We finished the remodeling project, thanks to the help of my friend. I'm glad it's done. Major projects like this really disrupt the regular routine of the family. One routine I enjoy is corresponding with you every week. That seems to be the routine we've fallen into. I just received your last letter yesterday.

I agree with you that there's a lot of debate about the origins of the universe and of life, the problem of pain and suffering, and the bewilderment of seemingly unanswered prayers. The response you indicated some of your friends have had to religious issues isn't unusual.

"That's OK for you to believe if it works for you. I believe differently and I think that's also OK. It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere."

You hear it all the time. I do too. We live in a pluralistic age. Just so we're on the same wavelength, my understanding of pluralism is that it means there are many different beliefs, and who is to say what is right or wrong?

We're being told more and more that there is less and less we can know for certain. The belief that there is absolute truth isn't very popular. To believe that something is right or true and something else is wrong or false is considered a narrow-minded view.

But truth, by its very nature, is narrow. What I mean is that there are a lot more things that are false about something than things that are true. If I tell you that the shirt I'm wearing right now is plaid, that would be true. That means I'm not wearing a white shirt, a pastel shirt, a striped shirt, or no shirt at all. Of all the kinds of shirts there are, I'm only wearing one kind. If you are in one location, that means if you say that you're at any other location you're wrong. There are many places you can be, but you can be only one place at this moment. Truth is inherently narrow.

Many times it’s important to know what's true. For instance, imagine yourself taking parachuting lessons. You're ready for your first jump. You've seen two different people packing parachutes. One is folding the parachutes with meticulous care and precision. The other person wads the parachutes up and crams them into the packs any which way. Which person would you want to teach you how to pack your parachute? You may prefer to save time and just wad it up like the one guy, but something tells you the other guy ought to be your teacher. You want to pack your parachute the right way; otherwise your friends can run an ad in the paper in a couple of days: "For Sale: parachute, used once but never opened. Slight stain in middle."

I believe there are some fundamental truths that are so profound and important that it's important we find them out. There are mutually exclusive statements we can make; that is, both statements can't be true. The fact is, God either exists or He doesn't. He either created the world and us, or He didn't. If there is a God, He must have certain attributes and characteristics. There are a heaven and a hell, or there aren’t. Reincarnation is either a reality, or it isn't. The belief that God sent His own Son Jesus Christ into this world to die on a cross for us is either true or false.

It makes no sense for one person to say to another, "It doesn't matter what you



believe as long as you're sincere and it works for you." This simply isn't true when you're dealing with mutually exclusive statements.

Truth isn't arrived at by being led by personal preferences or by taking a vote to see what the majority believes to be true and best. Tragically, children follow their preferences and drink poison stored in a former Kool Aid container, and people vote crooks into office.

Truth stands on its own. We can't create it, bend it, or change it to our whim or fancy. Truth can only be discovered. I believe I've been fortunate enough to have been shown some truth that allows me to be certain about what's important. I don't take any credit for it; no one's ever invented ultimate truth, including me. I see myself as one beggar telling another beggar where to find food. I appreciate your willingness to enter into this dialogue and to humor me at times, and I look forward to your reply.

I have a few details to finish up on the new kitchen, so I better close and get to it. I think I declared the project done a little prematurely.

A fellow seeker after truth,
Dave