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What is truth?

by | Nov 25, 2008 | Relativism, Secular Issues

In John 18:38, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” That question is one of the best questions asked in the entire Bible… and an unbeliever asked it.  “What is truth?”  The answer is important since various religions, secular movements, ideologies, etc., claim to ultimately base their presuppositions on the answer to that question.  Of course, in Christianity, we hold to the truth that Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14; Col. 2:9), that He died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3-4), and that on the cross He bore our sins in his body (1 Pet. 2:24).

Truth is whatever conforms to the mind of God

Since God knows all things, then truth is whatever conforms to the mind of God.  He reveals what He knows in the Bible, and so we too can know what truth is. Jesus, who is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14), always speaks the truth. He said something interesting in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me.” This means that this is an absolute truth. We can know it’s an absolute truth because Jesus, who is God in the flesh, revealed it to us. Therefore, we can find absolute truth.

Truth is not a changeable reality

But truth to others can consist of believing there is no God, to believe God came from another planet (Mormonism), to God being an eternal divine essence emanating in the universe (New Age), to whatever other position that the human mind can conjure up.  The problem is that they cannot all be true since truth does not contradict itself.  God cannot be a man from another planet and NOT a man from another planet.  We cannot have God exist and not exist.

So, what is truth? I like to say that truth is what corresponds to reality. Look at it this way. Reality exists. Reality is not an illusion (if it were, the statement “reality is an illusion” would be an illusion and not true). Therefore, truth is that which conforms to reality. Truth is not self-contradictory, and truth exists. Since truth exists and is not self-contradictory, it is absolute. Therefore, what is absolutely true is that which corresponds to absolute reality.

Is it a reality that Jesus is God, that He rose from the dead, that He walked on water?  Yes, yes, and yes.  Of course, some will disagree with these statements.  To do so, they would have to say that they are not ‘real,’ they are not true.  But that is another subject for another time.

The Bible and truth

The Bible does not defend itself as the truth.  It simply assumes it is the truth.  It assumes that it is the revelation of God, who is true and the creator of reality.  It is self-attesting and carries the prophecies, fulfillment, and history of Jesus who, according to the eyewitnesses, died and rose from the dead.  The fact is that truth corresponds to reality in the Bible.  The Disciples preached and taught based upon the resurrection.  Their “truth” reflected the “reality” of Christ conquering death.

“What is truth?” is a straightforward question.  Of course, answering it isn’t so simple.  We can offer definitions like “Truth is that which conforms to reality, fact, or actuality.”  But this basic definition is not complete because its definition is open to interpretation and a wide variety of applications.  What is reality?  What is a fact?  What is actuality?  How does perception affect truth?  We could offer answers for each of these questions, but then we could again ask similar questions to those answers.  I am reminded of the paradox of throwing a ball against a wall.  It must get halfway there, and then half of the remaining distance, and then half of that distance, and so on. But, an infinite number of halves in this scenario never constitute a whole.  Therefore, it would seem that the ball would never reach the wall if we applied the conceptual truths of halves.

The ball-against-the-wall scenario illustrates that defining and redefining things as we try to approach a goal actually prevents us from getting to that goal.  This is what philosophy does sometimes as it seeks to examine truth.  It sometimes clouds issues so much that nothing can be known for sure.

But, even though it is true that an infinite number of halves (1/2 of “a” + 1/2 of the remainder + 1/2 of the remainder of that, etc.) does not equal a whole, we can “prove” that it does by simply throwing a ball at a wall and watching it bounce off.  Actually, the “1/2” equation above does not equal a whole — mathematically.  The problem is not in the truth but in its application, as is often the case with philosophical verbal gymnastics.

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ,” (Col. 2:8).

In order for the concept of truth to be defined properly, it would have to be a factually and logically correct statement.  In other words, it would have to be true.  But, perhaps we could look further at what truth is by determining what it is not.  Truth is not an error.  Truth is not self-contradictory.  Truth is not deception.  Of course, it could be true that someone is deceptive, but the deception itself isn’t the truth.

In relativism, all points of view are equally valid, and all truth is relative to the individual.  If this were true, then it would seem that this is the only truth relativism would have to offer.  But, the problem is that, in reality, relativism isn’t true for the following basic reason.  If what is true for me is that relativism is false, then is it true that relativism is false?  1) If you say no, then what is true for me is not true, and relativism is false.  2) If you say yes, then relativism is false.  Relativism seems to defy the very nature of truth, namely, that truth is not self-contradictory.

More on what is truth?

If there is such a thing as truth, then we should be able to find it.  If truth cannot be known, then it probably doesn’t exist.  But, it does exist.  For example, we know it is true that you are reading this.

Is there such a thing as something that is always true all the time?  Yes, there is.  For example, “Something cannot bring itself into existence.”  This is an absolutely true statement.  In order for something to bring itself into existence, it would have to exist in order to be able to perform an action.  But if it already existed, then it isn’t possible to bring itself into existence since it already exists.  Likewise, if it does not exist, then it has no ability to perform any creative action since it didn’t exist in the first place.  Therefore, “Something cannot bring itself into existence” is an absolute truth.

The preceding example is a truth found in logic, but some truths are not logical by nature.  It is true that I love my wife.  This isn’t logically provable via theorems and formulas and logic paradigms, but it is, nevertheless, true.  Therefore, we can say that truth conforms and affirms reality and/or logic.

Is this what relativism does?  Does relativism conform to reality and logic?  To be honest, it does to some degree.  Relatively speaking, there is no absolute right or wrong regarding which side of your head you should part your hair if you part it at all.  To this, we must concede relative “truths” that are different for different people.  But, these are relativistic by nature.  Examples of relativistic truths are: 1) people drive on the right side of the street in America and the left in England; 2) I prefer to watch science fiction over musicals; 3) snow is better than rain, etc.  These things are relative to culture, individuals, preferences, etc., and rightfully so.

If we ever hope to determine if there is such a thing as truth apart from cultural and personal preferences, we must acknowledge that we aim to discover something greater than ourselves, something that transcends culture and individual inclinations.  To do this is to look beyond ourselves and outside of ourselves.  In essence, it means we are looking for God.  God would be truth, the absolute and true essence of being and reality who is the author of all truth.  If you are interested in truth beyond yourself, then you must look to God.

“I am the truth”

Let’s get back to Jesus and what he said since He is the ultimate expression of truth as is found in the Bible.  Again, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6).  Of course, most philosophers and skeptics will dismiss His claim, but he is the mainstay of hope, security, and guidance for the Christian.  Jesus, who walked on water, claimed to be divine, rose from the dead, and said that He was the truth and the originator of truth.  If Jesus is wrong, then we should ignore Him.  But, if He is right, then it is true that we should listen to Him.

The eyewitnesses wrote what they saw.  They were with Him.  They watched Him perform many miracles, heal the sick, calm a storm with a command, and even rise from the dead.  Either you believe or dismiss these claims.  If you dismiss them, that is your prerogative.  But, if you accept them, then you are faced with decisions to make about Jesus.  What will you believe about Him?  What will you decide about Him?  Is He true?  Is what He said true?

Truth conforms to reality.  Truth is whatever conforms to the mind of God. Jesus performed many miracles and rose from the dead.

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