Reality: The state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.
To this definition I would ask: the state of things as they actually exist for whom? There are as many different realities as there are people on earth, and that reality changes from minute to minute, second to second. I would say rather than "reality" a more fitting word would be "perception".
5 people can be in the same room when a fight breaks out. When questioned about what happened, each one will have an entirely different perception about that reality. The reality: a fight broke out... but the perception of that reality is where it differs greatly. So which one is true? All of them. From each person's perspective what they experienced is the truth.
Someone may say to you that life sucks...there's nothing but hate, violence, and dishonest people everywhere you look. For them, that is their reality and perception of life, but for you, life is not like that at all. You see life as a pleasant, beautiful, optimistic, wonderful thing. They are both true and coexist at the same time. Even two married people living under the same roof and experiencing pretty much the same thing can feel very differently about their lives.
In my own life there are different realities. If I were to focus on the news, and what I read online and on Youtube, I might believe that Joe Biden is our President, or President Trump is coming back, that there's a plan, The White Hats are in control, or the Military. There is child trafficking, rioting, murders, rapes, and homelessness, and people in our own government are child eating, Satan worshipping traitors...but, when I turn all of that off, and relax with a cup of tea in my favorite place (my enclosed back porch), none of that exists. All is well with the world and life is good.
I would have to conclude that there is no such thing as reality only perception or interpretation of circumstances as experienced through the eyes and mind of the person experiencing them.
Is reality the same thing as truth? While there can be many realities or perceptions, there can only be one truth. In the above example of the fight, there exists only one truth of what actually happened. That is where arguing and divisiveness would come into play as each person would try to convince the other that their account of what happened is the truth. That is why it is sometimes hard to come to any concise conclusion as to what the actual truth of a situation is.
I don't envy the person whose job it is to determine the outcome of a murder, accident or other incident that calls for a judgement and sentence on the alleged perpetrator.
I don't know if it is possible in this world to know what the truth is of our reality, but there is one who knows the truth of all things, and that is Jesus.
Isaiah 59:4 No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Psalms 5:1-6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Psalms 25:5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
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