Truth
"What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer."
-Francis Bacon, Of Truth
"What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer."
-Francis Bacon, Of Truth
Ann Garrido, a CGS catechist and author, just wrote a timely book about truth. In it she explains that because the word can mean many things, conversations about truth can become muddled and unproductive. She proposes thinking about truth using the metaphor of a diamond with four facets:
One facet of truth gazes upon our lifelong struggle to perceive the world as accurately as possible. It concerns itself with making sure that our minds are aligned with what really is, rather than imaginary things. It recognizes that a solid picture of reality is essential for our survival, so it cares a great deal about our ability to grasp the facts.
A second facet of truth watches over our struggle to interpret the happenings of our world and make sense of them. Recognizing that we live in a pluralistic society that interprets things in many different ways, it is concerned with our ability to judge among various interpretations and opinions to fashion lives that are oriented toward the good.
A third facet of truth focuses on our struggle to communicate with one another toward the building up of society. Because society depends on being able to trust one another's words, it is concerned with our human propensities to lie or share half-truths as well as our propensity to say too much. It wants to help us find the right balance, or what we might call the truthful, in our speech.
A fourth facet of truth considers our struggle to "be true" in long-term relationships with one another. It is concerned with our capacity to remain faithful in the kinds of ways that God is faithful, even in times of profound disagreement with one another. It wants to help us figure out which actions are the most loving.
from Let's Talk about Truth (2020)
While Garrido is writing primarily for Catholic leaders of adults, we can apply her insights to parenthood. We must model and talk about facts and how to discern what's credible. Part of that is being truthful and discreet in our speech, and loving and faithful in our relationships.
As parents, can we commit to "seeing things as accurately as possible, forming our opinions as carefully as possible, and being as faithful to one another as possible"? If we can model truth in that way, we will also teach our children how to live in the truth as followers of Christ, who is "the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6a).