Here’s an idea – what if many of our attitudes and assumptions betray who we are designed to be? And what if they lead to a lifestyle that increases feelings of loneliness, isolation, depression, anxiety, and rage?
Let me give an example…one that will set some basis for our discussion.
Within our modern culture, there is often the notion that truth, or maybe we call it “right and wrong”, is only a matter of personal preference and desire. That it doesn’t exist at any overarching level of humanity that binds us together. Perhaps you have entertained the idea that “no one has the right to say what is right and wrong, because it is a matter of opinion” or “what’s right for one person is unrelated to what is right for someone else.” But let’s examine this idea for a moment…and how it relates to the human need for community and connectedness.
Many of the great philosophical minds of the past valued the pursuit of identifying “truth”, believing that it not only existed as the ultimate form of knowledge, but that it was central to authentic life. It was the highest form of ultimate reality, for which the human race was destined to pursue. While there were many opinions on morality, right and wrong, and what is actually true, the belief that truth ultimately exists beyond our personal opinions and preference was always still acknowledged. Think of it like this - there are many pointers towards the light, but the light still exists apart from those who point to it. Logic itself proves this theory. The minute someone says, “Truth is a matter of opinion”, that person has just made a statement about truth on a universal level (beyond opinion). Its like saying, “It is true beyond opinion, that truth is just opinion.” And the minute someone says “truth doesn’t exist”, they are using a statement they believe is true to say that there is no truth. This cannot be. The statement that truth doesn’t exist, or is merely a matter of opinion, evaporates the minute it is declared. So truth must exist…
What if we could make this point more practically? More personal and less philosophical? For instance, would you agree that killing children for fun is wrong? Now (this is the important question), is it only wrong for you personally, or wrong on a universal human level? If you can agree that it is fundamentally wrong – that it betrays humanity then click the box on the right below.
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I agree it is fundamentally wrong to kill children for fun.
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