"You Can't Handle the Truth"

I really enjoyed the group discussion we had regarding truth.  When sharing our answers to the discussion questions, everyone in our group had similar answers.  We all had stronger opinions on some statements than others, but for the most part we were able to agree on a few fundamental truths about Truth:

1.  There is an ultimate, absolute truth.  Just because man doesn't always understand it or fully grasp it, does not mean that it does not exist.

2.  Truth is multi-faceted.

3.  Fact and opinion are two different things that apply in different situations.

4.  Truth can be proved by personal experiences and observations.

5.  There may be multiple "right" answers for one certain situation.  What one person knows to be true may differ from what another person knows to be true based on their experiences.  They are both "right" based on their experiences.

The statements I agree with the most are #1 and #5.  However, looking back on them, it almost sounds like they contradict each other.  How can one believe that there is one absolute truth and then turn around and also believe that there are multiple right answers differing from person to person?  Let me clarify the way I see it.  I do not hold the belief that everyone in the world and all the different religions are true.  If all religions are true, then by their very nature they would all be false since all their gods would contradict the other gods.  I believe that there is one absolute truth that holds the "meaning of life".  I do not believe that mankind is ever supposed to be able to fully grab ahold of this truth, though.  That's what keeps us learning and discovering-- life is an ultimate quest for truth.  If we all knew the ins and outs of the universe, then what would be the point on living and learning anymore?  I do believe that there is enough evidence to grab at the truth, but we won't ever be all-knowing.  Now, this may seem like it contradicts statement 5 that multiple people can have different answers that are all true.  I don't see this as multiple people with multiple religions or explanations on the meaning of life all being correct, though.  I think this statement applies for more ambiguous and less absolute truths-- more like human experiences and matters of the heart.  Everyone goes through different experiences and has different attitudes and opinions.  For example, what one person believes to be true about love may differ from what someone else believes about it.  Maybe one person has had a great experience with love and found someone they can share their life with, while the other person was also in love but had their heart broken.  They have both experienced love, but in different ways.  Therefore, they have each grasped a corner of the truth about love and are both right, though different.

To conclude, I believe in an absolute truth (regarding science and God) that man will never fully understand (we really can't "handle the truth" after all).  I also believe in individual truths within each person for certain situations.