What is absolute truth?

In formal discussion groups with students, I've asked them to define "absolute truth" as a group. I approach the whiteboard with marker in hand, ready to scribble down their profound answers.
"What," I ask, "is absolute truth?"
"When you think that...um, when..." This student's thought trails off, and he looks at the ceiling with a sigh.
"Reality."
"What you like."
"What you believe."
Then I turn to the adults in the group and ask the same question.
One leader remarks, "When what you think is true?"
Oops. We can't use the word we're defining as part of the definition. That's like defining sailing as, er, "to sail."
I've had adult leaders approach me and admit that students don't know how to define truth because their teachers don't know much about it, either.
I hope you feel a bit relieved by that. It's hard to believe in something if you don't even know what it is. It may not be your fault.
But you're still responsible to know what it is.
I'm confident that most teachers affirm absolute truth, even though they can't define it. They have a sense of what it is; however, that sense is not often clear enough to pass on to the next generation--your generation. Is there any wonder why students today don't know how to answer the question of whether or not there is absolute truth? We simply don't know what it is.
The definition of truth is quite simple, but it takes some thinking. Like the rules of tennis, truth is simple to understand. But you have to pay attention to start getting it. And no matter who you are, whether you're an A student or a D student, you can understand this and use it in your everyday world:
"Truth is an idea or a belief about something that shows up in the real world."
Or to put it another way, "truth is when an idea reflects the way the world really is."
Or to put it another way, "truth is an idea or a belief that is a fact."
Or more philosophically speaking--"truth is a proposition that corresponds to reality."
Whew, there's the definition! All of these say pretty much the same thing, just in different ways. Now reread these definitions to make sure you've got it in your head.
TRUTH EXAMPLES
Suppose I'm looking for my car keys. I usually have a hard time putting them in the same place twice. My wife, Jonalyn, set up a system in our home where the keys go in the key box near the door. But I keep forgetting about that system, and I only remember it when my keys are lost.
So I'm still looking for my car keys.
Upon walking into my study, I suddenly see the keys sitting on my desk. I see the keys. I now have the idea that the keys are sitting on the desk. Because the idea that the keys are sitting on the desk accurately reflects the fact that the keys are on the desk, I now have truth. My idea mirrors the way things are. My idea links with the facts, just as a rock climber links his carabiner with the piton drilled into the side of the mountain.
Suppose I'm planning to drive to Gino's Pizza in Laguna Beach. Unsure of where the restaurant is located, I go online and print out the directions. Then I follow every turn, and I arrive at the pizza place precisely as the map directs me. The map was true because the map reflects the way the roads really are.
Many times, however, those online maps have led me astray, and I've had to stop at gas stations to ask for the proper directions. In those moments, we'd probably call the map false. Why? Because it does not reflect the way the roads really are. (And my friends ate all the pizza because I was late.)
Since we're using the topic of driving, let's suppose my Jeep is in the shop for a flat tire. A few hours pass before I receive a phone call from my mechanic who says the work is complete.
Suddenly, a new idea comes into my mind that I have a repaired tire on my truck. I haven't actually seen the tire. I only have the idea of this repaired tire because my mechanic told me about it. My wife drives me to the shop. I pay the bill, take my keys, and go to my Jeep. I look down at the wheel sporting a freshly repaired tire. In that instant, the idea that my tire was repaired corresponds with the real repaired tire I'm looking at. In that moment--when my belief about the tire and the real tire link up together--I experience truth.
Truth is all about the content of ideas linking with the way the world is.
If this still isn't clear, go back a few paragraphs, read the examples again, and see if it doesn't make a little more sense to you.
The goal of this chapter (like all important things) is not for us to complete it quickly, but to understand it well. Give yourself the freedom to take your time on it. And always be willing to reread.
TRUTH IN ROMANCE
When Jonalyn first caught my eye, it was because she let her hair down--literally. She usually hid those beautiful, thick, brown curls by wearing her hair up. But one evening she let her hair down, and it caught my attention.
That's when I started talking with her more and sending e-mails to her.
I was getting the impression she liked me, too. I mean, after all, do people keep writing you back and calling you on the phone if they don't?
My belief that she liked me continued to grow, until one day I asked her to be my girlfriend. It took her a couple days to reply (and I felt as though I were dangling on the edge of a cliff), but she finally said yes.
In that moment of excitement, something happened (besides sparks flying). Truth happened. My belief that she liked me linked up with the reality that she did like me. I was a lucky guy.
Truth is everywhere, like the air we breathe. Even in our dating lives.
So let's review here: "Truth is when an idea links up with the real world." Such as those times when I found my keys, realized my tire was repaired, and discovered that my belief that Jonalyn liked me actually reflected the fact that she really did like me.
This definition of truth is so important--I cannot stress it enough. Burn the concept into your mind.