Today people seem to have lost an understanding of objective truth. The powers of the world around us are subtlety, and sometimes not so subtlety, nudging and pushing people to believe everything is subjective – that there is no objective truth. This is nonsense, and it is important that we understand why.
In examining truth we have:
- A subject – the person observing the truth.
- An object – the thing being observed.
Subjective truth refers to truth that comes from the subject – the person. Objective truth refers to the truth coming from the object – the thing being observed.
Let’s use an example to demonstrate. Ryan has an apple. From Ryan’s point of view, which is subjective truth, apples are delicious. Ryan also likes the way this apple looks, because it is red, and he likes the color red. These two truths, that Ryan likes the taste and looks of the apple are subjective truths, because they come from Ryan, the subject. When Trisha takes a look at the apple, she is reminded that she does not like the taste of apples. As well, she prefers the color green, and does not find the appearance of red things pleasing to her. All of these these truths are correct, even though they are different, contradictory even, because they come from two different subjects, not from the object itself.
Next Ryan sees that besides being red, the apple is missing its stem. These two truths, that the apple is red and is missing it’s stem, come from the object, the apple, so they are objective truths. No matter how many people look at the apple, it will always be red and always be missing it’s stem. Trisha can observe that she does not like the red color of the apple, but she cannot deny that it IS RED. This truth comes from the apple – the object. The subject, the person looking at the apple, cannot change that.
Now, lets look at another object – the Ten Commandments. Let’s say that when Ryan looks at the Ten Commandments and he does not like them. He does not like being told what to do. This is a subjective truth. How Ryan feels about the Ten Commandments comes from Ryan. However, when Ryan observes the Ten Commandments, when he studies them, he sees that they come from God. God is the object of the 10 Commandments.
Not only that, but they actually ARE GOD, because the 10 Commandments are Divine Revelation – God revealed, which means the attributes of God are where the 10 Commandments come from. God is Truth. God is Love. God is Life. The Ten Commandments command us to Love, to respect life and to be truthful. The truth of the Ten Commandments do not depend on how Ryan feels about them, but on the Ten Commandments themselves. And the Ten Commandments not only come from God – they are God. All of divine revelation, moral truths and other truths of our Faith, are truths about God. Once again, that is what divine revelation means – God revealed.
So when you or someone else says that they don’t think or feel that a moral teaching of God is true for them, remember this – what someone thinks or feels about the teachings of God do not affect the objective truth of these teachings. For they have as their object God Himself.
Sacred Thinking by Mike Denz 