DALE RATZLAFF
In April we at Life Assurance Ministries attended a conference in Denver, Colorado, sponsored by Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR). As we attended breakout sessions and the three excellent plenary sessions, we appreciated the focus on the nature of truth: truth for the sake of truth; truth in establishing and evaluating world views; truth in comparing world religions, and testing the truth claims of the cults. The final plenary session was given by Dr. Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary and author of the recently published Christian Apologetics—a Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith.1 Yes, it is indeed a comprehensive work with some 752 pages, and some of the material in what follows I have gleaned from this wonderful and highly recommended work.
The nature of truth
• Truth must have meaning.
It [truth] must stake out a share of reality conceptually and be intelligible. For example, the statement “Green ideas sleep furiously” is neither true nor false, because it doesn’t advance any statement about anything. The statement may be grammatical, but is nonetheless, meaningless.”2
First, truth must have meaning. Facts which are self-authenticating can be claimed to be truth; for example, the statement “It is hot today” has meaning and can be easily evaluated. (Yes, it is 116 degrees as I write, a fact confirmed both by Google and by a thermometer in our back yard). Some claims of truth, however, are not as easily evaluated; for example, which world religion is true? Muslims claim to follow the one true religion, and Christians claim to follow the one true religion. Both statements have meaning, so they both seem plausible. These statements, however, have contradictory meanings, so, because of the nature of truth, they cannot both be true. Many today, though, would disagree that spiritual or religious truth must be rationally testable, and they build their world views on subjective or cultural norms instead of on empirical evidence. This dilemma, therefore, leads us to the second necessary characteristic in the nature of truth: it must be able to be rationally tested.
• Truth must correspond to reality
Aristotle understood this principle when he wrote:
To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is and of what is not that it is not, is true; so that he who says of anything that is, or that is not, will say either what is true or what is false.3
For a statement to be true it must be factually accurate. A statement is not true just because we believe it to be true or want it to be true; belief and facts do not always correspond. For example, there were many homeowners who believed that their properties would be safe during the super storms that hit Mississippi and New Jersey last year, but their belief did not change reality. Belief or faith should be based on facts that can be reasonably established. Belief in belief, while it may have some placebo benefits—a positive, optimistic mental attitude is healthy—can sometimes be a road to foolishness and deception. Sometimes, it is true, facts are difficult to prove. For example, some might say the statement, “Christ is coming again” does not correspond to reality because it is not (now) factual. Nevertheless, it is a factual statement based upon an abundance of supporting historical evidence confirming fulfilled Bible prophecies: Christ’s birth, His truthful ministry, Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the destruction of Jerusalem. In other words, truth must correspond to reality based upon facts which can be reasonably provable. “Christ will either come again or He will not” is a factual statement. To choose one outcome over the other requires a logical argument based upon known facts.
• Truth cannot be self-contradictory.
The law of noncontradiction is the basis for all truth, not just some truth. This reality seems to be well-grounded in the human psyche from childhood on. The whole premise of cross-examination of a witness under oath springs from this law. In fact, this law corresponds to the working of God who does not contradict Himself and cannot deny Himself,4 and it often exposes our own shallow commitment to the truth.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 Jn. 1:6-8).
The law of noncontradiction is one of the most useful tools in evaluating truth claims made by political and Christian leaders. As I write, the news is full of stories of political leaders who have contradicted themselves. Their truth claims are therefore undermined, and their credibility is diminished.
As Christians we accept Sola Scriptura as the foundational tenet of the Christian faith; based upon this foundation, therefore, the authority of Scripture becomes the plumb line for evaluating claims to truth. Jesus said, “Scripture cannot be broken,”5 and He quoted as authoritative statements from Deuteronomy and Daniel, the two books which higher critics deem to be the least historical. Therefore, when statements made by religious leaders contradict the clear teaching of God’s word, we know they are in error.
• Truth systems should be internally consistent.
A religion or denomination should only hold a system of beliefs that is internally consistent. This idea is sometimes called the coherence theory of truth. In other words, in expressing a particular world view, a religious system should not have to struggle with incompatible parts. It should answer coherently the questions of where we came from, why we are here, where we are going, and what we, if anything, need to do to improve our destiny now and hereafter. The coherence theory of truth, however, is not by itself an indicator of truth. Muslims, Buddhists and Christians may all claim to have a system of truth that is internally consistent and meets the coherence test. Yet these religions would disagree with each other, thus showing that while coherence should be a factor of truth, it is not the deciding factor.
Having briefly examined the nature of truth, we look now at some of the modern definitions of truth and evaluate how they fare when compared to the standards of meaning, testability, reality, non-contradiction, coherence, and Sola Scriptura.
The pragmatic theory of truth.
The pragmatic theory of truth is often called the “religion” of business. This theory is based on defining truth as what works. For example, the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is often said to be the “bible” of success. In essence what it teaches is that what a person can conceive and believe, he can achieve—having a purpose, developing a plan, and persistently following that plan is the road to success. Thousands of business leaders have followed this plan to wealth. We should note that these principles lie very close to biblical truth with one big—huge—difference. As Christians our first purpose is to follow the will of God, our plan is directed by the guidance of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth, and we are to focus our attention persistently on who we already are in Christ. Without God one can follow the pragmatic theory of truth to hell. What seems to work now may not, in the end, be ultimate truth.
The postmodern theory of “truth”.
The postmodern theory of truth is the religion of liberalism and is rapidly sweeping our country like a plague. Our children are learning postmodernism from public school to the ivy league universities. And, sad to say, it is rapidly infiltrating the Christian church. Postmodernism is the result of political correctness gone wild. The postmodern theory of “truth” teaches that there is no objective standard for truth. Therefore, “truth” must be defined by the individual living in a community. If the community thinks abortion is O.K. then, it is O.K. If the community thinks gay marriage is a good thing, then that is “truth” for those who enter that relationship. The postmodern theory of truth has unhooked itself from the idea that truth must correspond to reality. Once people accept this theory of truth, however, they are free to define truth for themselves. Those old enough to look back at how things were in the 50s, for example, realize how our culture has changed. In those days we seldom locked our houses or car doors when we were away, and we usually stopped to help someone who had broken down along the road without fear of being robbed or sued. Most Americans held to the Judeo-Christian ethic. Truth and reality were connected. How things have changed!
Cocktail religion
Springing from the postmodern theory of “truth”, many have opted for what we might call cocktail religion. They may take a little of the golden rule from Christianity and a little yoga from Buddhism, explain the circumstances of life by karma, worship nature as the mother goddess, and seek some mystical, spiritual experience that works for them. Once a person has unhooked truth from reality, there is no way to evaluate truth.
Shortcoming of postmodern, cocktail religion
Springing from the postmodern, cocktail understanding of truth is the idea that it is politically incorrect to judge or even to evaluate what another person believes. “Who are you to judge my religion?” Those who claim it is wrong to judge another’s moral standing or religious views, however, end up in a moral dilemma and are forced, ultimately, to make judgments. These judgments usually protect the postmodern’s beliefs and deny those who hold to absolute truth the right to make judgments. These judgments against those who believe in absolute truth, right, and wrong, reveal the error, foolishness, and terrible danger of postmodernism. For example, there is a growing disdain and even a hatred of Christianity in today’s society witnessed by incidents in classrooms against believing Christians and by disgusting “art” demonizing Christ. The reason for this negative judgment is that Christians believe in an objective moral standard of right and wrong which identifies sin based on scriptural truth.
Rational thinking can identify the foolishness of postmodern “truth” in relationship to moral judgment. For example, our society today says it is O.K. to kill a baby as long as it is not completely out of the mother’s birth canal, and the government will protect the mother and pay the doctor to abort the unborn. However, a few seconds after the baby is born, killing it is a crime punishable by death, and the government will pay for attorneys to enforce this law.
Understanding the contemporary worldview of “truth” vs. the truth of Christianity
At the recent EMNR conference several of the speakers presented a visual description of the contemporary worldview of truth that made these concepts easy to grasp. Visualize a two story house representing a person’s interior life. The upper story represents the place where religion, spirituality, and subjective experience reside. The lower story is where objective facts and measurable physical reality occur. In postmodernism, the spiritual upper story is completely disconnected from the objective lower story. This disconnect allows people to say, for example, that a person born objectively male may not experience himself subjectively as male. He may thus identify his gender as “transgender” or “bisexual” or “gay”. His “personhood”, therefore, is determined by his subjective spiritual experience disconnected from objective, measurable physical reality. This postmodern disconnect between subjective experience and objective reality leaves people without any objective measure of truth and ultimately confused and anxious. Each person is free to decide individually what is “true” for him or her, not only in the realm of personal identity but also in every area of existence including relationships, behaviors, and religion.
Christianity, on the other hand, does not separate the subjective, spiritual areas of life from the objective and physical. Christians understand, for example, that living babies are born spiritually dead and must be brought to life spiritually (Eph. 2:1-10; Col. 1:13). The relationship between spiritual and physical has eternal consequences. Moreover, a person’s subjective spiritual experiences are integrated with one’s objective decisions and behaviors acted out in the body, and a person’s objective physical reality must both inform and be informed by his spiritual self. Furthermore, Christianity itself is comprised of spiritual reality—being authored by the one true God who is spirit (Jn. 4:24)—yet this spiritual reality is not unhooked or separated from provable objective facts. In fact, Christianity is the only world religion that is anchored in historical facts.
Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15:12-21).
Christianity stands or falls on the historicity of the resurrection. Christianity is rational; it is linked to facts that can be reasonably proved. Consequently, we do not separate our spiritual life from our rational life because the historicity of Christianity demands that we allow its truths to permeate every aspect of our person and life. Moreover, the morals engendered by Christianity can be demonstrably proven to be good. The life results of going to church, living in a Christian home, marriage before children are born, integrity, and chastity have been shown over and over again by empirical studies to be superior values for all involved than are those which are driven subjectively.
Scripture and Truth
The concept of truth runs like an unbroken chain through the whole of Scripture. When Moses met with God on the heights of Sinai,
Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Ex. 34:6).
Moses confirmed that “God is not a man that He should lie” (Num. 23:19). The wise proverb admonishes us to “Buy truth, and do not sell it” (Pro. 23:23).
In describing the experience of walking with Jesus, the disciple John states,
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn. 14:6).
The Holy Spirit is defined as “the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:17). We are to worship the Father in Spirit and truth (Jn. 4:23). The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (Jn. 16:13).
God’s truth must be learned (Acts 17:11) and defended (1 Pet. 3:15-17, Jude 3). Believers living in error must be corrected in love (2 Cor. 10:3-5). When the truth of the gospel is compromised, it must be confronted openly (Gal. 2:5, 14).
The Gospel Prophet says,
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken (Isa. 1:18-20).
The eternal search for truth
While truth is rational and can be known, in this seemingly infinite universe there are depths of truth that we cannot fully comprehend that nevertheless reveal the fingerprints of Almighty God. The more we learn, the more we see an Intelligent Designer, and the more we realize that we only know an infinitesimal amount of the truth that is “out there”.
In the same way, as we continue to study Scripture guided by the Holy Spirit using all the mental powers of reason, language, and logic, we understand we have only scratched the surface of knowable truth. The truths of the gospel of John have been described as a pool of truth in which a child can swim without the fear of drowning, yet this pool of truth is so deep a theologian cannot touch the bottom.
Discipline needed for truth discovery
The Bible does not teach a lackadaisical attitude toward the discovery of truth. While natural revelation testifies about the existence of God,6 we are instructed to learn more about this God who created all. We are to seek Him and His truth.
…you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul (Deut. 4:29).
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened (Lk. 11:9-10).
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).
Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation (1 Pet. 2:2).
The writer of Hebrews urges us to leave the elementary teachings and press on to spiritual maturity.7 It would be good for us to move our focus from American Idol to the many scriptural passages which tell us who we are in Christ Jesus.
Hindrances to the discovery of truth
Scripture delineates three basic hindrances to the discovery of truth that have drastic eternal consequences. To identify these three hindrances, we will begin by looking at one of Jesus’ hard statements to His disciples about the Pharisees. In the following passage, Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10 and Psalm 119:70:
He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend. For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear (Mt. 13:11-16 NET).
Paul also quotes from this Isaiah passage in the closing verses of Acts. The Jews wanted to know what Paul was teaching, so on a specific day, he spoke to them from morning to evening. Then we have this record:
Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen! (Acts 28:24-28 NET).
The wise man said this:
Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices (Pro. 1:28-31).
I am intentionally being redundant in quoting three references that teach nearly the same thing because I believe eternal destinies hang on the principles they teach. Many of the Jews of Christ’s day turned their back on their Savior because of one or more of three hindrances to the discovery of truth. It is vitally important that we not fall into one of these three modes of thought that has the potential to blind our eyes, deafen our ears, and harden our hearts to the truth. So what are the three hindrances to the discovery of truth?
• Refusing to follow known truth.
There are any number of reasons one could give for not following known truth: “I don’t want to leave my friends.” “If I leave my position, it will have negative financial consequences. I have a good reputation now, if I follow truth fully, I will be considered an enemy and lose all respect in my professional circle.” Yes, there is a cost to following truth that many of our readers know, but the good news is that the reward is so much better there is no comparison!
• Refusing to study and search out truth for oneself.
I have a dear friend who says, “I know what I believe; I don’t want to study with you. I trust the church leaders to teach truth.” How many Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses could say the same thing? That is why we continually say, “Real truth can stand the test of investigation, and error cannot”. As noted above, we are admonished time and again in Scripture to study for ourselves. It is a good thing to examine every teaching that we hear against the words of Scripture.
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so (Act 17:11).
• Refusing to accept truth because we don’t like it.
There are many who refuse to accept truth because they don’t like it. However, likability is not a determining factor of truth. Truth must be weighed on different scales than our likes and dislikes. I don’t like the idea that some people will be eternally separated from God. However, because this fact is taught in Scripture, I must accept this as truth. Some may not like the idea that God makes sinners alive while they are still dead in sin, but He does. Some may not even believe in sin or in the fact that Jesus is the only way to the Father, but these remain important truths nevertheless.
The blessings of truth
The blessings of truth are many and real. I close with a few passages of Scripture which I pray will give you a thirst to discover truth for yourself.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day (Ps. 25:5).
You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me (Ps. 40:11).
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom (Ps. 51:6).
Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart (Pro. 3:3).
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:17).
For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God (Jn. 3:20-21).
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn. 8:31-32).
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth (Jn. 17:17-19).
Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH…” (Eph. 6:14).
We conclude this short study on truth with words from the Gospel of John.
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” (Jn. 18:37).
A few verses later Pilate insightfully—and unwittingly—answered his own question: “Behold, the Man!” (Jn. 19:5). †
Endnotes
- Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics—A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith, Downers Grove IL: Inter Varsity Press, 2010.
- Ibid. p. 123.
- Ibid, p. 125, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.7.
- 2 Tim. 2:13.
- Jn. 10:35.
- Rom. 1:18-20.
- Heb. 5:12-6:3.
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