harder to define. My wife would use the word "hodge-podge" to discuss its set of beliefs. It's sort of like the old saying, "Too many cooks spoil the broth." You sort of know what it is, but it's full of so many things it's hard to define with specificity.

In general, the New Age movement is a philosophy that is self-defined and regulated. It's filled with people who have pulled beliefs from a range of other religions, world-views, and philosophies, especially those of the East. Those who consider themselves New Agers believe that people can figure out what is ultimately true and what is ultimately right. In addition, what is ultimately true and right for you, might be different from what is true and right for everyone else. That, according to the New Ager, is perfectly O.K.

But, then again, New Agers can change their mind at any time, so by the time you read this, ultimate truth may be the same for everyone.

I can't ignore the fact that, if true, having everone define individual truths and right will always lead to complete chaos. New Agers seem to ignore this fact, though history proves it repeatedly.

I also can't ingore the fact that New Ager beliefs about life and eternity are sort of like the weather. If you don't like it right now, just wait a little while and it will change.

Let's have a summary for today.

New Age can't be true. If nothing is absolutely right, and nothing is absolutely wrong then nothing can be true either. Any set of beliefs that refuse to take a firm stand (other than insisting that everyone can take their own stand) is contradictory, and can't be true since truth is knowable and unchanging. New Age-ism might help people who wish to avoid conflict, but at most it's a philosophy that lasts only until a bigger, meaner New Ager comes along and tells you what his truth is. It also won't help you 1000 years from now.

What of Hinduism and Buddhism? I would argue, though others might disagree, that any philosophy based on rules, policies, and morals that are created by men, is fatally flawed. A quick look at the despots of history is all that is needed to show how evil mankind can be when given power and the authority to impose personal beliefs on those around him (or her).

You may not find my logic conclusive. That's O.K. for now. Even more important is the earlier statement: Truth exists and is knowable. If I can prove that Buddhism and Hinduism, and any other world religion, is in conflict with truth, then there is not need to argue further.

Next time we'll review a few more of the popular world religions. After that, we'll take a closer look at truth.