Fake News vs. Absolute Truth
By Burny ~
I saw this silly quote on a Christian's timeline the other day;
Once again, a cute quote sounds profound until we examine it a bit closer. First of all, Skeptics don't assume that there are no absolute truth(s). We assert, humbly, that absolute truths are very difficult to find and even more difficult to prove. In order to prove something is absolutely true, we must be able to prove all other options false, and this is nigh impossible from a logical and mathematical perspective.
Let me give a simple example.
In order to prove that the Christian God is absolutely true (he's the only real one), we must first prove that all other God's that people believe in don't exist and that all other miracles, holy books and holy people are wrong about their beliefs while Christians are correct about theirs.
But it gets much harder than that!
We also have to prove that all versions of there being *no* Gods are false, and that all combinations of there being possible Gods - even in all other possible universes - are false. The only way to do this is to know everything about everything in every possible universe.
I understand that relativism, and the idea that absolute truth claims are almost impossible to test, is a very difficult pill for most Christians to swallow but that's just the way it is.I don't know everything. Do you?
On the other hand, falsifying just one claim is relatively easy. Simply take the claim (news story) and research whether it bears out in reality (test its claims). If it checks out then it's likely not fake news, but if it's claim isn't verifiable than it's likely fake. That isn't very hard to do, is it? Certainly not as hard as finding an absolute truth!
Do you see the important difference between the two? I understand that relativism, and the idea that absolute truth claims are almost impossible to test, is a very difficult pill for most Christians to swallow but that's just the way it is. I've had many discussions with Christians and this is the hardest thing they deal with internally. There is no way to know for sure that they are right and I am wrong. This is simply the way the logic works out - and a few honest Christians have admitted this to me. In the end, a Christian only has their faith (not facts) to give them great confidence that they have stumbled on the one truth.
Truth is hard. Fake is easy. Can you honestly say you know for sure why you're right and I'm wrong?
If there is no absolute truth, there is no fake news.
Once again, a cute quote sounds profound until we examine it a bit closer. First of all, Skeptics don't assume that there are no absolute truth(s). We assert, humbly, that absolute truths are very difficult to find and even more difficult to prove. In order to prove something is absolutely true, we must be able to prove all other options false, and this is nigh impossible from a logical and mathematical perspective.
Let me give a simple example.
In order to prove that the Christian God is absolutely true (he's the only real one), we must first prove that all other God's that people believe in don't exist and that all other miracles, holy books and holy people are wrong about their beliefs while Christians are correct about theirs.
But it gets much harder than that!
We also have to prove that all versions of there being *no* Gods are false, and that all combinations of there being possible Gods - even in all other possible universes - are false. The only way to do this is to know everything about everything in every possible universe.
I understand that relativism, and the idea that absolute truth claims are almost impossible to test, is a very difficult pill for most Christians to swallow but that's just the way it is.I don't know everything. Do you?
On the other hand, falsifying just one claim is relatively easy. Simply take the claim (news story) and research whether it bears out in reality (test its claims). If it checks out then it's likely not fake news, but if it's claim isn't verifiable than it's likely fake. That isn't very hard to do, is it? Certainly not as hard as finding an absolute truth!
Do you see the important difference between the two? I understand that relativism, and the idea that absolute truth claims are almost impossible to test, is a very difficult pill for most Christians to swallow but that's just the way it is. I've had many discussions with Christians and this is the hardest thing they deal with internally. There is no way to know for sure that they are right and I am wrong. This is simply the way the logic works out - and a few honest Christians have admitted this to me. In the end, a Christian only has their faith (not facts) to give them great confidence that they have stumbled on the one truth.
Truth is hard. Fake is easy. Can you honestly say you know for sure why you're right and I'm wrong?