A&O:
now says there is an Ultimate Lie only, Ultimate Falsity. How do I counter this logically, thanks.
First of all, I’m assuming that you are both using the term ultimate in the sense of “absolute.”
The statement that there is only ultimate falsity is itself an ultimate (absolute) statement. We must, therefore, ask ourselves if the statement is itself true. However, since it is an ultimate statement that allows for no exceptions, if it is true, it is an ultimate truth. Ironically, the only way this statement can be true is if it is, in fact, false. To say that there is only ultimate falsity is a self-contradicting statement and, therefore, self-refuting.
On the other hand, our (the Catholic) position is not that there is only ultimate truth but that all truth is ultimate. The truth of something is not dependent on our opinion or our knowlege of the facts. If people believed that the world was flat and it is in fact round, the truth has not changed no matter how sincerely they believed what they though was true.
Two statements:
- Chocolate is the best flavor of ice cream.
- My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.
The first statement is a matter of opinion and therefore, the argument regarding ultimate truth doesn’t apply.
The second statement is a matter of fact and therefore it is either ultimately true or false. If it is true, it is ultimately true. If it is false, it is ultimately false. What about if I change my mind? That doesn’t matter because the statement is still true. The context of the statement is the present tense so it need only be true at the time it was stated. If my opinion of the best flavor of ice cream changes, then it will become ultimately true to state that my favorite flavor of ice creame
was chocolate. You see? Has the truth changed? No. It is ultimately true that on April 19th, 2005 at 7:00 PM Pacific Daylight-savings Time my favorite flavor if ice cream is chocolate. That will always be true and so it is ultimately true.
When it comes to our faith, our faith comes from God who is eternal. Eternal means that it is outside of time and, therefore, not capable of change. This means that the truths of our faith cannot ever change.
I hope that this explanation helps.
