The path of truth is wrenchingly hard, and often sends you freewheeling out of the clutches of conventional society into the great unknown. but only in its company will you find courage, strength, joy, and the ultimate truth.

Truth warriors

The great Greek philosopher (469 BC-399 BC) was condemned by the people of Athens to death on the charge of corrupting the young, because of his habit of dialoguing with them on matters of ethics and truth. He had earlier angered the prominent citizens of Athens when the Oracle deemed him to be the wisest man in Athens. Since he knew that he was not wise, he set out to quiz all the wise people of Athens hoping to prove the Oracle wrong. He discovered, however, that though they considered themselves to be very wise, they knew very little. And in point of fact, he was the wisest, because at least he knew he did not know! Socrates accepted the death sentence even though he knew he could circumvent it because he felt that no philosopher should be afraid of death. And indeed he faced his own death with laudable fortitude, drinking up the hemlock speedily even when his followers pleaded that he postpone it. One of his last words to his followers was as follows: “The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways – I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.”

Galileo This astronomer was known for several revolutionary discoveries including the four moons of Jupiter. However, when he supported Copernicus’s theory that the earth moved around the sun and not vice versa, he incurred the disapproval of the Church, and had to spend the rest of his life under house arrest.

Jesus Christ The most renowned truth warrior, Jesus Christ, set out in the course of his ministry to re-establish the Truth of life among his people. Incurring the wrath of the priest and other Establishment figures whose piety he questioned, and whose authority he challenged, he was crucified to death.