Seeking for the Truth

Church of Almighty God

The Church of Almighty God Advocates:

Put God’s words into practice in order to enter truth reality

Distinguish between the true way and the false way.

Subjective Truth: Experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit!

In CAG’s website www.holyspiritspeaks.org, there is a frequently asked questions section in which it gives answer to how to differentiate between the true way and the false way. It quotes directly from “The Word Appears in the Flesh“ and says, “You have to look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit in this way, whether or not these words are the expression of the truth, who is testified to, and what it can bring you. Distinguishing between the true way and the false way requires several aspects of basic knowledge, the most fundamental of which is to tell whether or not the work of the Holy Spirit is present therein.”^[1]

[1] The Church of Almighty God, About Us, Frequently Asked Questions, “The Origin of the Eastern Lightning’s Prosperity,” accessed August 10, 2021; Google e-book, page 2479.

Then, it gives out three tests that will confirm in fact whether the work of the CAG is truly from God: “First, the true way contains the work of the Holy Spirit.The ministry growth of CAG proves the point. “Because the Church of Almighty God contains the work of the Holy Spirit, it therefore appears so full of vitality, while the various denominations are bleak, desolate, and have lost the work of the Holy Spirit, standing in a stark contrast with the Church of Almighty God. Therefore, it is self-evident which is the true way and which is the old way.”^[2] This is a subjective test as it says “self-evident” in the above argument.

Second, “the true way contains the truth, can indicate to people the path of practice in the new age, and can allow people to gain new provisions for life.”^[3] How can one know what is the truth? The argument goes: “People no longer seek to satisfy their own flesh and no longer make deals with God. Instead, they only seek to satisfy God’s intentions and offer up to God everything they have. In this way, people, as created beings, gradually regain a normal relationship with the Creator. They become more and more loving toward God, more submissive and more worshipful, and finally they start looking more like man should.”^[4] This is not an objective test. Once feeling about his or her own change of personal desires and the relationship with God is self-evident a subjective test.

Third, “the true way gives man a new and practical understanding about God.”^[5] In its in reasoning, the CAG still uses another subjective self-evaluation, i.e., through personal experience, to test itself as truth. It says, “It is not difficult to discover that the brothers and sisters of the Church of Almighty God have gained new knowledge and a more nuanced understanding about God through the manner in which they seek the truth….… Through experiencing Almighty God’s work, people see that God saves mankind…… Experiencing Almighty God’s work and word helps resolve many misconceptions people have had about God….. People also understand that God’s work is always new and never old and is bound by no rules.“^[6]

Christianity

Classical Christianity Advocates:

Know the Truth

Both General Revelation and Special revelation are God’s Truth.

Objective Truth: Truth corresponds to the Facts and Reality.

“… and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32, ESV)
Good feelings and personal sincerity are not the standards by which to determine whether something is true or not. Rather, things that are corresponding to reality and objectively verifiable are means by which objective truth of reality is ascertained.
All Truth is God’s Truth (R.C. Sproul): “I believe firmly that all of truth is God’s truth, and I believe that God has not only given revelation in sacred Scripture, but also, the sacred Scripture itself tells us that God reveals Himself in nature—which we call natural revelation. And, I once asked a seminary class of mine that was a conservative group, I said, “How many of you believe that God’s revelation in Scripture is infallible?” And they all raised their hand. And I said, “And how many of you believe that God’s revelation in nature is infallible, and nobody raised their hand. It’s the same God who’s giving the revelation.”
The Truth about the Truth (Norman L. Geisler):
1. 1. Truth is what corresponds to reality.
  2. The correspondence view of truth cannot be denied without using it since:
    - - Those who deny it assume their view corresponds to reality.
      - In reality everyone holds to a correspondence view of truth.
      - Those who deny it in theory, use it in practice.

Arguments for the Correspondence View of Truth (Norman L. Geisler):
1. 1. It is implied in the ninth command (“You shall not bear false witness”), i.e., don’t misrepresent the facts.
  2. It is entailed in Acts 24 when it says you can “learn the truth” when you “verify [the facts]” (vs. 8, 11).
  3. It is manifest in Genesis 42:16 when Joseph said they should look at the facts “so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth.”
  4. It was employed in the test for a false prophet whose prophecy was considered false “if the word does not come to pass or come true” (Deut. 18:22).
  5. It is utilized in everyday conversations when we consider something false if it misrepresents the facts (e.g., we say “check the facts” and “check it out for yourself” and the like).
  6. It is essential to a legal oath when one promises “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Answering objections to the Correspondence View of Truth (Norman L. Geisler):
- - Objection 1: Jesus said, “I am the truth” (not, “I correspond to the facts”).
  - Response: Jesus’ lips and life perfectly corresponded to the facts. Persons can represent truth as well as propositions.
  - Objection 2: God is truth, and He does not correspond to any reality beyond Himself.
  - Response: God’s words and actions do correspond to His mind and nature. Thus God is “true” to Himself. This is perfect correspondence.

Other Views of Truth (Richard G. Howe):

Coherence
1. Definition: A statement is true when it coheres with or is consistent with a body of other statements.
2. Truth cannot merely be coherence because by this theory, even a fairy tale could be “true.”
3. Every theory of truth, including coherence, requires the correspondence theory of truth to define itself.
Functional
1. Definition: A statement is true in as much as it fulfills its intended purpose.
2. It is sometimes known as the intentional theory of truth.
3. Every theory of truth, including functional, requires the correspondence theory of truth to define itself.
Pragmatic
1. Definition: A statement is true in as much as it works or is practical.
2. The pragmatic theory gives rise to the notion that something can be “true for you but not true for me.”
3. Every theory of truth, including pragmatic, requires the correspondence theory of truth to define itself.

CAG's Additional Arguments and Explanations

How one should put God’s words into practice in order to enter truth reality [1] & [2]:

Action: Act in accordance with God’s requirements, not to satisfy your own flesh but instead satisfy God’s will.
Performance: Perform your duty and meet God’s requirements is the only way to enter God’s reality.
Practice: Practice with actions can be called entering the reality of His words.
Conditional: Enter this reality, then you will possess the truth.
Required Training: “This is the beginning of entering reality; you must first undertake this training, and only then will you be able to enter even deeper realities.”[2]

[1] The Church of Almighty God, “How one should put God’s words into practice in order to enter truth reality,” accessed December 24, 2021.

[2] The Church of Almighty God, “The Word Appears in the Flesh,” “Those Who Truly Love God Are Those Who Can Submit Absolutely to His Practicality,” Google e-book, page 1525, accessed December 24, 2021.

Clear Thinking Exercises

Is the reality of God’s truth depending upon man’s works and performance?
Does man’s good works and his obedience to God’s words build up or contribute to the truth reality of His words?
Does the reality of God’s truth exist outside of human’s understanding and comprehension?
What is reality?
Is Truth about reality knowable?
Is “reality” a subjective feeling or an objective and factual truth?
Are subjective tests reliable? All three of the CAG’s tests are subjective, (1) a person’s feeling about the work of the Holy Spirit, (2) changing personal desires and relationship with God, and finally (3) gaining new and practical understanding about God through experience are all subjective test for truth.
CAG takes pride in saying “God is always new and never old,” but where is the evidence. Is it just a slogan to repeat? It takes blind faith, i.e., without any objective evidence, to believe the truth of Almighty God. In contrast, there are plenty of evidence which show that many NT stories have affirmed OT’s teachings and fulfilled many OT prophecies.
Does God keep His promises? If God is always new, never old, does God change? (See God does not Change)
Many people get addicted to a behavior, physical, spiritual, or otherwise, begins with the first try. If such behavior is false or detrimental to a person’s wellbeing, safeguarding your mind and defending the truth are of paramount importance to help yourself and help others discerning the truth without or before taking the first bite. Clear Thinking and objectivity is often lacking when people are immersed into subjective experiences. When discernment is required to sort out confusions and identify the truth about reality, subjectively testing are not reliable!
Why are subjective tests not reliable?
Does a person’s subjective feelings, emotions, and experiences affect his or her mind while assessing the truthfulness of a claim or statement?
Is a person’s feelings a good standard for assessing the truth of reality?
Would a clear thinking mindset help an individual to discern whether or not something is objectively true not not?
Subjective feelings seem real and can be sincerely joyful. In reality, are these good feelings and experiences always authentic and truthful?
Personal true feelings are subjective. But is it based on truth itself? Many people get truly emotional when they watch certain type of movies. But movies are mostly fictional, not reality. Therefore, personal feelings are not reliable means by which a clear thinking person to discern whether a true feeling is reality or based on truth!