A Course in Truth

Seeking Truth Fearlessly

Science, philosophy, and religion all seek Truth, ideally speaking. Therefore, when they find Truth they will be in agreement with each other. So it's very telling that science, philosophy, and religion most often seem to be in disagreement with each other. Is it not?

Consider this: Every person prioritizes information according to one's unique perspective. And this is how one forms one's opinions. Opinions are beliefs, and no two people share the exact same set of beliefs. However, Truth is absolute and doesn't conform to opinions. And we can be sure of this. Because, if Truth were subject to opinion we would be able to dictate laws that the Universe would be obliged to obey. But as science knows, it is we who must obey the laws that the Universe dictates.

So, whose set of opinions shall we allow to represent philosophy? Religion? Or, for that matter, whose set of opinions shall we allow to represent science?

If a University teaches me all that it knows of science, philosophy, and religion, I will have three separate compartments of information in my mind; three compartments that have very little in common. However, if I don't limit myself to a curriculum that's been designed by others, I might gain a very different and much broader perspective...

We all have preconceived ideas and prejudices; that's what opinions (beliefs) are. And some of us are very confident in our beliefs, and are therefore unwilling to reconsider them. However, that precludes any further growth. On the other hand, some of us are open to new ideas in the interest of learning, and are unafraid to analyze those new ideas using our own concept of reason.

Returning to our cancer example, an open mind is often the difference between life and death. In an Appendix article of my book The Holy Grail is Found I explain why I probably wouldn't have survived to find the deepest of truths had I not been open minded. To begin with, I was open to the idea that there is an omniscient Source of Truth that is able to make information available to all who are not afraid to listen. This led me directly to the simple cure for diseases that include cancer. And that same open mindset led me into discoveries of even far greater importance.

The Holy Grail is Found lists an extremely broad range of sources, while illustrating how all of those have the same ultimate Source. And that book isn't easily categorized, because it follows the rational path of reason, which allows the "rivers" of science, philosophy, and religion to meet in confluence at the Ocean of Truth. However, many people will choose to avoid considering this milestone in human understanding for precisely that reason. I'll explain:

We all have the mind of the philosopher, the religious, the scientist, or some combination of these. Well, the philosopher might choose to ignore any inquiry that includes science or religion for fear of their limitations. The religious might choose to ignore any inquiry that includes philosophy or science for fear of demonstrating lack of faith. And the scientist might choose to ignore any inquiry that includes philosophy or religion for fear of being (or appearing) unscientific...

We tend to separate and divide everything. And this is because that's precisely the reason why we find ourselves experiencing a world of separation, limitation, and lack in the first place. In a word, our original (and continuing) error is judgment. For, as it turns, absolutely all judgment is false judgment.

I explain all of this in great detail in my book The Holy Grail is Found. But you can begin to see why we must learn to overcome our error of judgment if we are to overcome the vicious cycle of limitation that we are experiencing. And, in short:

In order to find Truth one must be willing to set aside all judgments long enough to investigate a body of information and measure it using one's sense of reason. The scientist or philosopher who stops as soon as he sees the name "Jesus," for example, has chosen to associate that name with preconceptions that may have absolutely nothing to do with any facts. Likewise, the religious person who refuses to consider scientific or philosophic information for fear that this demonstrates a lack of faith, he is following blind faith. And blind faith is indeed blind, be it religious faith, philosophic faith, or scientific faith. Because blind faith lacks meaning; blind faith lacks reason. However, reason is sense, quite literally. And reason isn't blind. Because, unlike the limited five temporal senses, reason isn't limited and therefore isn't irrational. Reason is our connection to the Rational: that which is Whole and undivided. And that's where Truth will be found.

With this in mind, let's consider some of the truths that religion has to offer us when it is considered through the eyes of reason rather than blind faith.