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Discerning Truth

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HOW TO DISCERN TRUTH IN THE MIDST OF
CULTURAL DISSONANCE & DELUSION
Dr. Paul R. Shockley
© 30 July 2011 www.prshockley.org One of my overriding rules of conduct, namely, maxims, in my life is to pursue moral and intellectual excellence in my daily life, believing that the “good life” is dynamically related to knowing and practicing that which is true.1 Truth is to shape my character and conduct whereby both desires (inward conformity) and duty (outward obligation) are harmonized into a way of life that not only expresses virtue, but also enables one to both fully live life, free from the entanglements of poor choices, and to discover what others often fail to see. In fact, the ordinary details of life become extraordinary as one looks for truth. Thus, seekers of truth relish not in only in anticipation of a potential future, but also in the present experience as he or she examines, engages, and interacts with expressions, manifestations, and consequences of truth.
Naturally, one may ask how I am defining “truth.” Simply put, my definition of truth is that which corresponds to reality, identifies things as they are actually are, can never fail, diminish, change, or be extinguished must be able to be expressed in logical propositions
(logical), and is sourced in the God of the Bible who is the Author of all truth. I take it that the truth of a judgment consists in the identity of its content with a fact; it is a “true-truth.”
So, when I look at the Grand Canyon, I’m not seeing a copy or picture of the Grand Canyon in my mind, I’m actually seeing the Grand Canyon.
Notwithstanding, the pursuit of truth can be difficult given the amount of competing truthclaims being made in this information-saturated world by some of the most academically qualified, brilliant, mesmerizing, popular authorities and representatives, and intellectual, emotional, and spiritual movements that

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