Quote Originally Posted by afghooey
I'm well aware that there are many opinions and beliefs about what the truth is.

But, there is really only one version of THE TRUTH.

I know I'm stating the obvious here, but I see the words 'fact' and 'truth' being abused so often. Usually when people say these things, what they really mean is 'belief' or 'opinion'.

It was once considered a fact that the earth was flat and that it was the center of the universe. It was once considered a fact that illnesses were caused by demons, and so on. But these, along with everything that we have ever considered 'facts', even what we consider to be facts today -- they are merely what we believe to be true.

By putting our faith in the truth, and that it will remain true no matter what our beliefs about it are, we've been able to go about the process of destroying innacurate beliefs, and by process of elimination some of our beliefs have gradually come to reflect the truth more closely. No matter how closely a belief reflects the truth, though, it's still a belief.
Im confused as to what your point is... are you trying to imply that I was posting my opinions and beliefs as fact and empirical data? Because if so, then you completely missed the point.

Of course we dont know the truth yet. I dont, and neither does anybody else on this planet, we can not. Not yet, anyways, not in our primitive state. All we can do is do our best to search for our own personal truth, and continue listening to our gut instinct to make sure we are on the right track. Thats why people share their ideas; so that other people who are searching for the truth can have conversations with like-minded folks. And then you have the people that just want to prove their intelligence by telling other people that they are wrong instead of attempting to contribute to the conversation.