“When you seek truth, you seek God whether you know it or not.”
Edith Stein
We can understand that God is truth, as Jesus calls himself ‘the way, the truth and the
life.’ (John 14:6). Numerous other passages associate truth with the word of God (John
17:17) and the spirit of God (John 16:13). Islam considers ‘The Truth’ as one of the 99
names of God. A life of faith is a life of striving for the truth. But the converse is harder
to see. Is a life spent in search of truth, a life spent in search of God? The 20 th century
philosopher, saint and martyr Edith Stein would say yes.
Edith Stein was killed at Auschwitz in 1942. Born to a Jewish family in Poland she left
the faith as a teenager, became a philosopher, converted to the Catholic faith and
eventually became a nun. Because of her Jewish ancestry the church sought to protect
her from the Nazis at the start of WWII by transferring her to the Netherlands, but the
Netherlands were invaded by Nazi forces in 1940. Initially converts were spared, but in
1942 the local Catholic church issued a public statement against Nazi rule and the Nazi
authorities retaliated by arresting all converts including Stein. A Dutch official offered to
help her escape, but she refused the offer and was killed in August 1942. She was
canonized a saint and martyr of the Catholic church in 1998.
We live in difficult and confusing times and anyone who claims to have the answers is to be distrusted. Life in Europe before and during WWII was probably just as confusing. Powerful faith groups of the time completely backed the Nazi program, and those that objected were marginalized or worse. Blindly following a faith was no guarantee of following the truth. Yet people managed to live their faith thereby bringing some light of God to the darkness of their time.
We cannot define truth, and it means more than statements being objectively true. Ursula Le Quin famously said that: “Children know perfectly well that unicorns aren’t
real, but they also know that books about unicorns, if they are good books, are true books.” That truth would be the transcendental truth that we seek. It can be in things
we believe and narratives we follow. But it can also be in the decisions we make and the paths we walk. Living a life of faith under a friendly government is easier than under a hostile one, and the truths we come by may well be different. We have an intuitive desire for truth, albeit one that is often overshadowed by our desires for fantasy, entertainment and conformity. Faith encourages that search for truth, just as it encourages the search for God. In the best of cases, it will enable us to lead lives that will show something of God in our world.
Edith Stein
We can understand that God is truth, as Jesus calls himself ‘the way, the truth and the
life.’ (John 14:6). Numerous other passages associate truth with the word of God (John
17:17) and the spirit of God (John 16:13). Islam considers ‘The Truth’ as one of the 99
names of God. A life of faith is a life of striving for the truth. But the converse is harder
to see. Is a life spent in search of truth, a life spent in search of God? The 20 th century
philosopher, saint and martyr Edith Stein would say yes.
Edith Stein was killed at Auschwitz in 1942. Born to a Jewish family in Poland she left
the faith as a teenager, became a philosopher, converted to the Catholic faith and
eventually became a nun. Because of her Jewish ancestry the church sought to protect
her from the Nazis at the start of WWII by transferring her to the Netherlands, but the
Netherlands were invaded by Nazi forces in 1940. Initially converts were spared, but in
1942 the local Catholic church issued a public statement against Nazi rule and the Nazi
authorities retaliated by arresting all converts including Stein. A Dutch official offered to
help her escape, but she refused the offer and was killed in August 1942. She was
canonized a saint and martyr of the Catholic church in 1998.
We live in difficult and confusing times and anyone who claims to have the answers is to be distrusted. Life in Europe before and during WWII was probably just as confusing. Powerful faith groups of the time completely backed the Nazi program, and those that objected were marginalized or worse. Blindly following a faith was no guarantee of following the truth. Yet people managed to live their faith thereby bringing some light of God to the darkness of their time.
We cannot define truth, and it means more than statements being objectively true. Ursula Le Quin famously said that: “Children know perfectly well that unicorns aren’t
real, but they also know that books about unicorns, if they are good books, are true books.” That truth would be the transcendental truth that we seek. It can be in things
we believe and narratives we follow. But it can also be in the decisions we make and the paths we walk. Living a life of faith under a friendly government is easier than under a hostile one, and the truths we come by may well be different. We have an intuitive desire for truth, albeit one that is often overshadowed by our desires for fantasy, entertainment and conformity. Faith encourages that search for truth, just as it encourages the search for God. In the best of cases, it will enable us to lead lives that will show something of God in our world.
