| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TRUTH NOT UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED OR UNDERSTOOD
NOT EVERYONE AGREES ABOUT TRUTH
TRUTH IS CORRESPONDENCE WITH REALITY
PROBLEMS WITH TRUTH IN MORMONISM
OFFICIAL FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGES ON TRUTH
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MORMONISM TRUTH ARTICLE 1992
MAXWELL MORMON VIEW OF TRUTH CHAPTER
THE WAR AGAINST TRUTH By Professor Josef Seifert
| JESUS IS THE TRUTH | JESUS WAS BORN TO WITNESS TO TRUTH |
|---|---|
| Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" [John 14:6]. | "I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice." [John 18:37]. |
Truth is separated from subjective experience in the Bible. As I researched truth in the Bible I found Biblical truth to be "objective" rather than being the product of "subjective" research that relies on warm fuzzy human experiences. My research began in the Old Testament. Because Old Testament Jews had such a high view of the Law or Torah, my research into truth asked how did Jews think of truth? Later I examined later Prophetic writing and the Wisdom books to see if they still used truth in ways that were in agreement with truth in the Law. Then I moved into the New Testament. I wanted foremost to see how Jesus dealt with truth issues of his day. Then I looked to Jesus apostolic ministers asking how did they all use truth? Many see a wide difference between uses in the Greek and Hebrew worlds, my research examined those claims. Finally I looked at truth in the book of Acts and the Epistles for evidence of how truth became more and more important.
Friberg defines alethias as "words that conform to facts true, correct, dependable (JN 19.35); of what conforms to reality genuine, real, true (1J 2.8); subst. a true thing, a reality (HE 9.24); of pers. characterized by integrity and trustworthiness true, dependable; subst. as a pers. who is what he claims to be the true one (RV 3.7)."
W. E. Vine says, "the truth" comes from the Greek word aletheia, "truth" is reality.
Truth is what God says Rom. 9:1; 2 Cor. 11:10
PLURALISTIC TRUTH?
Rabbi Raymond Apple Sydney's Jewish Community
"The problem is that the word 'truth' can be understood on various levels and in various ways, and we believe that the truth is that human beings are entitled to be themselves with their own views, and no-one has any right in today's pluralistic democratic society to wield a big stick and to say, as they used to do in the bad old days of the wars of the religions, you have to accept what I say, or else your life will be in danger."
Truth stands opposed to lies, half truths or deception Rom 1:25
Truth is Christian doctrine Gal 2:5
Truth in Christ is an absolute force in John 14:6; 17:17; 18:37,38; in Eph. 4:21 Christ is the perfect expression of the truth John 14:6; Truth is the name of Jesus Christ.
Truth is Correspondence Between Word And Deed
Jesus, as a theme, attacked discrepancies between word and deed [hypocrisy] which evidences his own high view of truth. Matthew presented Jesus teaching about the gnat swallowing a camel [Mt 23:2, 3, 23-24]. Luke included Jesus teaching about the Jewish lawyers who taught well but never took any burden themselves [Lk 11:46]. As evidenced in all four Gospels, Jesus own words and deeds were in perfect harmony.
Jesus Never Masked Truth for Fear of Consequences
Jesus always told the full truth in contrast to falsehood, concealment, or deception. Both Matthew and Mark record this trait of Jesus when facing the Herodians [Mt 22:16, Mk 12:14] and Pharisees who were seeking to trap Jesus using slick language. "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any" [Matt 22:16].
Jesus & The Whole Truth
John 16:13 - "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." Paul agreed saying no part of the truth should be suppressed, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" [Rom 1:18]. Even the scribes admitted Jesus taught in a way that stated the facts accurately [Mk 12:32]. Paul again agreed in his own teaching when he reported to Festus "I am speaking the sober truth" based not on fancy but on fact. [A.C. Thiselton, Truth, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, 883-884].
"Then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you." [Deut 13:14].
Exodus 34:6
"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"Psalm 25:10
All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
"There are at least ten distinct categories in which this noun is used in Scripture."He continues, " the term applies to God himself (Deut 32:4) to express his total dependability. It is frequently listed among the attributes of God (1Sam 26:23; Psa 36:5 [H 6]; Psa 40:10 [H 11]; Lam 3:23).
It describes his works (Psa 33:4); and his words (Psa 119:86; Psa 143:1)." The author continues, "This word carries underlying sense of certainty, dependability. We find it used in several categories of contexts, all of which relate to God directly or indirectly.
First, it is frequently applied to God as a characteristic of his nature. In Gen 24:27, for example, it describes God who leads Abraham's servant to the right wife for Isaac. In Exo 34:6, it is given as one of the verbal descriptions of God which constitute God's goodness. Other examples are Psa 25:5; Psa 31:5 [H 6]; Jer 4:2; Jer 10:10.
It is a term fittingly applied to God's words (Psa 119:142, 151, 160; Dan 10:21). As a characteristic of God revealed to men, it therefore becomes the means by which men know and serve God as their savior (Josh 24:14; 1Kings 2:4; Psa 26:3; Psa 86:11; Psa 91:4; Isa 38:3), and then, as a characteristic to be found in those who have indeed come to God (Exo 18:21; Neh 7:2; Psa 15:2; Zech 8:16).
Because it is an attribute of God which is manifest in man's salvation and life of service as God's child, the word is often coupled with another attribute of God related to our salvation, "mercy" or "love" (µesed, Gen 24:27; Psa 61:7 [H 8]; Psa 85:10 [H 11]; Psa 115:1; Prov 14:22; Prov 16:6; Prov 20:28).
And because these attributes of God's truth and mercy lead to God's peace toward sinful men, saved by God's grace, the word is also often coupled with peace (Isa 39:8; Jer 33:6). As we study its various contexts, it becomes manifestly clear that there is no truth in the biblical sense, i.e. valid truth, outside God. All truth comes from God and is truth because it is related to God." [Jack B. Scott, Truth, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, 52-53].
HOW DID GREEK SPEAKING JEWS USE TRUTH?
In 200 B.C. when the rabbis translated the Hebrew Bible into the Greek Septuagint they most often translated emeth into aletheia. That is the case for this passage in Exodus. Thayer says aletheia means what is true in any matter under consideration, of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly, what is true in things pertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and religious truth, the truth as taught in the Christian faith, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles (non-Jews) and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians. [A.C. Thiselton, Truth, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, 874-901].
PHILO AND JOSEPHUS
Philo and Josephus were important Jewish authors who used the word truth in the first century. "Philo writes that Moses marveled at the delusion which the multitude had bartered for the truth." [Vit. Mos. 2:167]. "Josephus uses truth in several different senses. [1.] Truth is that which corresponds to the facts of the matter. Thus Jonathan did not question the truth of David's words [Ant. 6:225]. [2.] Truth is also proven by historical events. The words of a prophet are thus proved true. [Ant. 2:209]. [3.] Josephus also uses truth in the sense of genuine or real. [Ant. 8:360]. [A.C. Thiselton, Truth, NIDNTT, vol. 3, 899-900].
THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH
An important religious figure worshiped in Abram's day was Gilgamesh. Twelve tablets were devoted to his epic which evidenced much about worship and theology which had developed. Scholars say it was probably written down in the reign of Sargon the Great [2371-2316 B. C.]. It was at its height of influence in Abram's day.
Gilgamesh's name meant "father hero."
Tablet 1 included praise to this hero god as part divine, part human, great warrior, who knew all things about on land and sea. This hero's success brought the wrath of other gods like "Anu" who created another god man named Enkidu to curb Gilgamesh.
Tablet 2 recorded the opposite result happened as the two heroes went on together becoming even more victorious with Gilgamesh as victor.
Tablet 3-5 includes more journey's, wars and victories.
Tablet 6 has the marriage proposal of the love goddess Ishtar. When she is rejected she sends a divine bull to kill Gilgamesh and Enkidu who instead kill the divine bull.
Tablet 7 has the account of a dream about the gods "Anu," "Ea," and "Shamash" who decide Gilgamesh and his friend must pay for killing this divine bull. Enkidu goes to the house of dust [death].
Tablet 8 shows Gilgamesh lamentation for his friend as well as the state funeral.
Tablet 9-10 describe Gilgamesh journey to find Utnapishtim who was a victim of the Babylonian flood. It was Gilgamesh's goal to learn how to escape death.
Tablet 11 has Utnapishtim relating his flood story as well as instructions for finding a plant which renews youth. After Gilgamesh discovers the plant it is seized by a serpent. He must return sadly without the plant.
Tablet 12 is an appendage relating the loss of important objects given by Ishtar. Enkidu does return with a promise to help recover the lost objects. Enkidu also gives a grim report about life in the underworld.
PANTHEISM MONISTIC BELIEFS
As we examine this epic we see evidence that the people of Sumeria were pantheistic. They believed that matter, energy, time, space, all life as well as god were equally eternal and united. They were monistic in often focusing on particular local gods who each were connected into the main reality.
The prophet Daniel said the great civilization [the head of gold Dan 2:37-39] Abraham came out of as being the greatest in culture, power and influence. Later the Greek pantheon had roots from this epic of Gilgamesh. Many believe it influenced Homer's writings. What was God's purpose in drawing Abram out of Sumeria?
In contrast to these "hero gods" we see the God of the Old Testament as different in His person and work. Yahweh was not part of a pantheon of gods and goddesses who spent most of their time trying to defeat each other. In contrast we see Yahweh as the God of mercy and truth. After Abraham's day the world religious system saw Yahweh as being unique. Yahweh was not part of His own creation. He was holy and faithful in ways that were beneficial to His followers.
Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before you.
Abraham is seen placing trust God because He has already proven faithful to His promises. We see at the beginning of Genesis 15 Yahweh suddenly appearing to Abraham. He reminds Abraham of his previous faithfulness in the past. Then we see God calling Abraham righteous.
Gen 15:6
"Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness"
HOW MAY I KNOW?
After God declared Abram righteous, in v. 8, we see him having a dialogue with God, asking, "how may I know?" Abraham chose to follow this invisible God out of the land of his fathers into a new land. Abraham discovered God cared for even the small details of the circumstance of his life. God's personality was knowable, likeable and trustable. God's personal traits included holiness, integrity and faithfulness.
CONTRASTS TO PANTHEISM
In contrast in pantheism, Abram may have known the names of gods, but each was connected to an impersonal force including both good and evil. Ethical behavior and moral restraint are foreign terms in pantheism. Often it is the gods themselves who lead the way in modeling the worst examples.
OSIRIS PROMISED DEITY
The hieroglyph for Osiris is a throne atop an eye. The eye was related to the sun god Ra. The oldest texts refer to him as the great god of the dead. He was once human who after death was able to ascend to deity. Osiris was important because he was believed to be willing to admit all into an after life including deity who had lived properly and were buried properly with the appropriate divine words of power with amulets. He said, "I am yesterday, and I am today, and I have the power to be born a second time. I the hidden soul create the gods." [Budge, Gods of the Egyptians, 115, 116].
Many scholars believe the Osirian Myth was rooted in an older more ancient worship of the river Nile. The Egyptians saw the rise and fall of their Nile as comparable to periods of change in their own lives. Osiris was first of all the Nile, then the water of the Nile, then the soil, the product of the waters of the Nile, and then Egypt, the Nile and all that it produced. Finally he became the national god of Egypt. In the Book of the Dead he is the greatest of the gods. After death he judges all men as to their future destiny. [Budge, Gods of the Egyptians, 139-140].
HINDU PANTHEISM ABRAHAM'S DAY
While organized religion predated Abraham in Sumeria and Egypt if he traveled east instead of west what would he have found in the ancient centers of religion like India? Ancient India was the birthplace of the most ancient form of Hinduism called Vedic Hinduism. Religion in India was a blend exported from Persia and from local Dravidian religion. Dravidians worshiped of the universal goddess 'mother earth." Like much of the rest of the ancient world, their religious system was pantheistic. Their local gods were understood to be part of a universal pantheon complimentary to other gods.While Abraham left a culture with libraries containing 20,000 books, as we examine the evidence about the earliest Vedic writings we see Hinduism still in the future as a world religion. The earliest writings of Hinduism were hymns called the Rigveda [Veda of Verses] which scholars say were written over a period of ten centuries from 1500 to 500 B. C. Because of a lack of early writing, we can only speculate about religious activity going on in India when Abraham was called to leave Sumeria.
Many loyal to Hinduism would say its early beliefs and practices did exist in Abram's day but only in a verbal unwritten form. They say had Abraham gone east instead of west he would have seen people practicing the Rigveda. But the Rigveda is different from modern Hinduism. Worship was associated with sky and nature. It included becoming inebriated by drinking sacred soma. Theological writings like the Aranyakes did not predate 600 B.C. The now famous Upanishads [with the Bhagavad Gita] were even later not becoming influential before 600-300 B.C.
EARLIEST DEITIES IN INDIA
The most ancient Rigveda texts consisted of a thousand hymns addressed to the deities. Most of them address "soma" practices and instructions for priestly families. The most important deities were "Agni" and "Soma." Agni was the "fire" portion of the sacrifice. It was associated with the light of the sun, lightening, and the light of fire hidden in wood which men light for sacrifice. Soma was the deified portion of the sacred drinkAnother important early deity was Indra who was a warlike god able conquer human or demon enemies. He was also said to have power over the sun and was able to kill the dragon Vritra who had upheld the flow of waters and delivered cows.
The Rigveda offered no systematic creation account. But Indra is seen as creating part of the universe like the oceans and light. Indra had allies called the Maruts who were young men riding the clouds to make rain. Another friend were the Ashvins or Nasatyas who were two brothers famed for healing linked to the Greek myth Dioscuri. Another friend was Vishnu who was a giant so large he could cross the world in three strides. Vishnu evolved into becoming one of the three principle gods of Hinduism.
Another great deity was Varuna who was considered sovereign and distinguished from Indra who was god king. Varuna was said to uphold the moral laws of the universe. He is linked with Mitra who represents the judicial side of the universe. These gods were said to have descended from Aditi who was the mother earth goddess. Varuna was once the highest ranking god in the pantheon, but was deposed by Indra. This event happened at the victory of the devas or gods over the asuras who have been linked to the Titans.
In the background is the Father of the Heavens called "Dyaus" or Dyauh Pitar who is linked with the Roman god Jupiter and is generally seen coupled with the "earth goddess" in a pair of gods which demonstrate a male and female side in which the female side dominates. Female deities are numerous with the most important being Ushas who is associated with the dawn. Rudra stands apart as a forerunner of the later Shiva.
The universe is said to be filled with gods and demigods which are spirits of uncertain status like the Gandharvas with their female companions named the Apsarases who are later linked with the Vishve Devas. There is a group of demons led by Vritra the warrior demon.
Later in Hindu theology there emerged the idea of a universe attributed to a single underlying being or force. Names for this source are Prajapati [Lord of Creatures] and Vishvakarman [All-worker]. Hindu theology is pantheistic.
BUDDHISM A LATE REFORM OF HINDUISM
By the time Hinduism was fully developed [600-500 B. C.] there arose a backlash against prevailing formalism from Gautama Buddha [563-483 B. C.]. The Buddha was born, lived and died in India. He never wrote a word so the earliest written record does not come for 236 years following his death. His father [Suddhodana] and his mother [Maya] were part of a noble family clan of Gautama. He was a prince with a meditative mind reared in luxury. In his 29th year he went in search of "Nirvana." As a monk he sought instruction and extreme ascetic practices for six years with no result. He was only successful in finding "enlightenment" through seated silence and meditation.PANTHEISM IN THE FAR EAST
The China of Abraham's day was not a great religious center yet either. That period saw the rise of ancestor worship. Many were burying items in their loved one's graves that would help them in their afterlife. Spiritual leaders were predicting the future with oracle bones by 2000 B.C. People believed in similar mythological characters in China as elsewhere. Gods and demigods involved in creation were "Kansu" and "Shensi" and the first man was "Pan Ku" who was endowed with supernatural powers. Pan Ku was said to be the first ruler of the world. Early hero gods were made of first emperors and Sui Jen the fire producer. He learned the secret of fire by watching a bird produce sparks while pecking a tree.It was not until the Chou Dynasty [1100 - 249 B. C.] that schools of philosophy rose. Chou Hsin authored the I Ching [Canon of Changes] which many view with veneration including Confucius [551-479 B.C.] who canonized it as he sought to save people by returning to the ways of the ancients. He emphasized ethical behavior and a moral education. Confucius instigated ceremonies he said were from the past which would focus society on the past and bring in a golden age. Another school was started by Mencius [385-289 B.C.] who stressed the inherent goodness of human nature. Taoists were a later school who presented the Tao Te Ching which, in opposition to Confucius, claimed "the way of the universe" was the absence of all moral restraints advocating freedom from regulations. An important Tao writer was Chuang Tzu [369-286 B. C.] which advocated happiness being achieved by free development of the human nature. The best way to govern is not to govern. The Chin Dynasty [249-207 B. C. ] constructed the Great Wall and a great legal structure as well which included burning the books of those against government. The next Han Dynasty [207 B. C. - A. D. 220] made Confucianism in a modified form the orthodox belief system in China. Scholars devoted themselves to restoring texts lost in the past as well as in writing commentaries. Taoism however was espoused by many leaders. This dynasty spread westward having an embassy on the Persian Gulf to control caravan routes. The fist contacts with Buddhism began appearing around A. D. 10. Buddhists grow more popular in the centuries after the dynasties. In the time of the Tang emperors [618-907 A. D.] Buddhists monks begin producing books.
Joseph understood how words that lack truth can hurt. He spent years as a slave and more in prison because people around him saw ways to further their aims through deception. Joseph understook the difference between real or genuine as opposed to deceptive words. Now as a ruler and judge in Egypt he demanded evidence to support claims.
Heb 11:24-27
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
Something was going on inside of the man Moses that did not permit this. What is it about pantheistic promises that pale next to the genuine God of the Bible?
"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" [Exod 34:6].
The language of God's lovingkindness [checed] is richly connected in His person being associated with His covenant. W. E. Vine's article on this important word says,
VINE'S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF BIBLICAL WORDS
Checed "loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion." This word is used 240 times in the Old Testament, and is especially frequent in the Psalter. The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics. The Septuagint nearly always renders checed with eleos ("mercy"), and that usage is reflected in the New Testament. Modern translations, in contrast, generally prefer renditions close to the word "grace." KJV usually has "mercy," although "loving-kindness" (following Coverdale), "favor," and other translations also occur. RSV generally prefers "steadfast love." NIV often offers simply "love."
This verse is important because it links God's lovingkindness, mercy, or grace with truth in ways that remind us of John's presentation of Messiah [Jn 1:14, 17]. God stands alone in the pantheon of world religions as having integrity in a way that human followers could find faithfulness.
Deut 13:14
Then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you.
Hebrew Law provided truth as a standard [Deu 13:14]. The word for research comes from the Hebrew word "chaqar" which Brown, Driver and Brigs say means to carefully examine a matter. God was about to lead His people into a land filled with false spiritual leaders on every side and there was a need for pure worship of Yahweh. The context of this passage includes instruction on evaluating whether a prophet is true or false [Deu 13:1-18].
We never see in the Law any sweeping language permissive of false religion, spirituality or false leaders. The language of this truth test includes punishment that includes a ban and a death penalty for false leaders. Mosaic law also provided for future generations by saying leaders should be chosen with the criteria including that they be "men of truth."
SELECT LEADERS WHO ARE MEN OF TRUTH
Exod 18:21
"Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.
Moses revealed the heart of God to Pharaoh. What was the heart of God? If we examine the previous passage it comes out in the first verses of Moses' call.
Exod 3:7-8
The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. "So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
We see Jesus continuing in this theme in the New Testament when he promises if his disciples continue in his word they will know the truth and the truth will set them free [Jn 8:31-32].
Josh 24:14
"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
Joshua's view of truth included the idea that it included "putting away other gods" in this passage. But if we examine Joshua's life we see evidence that he personally was a man of integrity. At difficult times in the history of God's people when many were confused about the future Joshua was not confused. When Moses sent 12 out to spy out the land only Joshua and Caleb were faithful to the purposes of God [Num 13-14].
Isa 43:9
All the nations have gathered together so that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, or let them hear and say, "It is true."
Isa 65:16
"Because he who is blessed in the earth will be blessed by the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My sight!
Jeremiah 9:5
"Everyone deceives his neighbor and does not speak the truth, they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity.
For Jeremiah we see truth being a product of the tongue. He says if they do not speak well they speak lies which he defines as sinful. If we examined Jeremiah's life we would see he lived at a time when there were many false prophets who were being believed by God's people and their governors. Ideas have consequences. This led to destruction and upheaval as God's people were removed from their land of promise.
Dan 9:13
"As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.
Like Abraham, Joseph and Moses Daniel, from a young age was exposed to a pantheistic worldview. But Daniel had a passion for God's truth which marked his life. At key times in his new life as a transplanted refugee in Babylon he chose truth and integrity over the glory offered by following pantheistic gods. First it involved something simple like dietary issues. Then it grew to being an attack on his prayer life which forced Daniel to refuse to worship the wrong gods.
Zech 8:3
"Thus says the LORD, "I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.'
Mal 3:10
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
As I researched the way the prophets used truth and found they all looked back on the Law as their authority which included truth tests. Each of these passages evidence faithful messages being offered in agreement with the way truth was used in the Law. Truth is associated with the personality of Yahweh. Truth is a standard that no genuine prophet redefined. There was a clear difference between lies and deception. We see Isaiah speaking of the nations gathering in a judicial assembly to evaluate whether the claims of Yahweh are true [Isa 43:9].
We never see any genuine prophet saying things like "it is not really important whether or not you choose to believe and follow God's message or not." If we read the prophets carefully we see a clear messages that declares it is never safe to follow false prophets.
Ps 33:4
For the word of the LORD is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness.
Ps 57:3
He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
Ps 85:10
Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Ps 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before you.
Ps 98:3
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Ps 111:7-9
The works of His hands are truth and justice; all His precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever; they are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.
Ps 119:142
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is truth.
There is no difference between the sayings and doings of God [Ps 111:8]. The Psalmist has discovered that "all" of God's pathways are both genuine and will end in His mercy if they are followed [Ps 25:10]. This language included God's covenant and testimonies which makes us think of the authority of God's word in the Law. The Psalms looked back on the Law that even include truth tests.
Like the prophets and the Law, the Psalms present God as being both genuine in His message, and faithful to His followers in a way that is unique among world religions. The Psalms proclaim God's followers can safely obey God and His word, but that promise is not universal. God's enemies who follow false prophets live dangerously. But God's checed loyalty to His people through His covenant love is presented in the volume of the book. In David's Psalm of repentance we see David turning from serious sin and scandal. But the presence of God's inward truth and mercy become evident. Truth is powerful and helpful to David's future life [Ps 51:6].
Prov 3:3
Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Prov 8:7
"For my mouth will utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
Prov 16:6
By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.
In Proverbs we see idea of "purchasing" truth [Prov 23:23}. We come away from a study of Proverbs with the idea it is always beneficial to understand the true facts as opposed to partial knowledge which can be harmful. True facts always lie in opposition to false ideas or deception.
As we examine the entire Old Testament record as it regards the subject of truth we see some important conclusions. First we see that God presents Himself as being truth in every major section of Scripture. Second we see truth being presented as defining God's Law and word. Third we see truth as being contrasted to deception, or false spiritual leaders. Fourth we see truth defining God's faithfulness in His eternal covenant. Fifth we see truth as being searchable and useful for settling confusing issues. Sixth we see truth as being powerful in an inward way in changing lives. [A.C. Thiselton, Truth, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, 874-901].
1 Pet 3:15
But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence 1 Pet 3:15
2 Tim 3:16-4:4
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
preach the word; be ready in season {and} out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but {wanting} to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
My research for truth in the New Testament revealed that not every New Testament author used truth in the same way. Matthew only used the word once, Mark three times, Luke times, and John twenty-six times. In Acts we see three uses. Why does John use truth more often than the other gospel writers? His was the latest gospel coming nearly 30 years later than Mark, Matthew or Luke. By John's time false Christs, apostles, messages and writings were everywhere.
In the Epistles we see truth used eight times in Romans, twice in 1 Corinthians, eight times in 2 Corinthians, three times in Galatians, six times in Ephesians, once in Philippians, twice in Colossians, four times in 2 Thessalonians, seven times in 1 Timothy, seven times in 2 Timothy, three times in Titus, once in Hebrews, three times in James, once in 1 Peter, twice in 2 Peter, nine times in 1 John, five times in 2 John, and six times in 3 John. Again we see John using truth more than the other apostles in his letters.
Chronologically, the closer one gets to the second century the more one sees truth in the body of the letter to answer threats, show contrast with "other" gospels and to offer the power of a transformed life. We see Paul and John using truth in important settings far more than the other authors. John uses it about 41 times and Paul 52 times.
| JESUS IS THE TRUTH | JESUS WAS BORN TO WITNESS TO TRUTH |
|---|---|
| Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" [John 14:6]. | "I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice." [John 18:37]. |
Friberg's defines alethias as "words that conform to facts true, correct, dependable (JN 19.35); of what conforms to reality genuine, real, true (1J 2.8); subst. a true thing, a reality (HE 9.24); of pers. characterized by integrity and trustworthiness true, dependable; subst. as a pers. who is what he claims to be the true one (RV 3.7)."
We often see Jesus accompanying his sayings by saying "I tell you the truth," or "I tell you truly" [Lk 4:25, 9:27, 12:44, 21:3]. Jesus used this language to show he was introducing an important concept. This is often translated as an "amen" saying in English.
When John penned these verses most scholars believe he had an important Old Testament passage in mind. "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" [Exod 34:6]. John was linking the chesed lovingkindness covenant of Yahewh to Jesus. This included a Hebrew dimension to John's understanding of truth in the New Testament. For John truth was not merely prepositional or theoretical but included all the ideas of the eternal faithfulness of God into the New Covenant.
By connecting these passages John also presented Jesus Christ as being the God Moses saw on the mountains of Sinai. This was helpful because God said clearly "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live" [Exod 33:20]. By introducing Jesus in this vision John cleared up this mystery. "For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him" [John 1:17-18] [A.C. Thiselton, Truth, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, 889].
Two separate scenarios are put forth by Jesus in chapter three to help demonstrate the difference between true and counterfeit religion. First we see light verses darkness. Second we see deeds of either light or dark. Jesus language here places a high view on "practicing" the truth as opposed to just speaking about the truth.
Later in we see John affirming that everything John the Baptist said about Christ was true [Jn 10:41]. In 1 John we see a liar being someone who does not speak truth [1 Jn 2:4, 21, 27]. John uses the word deception to describe an error from the truth [1 Jn 1:8].
Jesus also identified an important false spiritual source that he named as the Devil as being the figurative father of counterfeit spiritual systems. Jesus said, " there is no truth in him" because "he is a liar and the father of lies" [John 8:44]. This allusion to the Devil has the serpent language from Genesis in mind [Gen. 3:4-5]. The serpent offered to human beings into gods. His lies resulted in death instead of immortality. The serpent used deception which is still his chief tool today. The devil seduces humanity away from the truth and true reality into his fantasy world and death.
Jesus said the devil does not stand in the truth. In contrast to the Devil Jesus declared, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" [John 14:6]. In this statement we do not see Christ offering an abstract relativistic model of truth. Instead truth is personal in the form of Christ Himself. Christ is both truth and reality in this passage. [A.C. Thiselton, Truth, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, 891-892]
Jesus identified His body and blood as being true food and true drink [John 6:55]. This is opposed to counterfeit spiritual sources. Jesus said, "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died" [John 6:49] Jesus death on the cross purchased life eternal not just a temporary feeding in the wilderness. "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh" [John 6:51].
Jesus also declared that God's word is itself truth which stands in opposition to counterfeit revelation [John 17:17]. Chapter seventeen has the context of Jesus high priestly prayer. At this passage Christ is presenting His church as a distinctive community of believers who are standing apart from the world. This holy community is founded on God's word. This idea borrows from Psalm 119:142 which declares, "Your law is truth." This source of truth was the authority for the church.
John 17:19
"For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
John 8:32
And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
2 Th 2:13
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
1 Pet 1:22-23
Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is through the living and enduring word of God.
John 14:16-18
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, {but} you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 8:44-45
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature for he is a liar and the father of lies.
"But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to expose deception and offer truth. He is like a prosecuting attorney. As fully God He is able to understand the facts of the matter and have an adequate answer or judgment. He carries on the work of Jesus after Christ's ascension.
John 16:13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
John 15:26-27
"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning."
"Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist" [2 John 1:7].
"May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, "THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED" [Rom 3:4].
"By glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true" [2 Cor 6:8].
Jesus taught this prophetic parable to the Jews just before the cross. Israel was like a wild unproductive vine that the Father was about to prune. Jesus said the only source for bearing fruit pleasing to His Father was to abide as an eternal branch in Christ. While there are many counterfeit vines in the world none but Christ's twice born church remains.
MOTIVATION FOR NOT HAVING A TRUTHFILLED MESSAGE
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep" [2 Pet 2:1-3].
"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good" [1Thes 5:21].
How did they judge among the many who claimed to be apostles in this period? "The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles." [2 Cor 12:12].
"For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God" [1Thes 1:9].
"Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. "I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me." [John 8:17-18].
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." [John 17:3].
"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life" [I Jn 5:20].
God, in His Triune nature, willed to send His community of believers an active living personal. source of truth. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" [John 16:13].
As Paul worked in his various missionary efforts he was used more than any other in the first century to bring the true Gospel to the gentiles. But this often caused conflict between those already in the church with a Jewish background. Social norms in the church began to slowly change and we see evidence of how Paul wrote to help keep the "truth of the gospel" pure.
"But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that} you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" [Gal 2:14]. Because Paul was so loyal to sharing the truth regardless of personal cost we see this often associated him with divisive people in the church. We see Paul asking the Galatians, " So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?" [Gal 4:16].
Paul saw truth as being something that needed to be protected in the early church. This was because there were many who were opposed to the truth. "You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?" [Gal 5:7]. Paul saw an important contrast between the purity of the true Gospel message and one that was polluted by counterfeit spiritual forces.
Paul saw "the truth" as the gospel able to bring salvation. "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise" [Eph 1:13]. The truth was the very fabric of the Gospel according to Paul. "Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel" [Col 1:5].
Other gospels surrounded the early church. Paul felt it necessary to answer each in his letters with the truth. "For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe" [1Thes 2:13].
In the end Paul understood that truth would prevail if the church was active in its work. "For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth" [2 Cor 13:8]. The true apostles were under the influence of the Spirit of truth and could do nothing against the truth itself. Paul often used the term to mean "true doctrine" which Paul always defended.
Rom 1:16-19
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Paul was quoting an important Old Testament prophet in his appeal to Rome. "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith" [Hab 2:4].
2 Thess 2:10
And with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. .
Paul was able to identify reasons why not everyone comes to Christ. There is a "deception of wickedness." Paul used a present participle to define this as an ongoing action. Until Christ returns there will never be relief from this work of the serpent in the world. It began in Genesis and will not end until we see it do so in the final chapters of Revelation [2 Thess 2:6].
Rom 1:20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Though the world has been blinded by the serpent since Genesis, God has made His invisible attributes in plain view. His power and glory can be known by looking at creation itself. In this setting the truth of the gospel is not intended but natural theology. These facts were generally being taught in the synagogues in the Roman world. In his letter Paul was using this fact to open their minds to the further truth of what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers.
THE CHURCH PILLAR AND SUPPORT OF TRUTH
1 Tim 3:15
But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
The word pillar comes from stulos and Thayer says it means 1) a pillar, 2) a column; pillars of fire, that is, flames rising like pillars, 3) a prop or support. Paul used this word figuratively here to describe the church at Ephesus. This church was surrounded by pagan temples and counterfeit worship practices. People from within and without the church were offering alternative gospels. The church in that place and time needed to both a pillar and a bulwark of the truth.
PILLAR
W. E. Vine says, stulos means "a column supporting the weight of a building," is used (a) metaphorically, of those who bear responsibility in the churches, as of the elders in the church at Jerusalem, Gal. 2:9; of a local church as to its responsibility, in a collective capacity, to maintain the doctrines of the faith by teaching and practice, 1 Tim. 3:15; some would attach this and the next words to the statement in v. 16; the connection in the Eng. versions seems preferable; (b) figuratively in Rev. 3:12, indicating a firm and permanent position in the spiritual, heavenly and eternal Temple of God; (c) illustratively, of the feet of the angel in the vision in Rev. 10:1, seen as flames rising like columns of fire indicative of holiness and consuming power, and thus reflecting the glory of Christ as depicted in 1:15; cf. Ezek. 1:7 [Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words].SUPPORT
Bulwark comes from hedraioma which means ground, grounded or stay. W. E. Vine says, hedraioma , "a support, bulwark, stay" (from hedraios, "steadfast, firm"; from hedra, "a seat"), is translated "ground" in 1 Tim. 3:15 (said of a local church); the RV marg., "stay" is preferable. Notes: (1) In Mark 4:16 the RV rightly has "rocky places" (petrodes) for KJV, "stony ground." (2) In Acts 27:29, for the KJV, "rocks" the RV has "rocky ground," lit., "rough places," i. e., a rocky shore. (3) In Luke 14:18, agros, "a field," is translated "a piece of ground," KJV, RV, a field. themelioo signifies "to lay the foundation of, to found" (akin to themelios, "a foundation"; from tithemi, "to put"), and is rendered "grounded" in Eph. 3:17, said of the condition of believers with reference to the love of Christ; in Col. 1:23, of their continuance in the faith. [Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words].
Rom 9:1
I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit
Gal 1:20
Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.
The Spirit of truth was producing the energy and content of Paul's message. Because of that he could trust his own conscience. Others had experienced having their conscience seared due to sin and rebellion from God. "The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying" [2 Cor 11:31]. Because Paul was constantly defending truth he was sometimes accused of defending himself wrongly, "All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding, beloved" [2 Cor 12:19]. The fact of Paul's devotion for truth was practical because, as an evangelist, he knew without truth no one could come to Christ.
Paul was also writing to a pagan Roman world. Some had come to Christ but most had not. "For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God" [1 Thess. 1:9]. Paul is offering the real genuine God as opposed to worthless idols that were just "so-called" gods.
Paul's comment on paganism is clear. "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" [Rom 1:25]. Paul warned that this type of counterfeit worship can quickly turn to self worship.
Some counterfeit spiritual leaders were trying to lead the church into just such worship. "Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind" [Col 2:18]. A few years later we see the apostle John struggling against some who were being tempted to return to their idols. "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols" [1 Jn 5:20-21].
The word defense here comes from apologia which was a legal term used to define the way an attorney made a legal defense. Paul was an early apologist.
2 Tim 2:25-26
With gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses {and escape} from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence 1 Pet 3:15
APOLOGIA
The word answer comes from the Greek word apologia which means to make a legal plea, to clear someone making a legal defense. W. E. Vine says apologia is a "verbal defense, a speech in defense," is sometimes translated "answer," in the KJV, Acts 25:16; 1 Cor. 9:3; 2 Tim. 4:16, all which the RV corrects to "defense." See Acts 22:1; Phil. 1:7,16; 2 Cor. 7:11, "clearing." Once it signifies an "answer," 1 Pet. 3:15.
Sometimes like Jesus, John, and Paul, Peter uses "the truth" or "the way of truth" as a synonym for the truth of the Gospel. At times he uses it to refute false prophets and teachers. Sometimes Peter uses truth describe the facts of a matter or the facts of an experience.
1 Pet 5:12
Through Silvanus, our faithful brother for so I regard him I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!
Peter was the apostle who denied Christ three times. He understood the absolute necessity for the grace of God. He also knew this was one of the first things counterfeit leaders tampered with in the early history of the church. Peter demands a contrast between "the true grace of God" and counterfeit interpretations of grace. After this he commanded the church to stand firm in grace. This grace had been experienced by Peter and all of his readers. Peter called on the fact of their collective and corporate memory that this was real and not a delusion.
Peter also understood that the message of true grace had to be taught in ways that no one felt safe in wallowing in sin and rebellion. "It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire" [2 Pet 2:22]. To teach this concept in a balanced way Peter used a "true proverb" which grounded the teaching in common experience.
We see Peter speaking of obeying the truth. "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart" [1 Pet 1:22]. This phrase was similar to one used by Paul, "You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?" [Gal 5:7].
In summary as I consider how Peter used truth in his life and ministry he did so much like Jesus, John and Paul. Truth was not relative. Truth was something "always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks" with reverence and humility [1 Pet 3:15]. Peter understood that truth was the fabric of the gospel message. The way Peter used truth reminded me of the way they examined truth in the Old Testament [Deu 13:14].
Deut 13:14
then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you
James 1:17-18
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.James used "word of truth" as a synonym for the word of God. Many evidence that James had the Hebrew view of truth in mind in his letter. He uses truth in context with a Father God who acts reliably and consistently in His word. James clearly says we can expect no changes with God even as small a change as that in a shifting shadow. This is the God of the Hebrew Bible who is as faithful as He is true and accurate. "God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone" [James 1:13].
James 3:14
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
For James, as pastor of the large Jerusalem church we can expect that he had experienced seeing people in his church being driven by "selfish ambition." This motivation as been the cause of many counterfeit spiritual movements. Many false prophets and prophecies can see this motivation at the core. Many were putting their own status and needs above the truth. This in turn can lead many away from the truth of the gospel by lying against the truth.
In James day many were "wandering from truth" so he addressed this with a call to invite sinners back. "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins" [James 5:19-20]. We never see James using truth in relative ways.
"To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" [1 Tim 1:2].
"I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." [John 8:26].
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things" [Phil 4:8].
"On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining" [I Jn 2:8].
"As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him" [I Jn 2:27].
"And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place" [Rev 22:6].
"Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true" [3 Jn 1:12].
APOSTLE JOHN'S TESTIMONY
"This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true" [John 21:24].
TRUE CONDUCT IS IMPORTANT
"Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord" [Acts 11:23].
TRUTH WORTH DYING FOR
"If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is } true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar." [Acts 25:11].
TRUE MYSTERIES
"That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and {attaining} to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, {resulting} in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is Christ Himself [Col 2:2].
A TRUE HOLY PLACE IN HEAVEN
"For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" [Heb 9:24].
TRUTH IS THE GOSPEL THAT SAVES AND CHANGES LIVES
"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." [John 8:31-32].
Deut 13:14
Then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you.1 Pet 3:15
But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence2 Tim 3:16-4:2
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season {and} out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
These early men and women had been trained from their youth to be godly people who based their understanding of truth and ethics from the Old Testament [Acts 2:42-47].
The English word "dissension" in v. 2 comes from the Greek word "stasis" which means act of standing properly, by implication a popular uprising, figuratively a controversy. Elsewhere it means insurrection, or uproar. The English word "disputation" comes from "zetesis" which defines the act of searching for a dispute, Thayer says it means, a seeking, an enquiry, a questioning, a debate with the aim of solving a matter of controversy.Acts 15:1-2
Some men came down from Judea and {began} teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, {the brethren} determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.
The criticism being voiced came from converted Pharisees. They sincerely felt, as did most of the church up to this point that converts should also become Jews. The only way one can become a Jew is by circumcision. The purpose of this council decided the fabric of salvation did not include obedience to the Law.
To meet these problems we see Paul writing to Timothy in A.D. 63 a letter we now call 1 Timothy.
1 Tim 3:15
But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
The Roman pantheon of gods and goddess contained no god that claimed to be Holy or Righteous. A study of the source material of writings of this period reveal the gods themselves were capricious, moody, sensual, and frankly dangerous to one another and their followers.
Most of these gods received sacrifices and offerings from their followers. But this worship was being done to secure or maintain relation with forces of nature such as sun and rain vital to next years crops. Worship was also focused on future births in flocks and herds. Most deities included shape like people or animals. Pagan people worship not to commune with the gods but because they believed those gods were able to do some practical things for them in their future economic benefit.
These pagan gods were pantheistic. Their substance was tied to the earth itself. While they often claimed to have roles in creation they did so as part of the earth or universe itself. Most were monistic which meant they were local and their worship did not require exclusive loyalty. It was expected that people worship other gods in other regions or areas of prayer needs.
The Hebrew God Yahweh which Christians adopted through Jesus Christ was different. At creation, Yahweh stood apart from all He created. Yahweh is a complex God in person as is evidenced by the Holy Spirit's work in creation and Jesus claim that He was creator. God created all matter, space, time and energy. His holiness is evident from the earliest chapters of the Bible where He stands opposed to sin, rebellion and the serpent energizing rebellion. His personal qualities are also evident in the creation of human beings. We see from the first two chapters how God wanted a relationship with His people. But His holiness had to keep sin far removed. From the third chapter of Genesis we see evidence for God's provision that provision was going to come in the form of a human Messiah. That Christ came as the finished offering on the cross is the substance of the true Gospel.
Many today have re-energized pagan and ancient gods and goddesses through the "New Age" movement in the western world. We see them enjoying many words of Jesus but denying the need for his sacrifice since their gods and goddesses are not holy and do not require cleansing before worship is possible. They are pantheistic in the way they can worship Osiris, Yahweh, Christ, Apollo, Allah, or Buddha.
"If those who are called philosophers, particularly the Platonists, have said anything which is true and consistent with our faith, we must not reject it, but claim it for our own use." "Pagan learning is not entirely made up of false teaching and superstitions. It contains also some excellent teachings, well suited to be used by truth, and excellent moral values. Indeed, some truths are even found among them which relate to the worship of the one true God."
Augustine was one of the first Christian theologians to attempt to understand truth systematically. His goal was to refute skeptics. His first premise said if man's mind is incapable of grasping truth about God then morality and theology are impossible. Augustine said truth is knowable. While many reject Augustine's work because he was so influenced by Greek philosophy, it has great value because it demonstrates a high view of truth. The Greek philosophers never divorced truth from moral and spiritual values. Plato said truth automatically guarantees a moral life. [Gordon Clark, Truth, Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology, 532-533].
The Protestant Reformation was not the only thing to come out of this century with freedom. Atheists, agnostics and skeptics chose to begin to define truth in their own ways. France and Italy birthed a new rational humanism that challenged the very existence of absolute knowable truth.
"Herein I follow Augustine, who was, among other things, the first and almost only one who determined to be subject to the Holy Scriptures alone, and independent of the books of all the fathers and saints. On account of this he got into a fierce fight with St. Jerome, who approached him by pointing to the books of his forefathers." "Moreover, I want to point out to you a correct way of studying theology, for I have had practice in that." Firstly, you should know that the Holy Scriptures constitute a book which turns the wisdom of all other books into foolishness. Kneel down in your little room [Mt 6:6] and pray to God with real humility and earnestness that he through his dear Son may give you his Holy Spirit who will enlighten you, lead you, and give you understanding. Secondly you should meditate. Thirdly there is tentatio, anfechtung, which teaches you not only to know and understand but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God's Word is, wisdom beyond all wisdom." [Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, 65-68]
"When we stress that faith ought to be certain and secure, we do not have in mind a certainty without doubt, or a security without anxiety. Rather we affirm that believers have a perpetual struggle with their own lack of faith, and are far from possessing a peaceful conscience, never interrupted by any disturbance. On the other hand, we want to deny that they may fall out of, or depart from, their confidence [fiducia] in the divine mercy, no matter how much they may be troubled."
"That God has decreed himself from everlasting touching all things, effectually to work and dispose them according to the counsel of his own will, to the glory of his Name; in which decree appear his wisdom, constancy, truth and faithfulness … Constancy is that whereby the decree of God remains always immutable. Truth is that whereby he declares that alone which he has decreed … the sense of them does always agree with his decree."
Descarte began by asserting all must approach any test with the assumption he called "universal doubt." Descarte used Cartesian geometric models to help him. He was confident that once he found something he could not doubt he could be certain of its truth. As he looked around the only thing he could not fully deny was his own existence. His formula was Cogito, ergo sum I think, therefore I am. His approach to God was humanistic and rational. He had thoughts of a "more perfect being" than himself. He felt these thoughts could not have come from his own mind so he concluded they evidenced the existence of God.
Descarte applied his Cartesian models to the relationship between spirit and matter in his own humanity. He began solving the problems of how the body and soul communicate by presenting three theories: 1) occasionalism, 2) monism, 3) preestablished harmony. Most of the heretical movements that rose in western civilization were energized by one of these choices.
OCCASIONALISM
This view held that the body and soul were unable to communicate at all which forced a divine element for every communication. Its defender were the Flemish philosopher Arnold Geulincx and the French priest Nicolas Malebranche. God moves on the body "on occasion" of the soul's decision. This view was difficult to explain God as being holy and righteous since he would be blamed for all events and thoughts.
MONISM
This view was defended by the Jewish Dutch philosopher Benedictus de Spinoza. Spinoza explained reality using Descarte methods concluding that communication of any other substance must be denied. Thought and physical extension are not two different substances but are different attributes of the same substance as "red" and "round" are attributes of a single substance. Spinoza concluded the same can be said of God and the world. These are really different attributes of the same substance the universe.
PREESTABLISHED HARMONY
This view was defended by German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Leibniz concluded that he saw evidence for an infinite number of substances which were all absolutely independent of each other. Leibniz named these substances "monads." He concluded they had no windows from which to communicate with other monads. He believed God created them like a "clockmaker" who created each to interact interdependently in a preestablished order. This view is hard to defend because it makes God fully responsible for every action committed by every human being. Human freedom is not allowed. A holy view of God is impossible.
DESCARTE HIMSELF CAME TO BELIEVE IN THE TRANSCENDENT GOD
"Having given the matter careful attention, I am convinced that existence can no more be taken away from the divine essence than the magnitude of its three angles taken together being equal to two right angles can be taken away from the essence of a triangle, or that the idea of a valley can be taken away from the idea of a mountain. So it is absurd to think of God [that is, a supremely perfect being] lacking existence [that is, lacking a certain perfection], than to think of a mountain without a valley …. I am not free to think of God apart from existence [that is, of a supremely perfect being apart from supreme perfection] in the way that I am free to imagine a horse either with wings or without wings. Whenever I choose to think of the First and Supreme Being, and as it were bring this idea out of the treasury of my mind, it is necessary that I ascribe all perfections to him. This necessity clearly ensures that, when I subsequently point out that existence is perfection, that I am correct in concluding that the First and Supreme Being exists."
MONISM
This view was defended by the Jewish Dutch philosopher Benedictus de Spinoza. Spinoza explained reality using Descarte methods concluding that communication of any other substance must be denied. Thought and physical extension are not two different substances but are different attributes of the same substance as "red" and "round" are attributes of a single substance. Spinoza concluded the same can be said of God and the world. These are really different attributes of the same substance the universe.
In 1695 Locke published his treatise titled The Reasonableness of Christianity which evidenced his feelings that Christianity was the most reasonable of all religions. Locke did not believe Christianity added anything of importance that could not be known through the use of reason and judgment. Natural faculties clearly expressed truth best.
"For if we examine the idea we have of the incomprehensible supreme Being, we shall find that we come by it the same way, and that the complex ideas we have both of God, and separate Spirits, are made up of the simple ideas we receive from Reflection; v.g., having from what we experiment in our selves, got the ideas of existence and duration, of knowledge and power, of pleasure and happiness, and of several other qualities and powers which it is better to have, than be without, when we would frame an idea of the most suitable we can to the supreme Being, we enlarge every one of these with our idea of infinity, and so putting them together, make our complex idea of God. For that the mind has such a power of enlarging some of its ideas, received from sensation, has been already showed."
LORD HERBERT CHERBURY
He saw five theological points, 1) the existence of God, 2) the obligation to worship God, 3) the ethical requirements behind worship, 4) the need for repentance, 5) the reward and punishments associated with this life and the next. This movement claimed divine revelation was possible it could not contradict the basic five points and could not be considered exclusive as there was no reason to expect all to accept revelation.
JOHN TOLAND
After John Locke's works were published Toland authored, "Deism, Christianity Not Mysterious, or a Treatise Showing That There is Nothing in the Gospel Contrary Nor Above It, and That No Christian Doctrine Can Be Properly Called a Mystery" in 1730. His work presents Christianity as coincides with "natural religion."
"This one mover is very powerful, otherwise he could not regulate so vast and complicated a machine [the universe]." "He is very intelligent, since we, who are intelligent, can produce nothing equal to the least of the springs of this machine." "I am forced to admit eternity, but I am not forced to admit that there is any such thing as infinity." "I know no reason why God should be infinite." He sees God as being finite in agreement with John Stuart Mill. Voltaire's God needed to perform miracles at creation, but God has not manifest providence since. He was very skeptical of the existence of the human soul quipping in 1752 "may God, if there is one, save my soul if I have one." Voltaire denounced all revealed religion. Voltaire loved the ethic example of Christ. He did see Christ as superior to Confucius who he also admired. But Voltaire's Christ was a humanist and deist. In 1763 he wrote that the Biblical idea of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of humanity was common to all religions as revealed in nature. The reason Voltaire rejected Biblical Christianity can be summed up in this statement, "Either God can remove all evil from the world and will not; or being willing to do so, cannot; or he neither can or will; or he is both able and willing." But if God is "willing and cannot, he is not omnipotent. If he can but will not, he is not benevolent. If he is neither willing nor able, he is not omnipotent nr benevolent. If he both wants to and can, whence comes evil over the face of the earth?"
He developed the view of Absolute Idealism which was the view that matter is only an appearance or illusion with the only true reality being Absolute Spirit. Truth is expressed in a historical process of struggle and conflict out of which emerges Spirit toward a perfect society where all conflicts are resolved in a higher synthesis. This was later adopted by Karl Marx [1818-1883]. Hegel was also influential to the theistic existentialism expressed by Kierkegaard who said truth is lived not known. The atheistic existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre was also dependent on Hegel.
For Kierkegaard truth was not even feeling but a matter of faith in God whose revelation comes through Scripture. The kind of faith Kierkegaard spoke of was never easy leading to a tranquil life. He saw no value in either the objective storing of knowledge or the blissful mystical experience. Kierkegaard introduced an intensly subjective philosophy into Christianity in the nineteenth century.
Kierkegaard believed in three life stages with God. First was aesthetic, second was ethical and third was the religious life. His motive was an attack on the dialectical thinking of Hegel. He saw no real value in storing objective knowledge nor in blissful insights. For Kierkegaard faith was passion for the eternal that resulted in a new ethic. Questions he asked was "is it possible to base eternal happiness on historical knowledge? Another was "how can the transcendent God communicate with us? He believed humans could neither know or find truth unless God puts it into them by revelation. He said faith in God cannot be either rationally or empirically grounded. He said objective reason never finds existential truth and proofs can neither establish or overthrow Christianity. He said faith in religious facts such as the incarnation or the authority of Scripture is not true faith. True faith is the gift of God and unattainable b effort. He said eternal salvation can never depend on historical documents so he felt it unnecessary to defend the cripture. "Faith does not result simply from a scientific inquirey; it does not come directly at all. On the contrary, "in this objectivity one tends to lose that infinite personal interconnectedness in passion which is the condition of faith." He said "faith does not need proof, faith in fact regards proof as its enemy." Men and women must be freed from the shackles of historical necessity.
His writings influenced Karl Barth who was also an existentialist. Both Barth and Emil Brunner were neo-orthodox existentialists. Both denied a historic view of revelation which is prepositional. It also led to the radical demythologizing of Bultmann. Kierkegaard believed that objective truth tests were impossible. He discounted the purpose of miracles. Kierkegaard also called for a suspension of personal ethics in a way that paved the way for situational ethics. Though he believed strongly in God's moral codes the end effect has been generations who lack any real authoritative guide for right and wrong.
The existentialist...thinks it very distressing that God does not exist, because all possibility of finding values in a heaven of ideas disappears along with Him; there can no longer be a priori of God, since there is no infinite and perfect consciousness to think it. Nowhere is it written that the Good exists, that we must be honest, that we must not lie; because the fact is that we are on a plane where there are only men. Dostoyevsky said, If God didn't exist, everything would be possible. That is the very starting point of existentialism. Indeed, everything is permissible if God does not exist, and as a result man is forlorn, because neither within him nor without does he find anything to cling to.
1. 1946 by W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley: “whatever an author meant or intended to say by his or her words is irrelevant to our obtaining the meaning of that text!”
[W.K. Wimsatt, Monroe Beardsley, “The Intentional Fallacy,” Sewanee Review, 54, 1946, reprinted in William K. Wimsatt, Jr., “The Verbal Icon: Studies in the Meaning of Poetry,” New York: Farrar, Straus, 1958, 3-18].
"God's essence is supposed to guarantee his existence - what this really means is that what is at issue here is ont the existence of something. Couldn't one actually say equally well that the essence of color guarantees its existence? As opposed, say, to white elephants. Because all that really means is: I cannot explain what color is, what the word color means, except with the help of a color sample. So in this case there is no such thing as explaining what it would be like if colors were to exist. And now we might say: "There can be a description of what it would be like if there were gods on Olympus" but not "what it would be like if there were such a thing as God." And o say this is to determine the concept "God" more precisely. How are we taught the word "God" [its use that is]? I cannot give a full grammatical description of it. But I can, as it were, make some contributions to such a descripion; I can say a good deal about it and perhaps in time assemble a sort of collection of samples…."
2. 1960 by Hans-Georg Gadamer: “Truth cannot reside in the reader’s Attempt to get back to the author’s meaning, for this ideal cannot be realized because every interpreter has a new and different knowledge of the text in the reader’s own historical moment.”
[Hans-Georg Gadamer, “Truth and Method of Philosophical Hermeneutics,” English trans., New York, Seabury, 1975, reprint Crossroad, 1982].
3. 1965 by Paul Riceur: “A text is semantically independent of the intention of its author. The text now means whatever is says, not necessarily what its author had meant. Once texts have been written, their meanings are no longer determined by the understanding the original audiences had of those same texts. Each subsequent audience may now read its own situation into the text, for a text, unlike talk, transcends its original circumstances.”
[Paul Racer, “Interpretation Theory: Discourses and the Surplus of Meaning,” English trans. Forth Worth, Tex., Texas Christian University Press, 1976].
"Ideas have consequences." This familiar phrase seems to be a glimpse of the obvious in the political arena but it is no less applicable in the religious realm and in the academic world. And nowhere is its application more evident than in the steady erosion of Christian belief within the universities and other intellectual citadels of modern society-a phenomenon at least partially a result of the fact that the Christian community has perhaps not taken this dictum sufficiently seriously. The situation is clearly anomalous in view of the fact that modern science and the greatest thought-creations of the Western world were born in the framework of the Judeo-Christian world-view and some of the greatest thinkers of all time have seen no contradiction between their Christian Faith and the fruits of their scholarship. Thankfully, in recent years there has been a remarkable shift towards the Christian Faith in the higher rungs of the academic world. At the very least, Truth can play a significant role in reflecting this shift towards faith. But, more important, it can help present the Christian world-view-and Jesus Christ-with the aid of all the resources available in modern thought. The battles that confront the Christian Faith in the modern world must also be fought in the arena of ideas." http://www.leaderu.com/menus/truth1.html 10-26-02
C. S. Lewis has commented on the consequences society is suffering due to their redefining truth.
"What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could 'be like gods' - could set up on their own as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery - the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy. "God designed the human machine to run on Himself... God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. "The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free." (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity)
Language has suffered most in postmodernism. Impacting postmoderns is easier because they have set aside rigid standards for truth tests and scientific methods. This is the "just do it" age.
Where past generations applied reason to their decision making process, now ethical behavior is being defined in spontaneous terms. Out of this pluralism seems to be finding the most acceptance. Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, once bore the title "Defender of the faith". But Charles prefers his title to read "defender of the faiths."
The generation adopting postmodern ideas is one who has grown up in broken homes, and been lied to be politicians. They have been deceived by both their church and community leaders. They blame modern thought with destroying their environment so they have a high view for green movements and environmentalists.
"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." Plate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him" [John 18:37-38].
As you can see from the way the word is used in the New Testament, the nature of truth is crucial to the Christian faith [Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, 741-745].
Karl Marx [1818-1883]
Charles S. Peirce [1839-1914]
William James [1842-1910]
John Dewey [1859-1952]
William James said, "truth is what proves to be good in the way of belief," it is the expedient in the way of thinking."
John Dewey said "the hypothesis that works is the true one. Truth is that which is instrumental to an active reorganization of a given environment, or which helps remove some specific trouble or perplexity."
Karl Marx [1818-1883] said "truth is not so much a theory about reality as it is the power or program for altering reality. He said the truth of an idea is manifested in praxis as it proves able to help men alter their social environment."
These leaders say we should determine truth based on whether or not it is practical in each situation. This means situations define truth. If we are confused about a future direction look at "expediency" as our guide. Pragmatism stressed the need for a practical truth which could be measured by its ability to work in various situations or circumstances. This changed truth in important ways because "absolute truth" can no longer be trusted since truth must change to meet situational or environmental need.
CONSEQUENCE FOR PRAGMATIC TRUTH
In real life this proves less than sufficient because "expediency" or "usefulness" cannot give an adequate answer to all questions. The Humanist Manifesto [1933] used pragmatic truth. John Dewey also used this definition when he transformed America's school system in the twentieth century. Stalin and Hitler killed millions of their own people using the ethic that pragmatic truth produced.
Pragmatic truth is designed to work in a naturalist worldview which denies God or a human afterlife. This means it is inadequate for answering ultimate questions which transcend our human experience such as is there life after death? Another important question unavailable with this definition of truth is how can I obtain eternal life? [John Jefferson Davis, Theology Primer, 57-65]
While this movement is sometimes seen as a reaction against formal religion it has some important flaws. Divine revelation is unique in scripture as the way God, through the Spirit presents His message to the minds of the prophets. Inspiration, on the other hand defines the way the Spirit worked in the prophet to produce autograph copies of the scriptures. Illumination is another work of the Spirit in the life of the reader of scripture which protects truth in each passage.
Many who have been touched by a personal understanding of truth mix revelation with illumination supposing God is revealing new works of scripture for publication.. A proper view of Christian truth must distinguish between personal experiences with God and revelations that should be published as scripture. [John Jefferson Davis, Theology Primer, 57-65]
God reveals truth through the specific languages and culture surrounding the historical context of the biblical authors. Those interpreting scripture must give due attention to this original setting but there is also a need to make application for contemporary need. "The universal and abiding character of biblical truth is rooted in basic continuities of human nature, in God's unchanging character, and in God's sovereign control of all the processes of history and culture."
"The God of the Scripture is not the god of one culture or ethnic group, but the Creator of heaven and earth, the author of the laws of nature, the architect of the cosmic environment in which all humans live. His character is eternal and unchanging. The sovereign God who speaks in Scripture is not the captive of the cultural forms which are the channels of divine revelation." God's Word is efficacious and able to accomplish His divine purpose [Isa 55:11] within human cultures. "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever" [Isa 40:8]. [John Jefferson Davis, Theology Primer, 57-58]
The coherence theory was originally designed to be used with models of pure mathematics and theoretical physics. The coherence theory states "a statement is true if it coheres with a system of statements already known to be true, or with a system of statements deduced from self-evident axioms." "Particular facts or statements have meaning only when seen as parts of an organic and self consistent whole." They stress there must be unity and relatedness of all truth but it has some weaknesses.
PROBLEMS
"It is possible to propose any number of coherent explanations each of which might appear to be internally consistent." Followers of Marx, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, or the Watchtower can safely define truth based on already understood theological systems within their own faith.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IDEAS COMPETE?
Making the test based on agreement with an already "proven system" has been shown to be insufficient in science since new discoveries often make old ideas obsolete. An important example is demonstrated with the discovery of radioactivity which changed classical physics. This revolutionary discovery changed previously accredited ideas and older frames of reference. [John Jefferson Davis, Theology Primer, 58-60]
"Statements and beliefs … themselves remain completely unchangeable in every way, it is because the actual thing changes that the contrary comes to belong to them. For the statement that somebody is sitting remains the same. It is because of a change in the actual thing that it comes to be true at one time and false at another. Similarly with beliefs. … For it is not because they themselves receive anything that statements and beliefs are said to be able to receive contraries, but because of what has happened to something else. For it is because the actual thing exists or does not exist that the statement is said to be true or false, not because it is able to receive contraries." [Aristotle, Categories, Book 5, 4a35-4b12; The Works of Aristotle, Geat Books, vol., 8, 8.]
AUGUSTINE [A. D. 354-430]
Augustine offered truth to refute skepticism. But before Augustine we see the early church fathers like Clement, Tertullian and Justine Martyr using truth the same way. Augustine was one of the first Christian theologians to attempt to understand truth systematically.
AUGUSTINE FOUR SENSES OF TRUTH
First, truth is the affirmation of what is.
Second man's mind is capable of grasping truth about God then morality and theology are impossible.
Third, Jesus Christ as Logos or Word of God is truth.
Fourth, in the realm of sensible objects such as plants or animals each has a degree of truth.
[Gordon Clark, Truth, Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology, 532-533].
ANSELM OF CANTERBURY [A. D. 1033-1109]
Anselm tried to prove the existence of God by meditation. In his "Proslogion" he wrote, "the identification of God is indeed so true that it cannot be thought of as not being true." His work has a devotional quality, "and you are this thing, O Lord our God! So truly therefore do you exist, O Lord my God, that you cannot be thought of as not existing and with good reason. For if a human mind could think of anything greater than you, the creature would rise above the Creator which is absurd."
THOMAS AQUINAS [A. D. 1225-1274]
"Truth is defined by the conformity of intellect and thing. And hence to know this conformity is to know truth." [Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Treatises on God, Question 16 Truth, Article 2, Summa Theologica, vol. 1, Geat Books, vol., 19, 96.]
"For all knowledge is achieved by way of some assimilation of the knower to the thing known. An assimilation which causes the knowledge. Thus sight is aware of color because it suffers modification by the kind of the color. So the way in which what exists relates to mind undestanding it is by harmonizing with it. A harmonizing we call the matching of understanding and thing. And it is in this matching that the formal notion of truth is achieved." [Thomas Aquinas, OT, 1.1] Aquinas found five ways to prove the existence of God. He began by noting the living dynamic moving world around us that must have been set in motion. Second he uses the idea of cause and effect. When we look at the world as an effect, it must have had a cause who must have been God. Third he noted the existence of living beings which are necessary to life itself which evidences God as the only one who can create life. Fourth, he noted the existence of deeply imbedded human values such as truth, goodness, and nobility all of which must have a source in God. Fifth, and finally Aquinas uses his "teleological" argument which evidences our world show traces of intelligent design through its natural processes which have been adapted with a definite objective in mind. Aquinas was influenced by Aristotle.
MARTIN LUTHER [A. D. 1483-1546]
Martin Luther firmly affirms the fullness of Scripture as his only source for the truth. He looked back to Augustine's example who had a high view of Scripture.
"Herein I follow Augustine, who was, among other things, the first and almost only one who determined to be subject to the Holy Scriptures alone, and independent of the books of all the fathers and saints. On account of this he got into a fierce fight with St. Jerome, who approached him by pointing to the books of his forefathers." "Moreover, I want to point out to you a correct way of studying theology, for I have had practice in that." Firstly, you should know that the Holy Scriptures constitute a book which turns the wisdom of all other books into foolishness. Kneel down in your little room [Mt 6:6] and pray to God with real humility and earnestness that he through his dear Son may give you his Holy Spirit who will enlighten you, lead you, and give you understanding. Secondly you should meditate. Thirdly there is tentatio, anfechtung, which teaches you not only to know and understand but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God's Word is, wisdom beyond all wisdom." [Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, 65-68]
JOHN CALVIN & TRUTH [A. D. 1509-1564]
"Now we shall have a right definition of faith if we say that it is a steady and certain knowledge of the divine benevolence towards us [divinae erga nos benevolentia firmam certamgue congnitionem], which is founded upon the truth of the gracious promise of God in Christ, and is both revealed to our minds and sealed in our hearts [revelatur mentibus nostris et cordibus obsignatur] by the Holy Spirit.""When we stress that faith ought to be certain and secure, we do not have in mind a certainty without doubt, or a security without anxiety. Rather we affirm that believers have a perpetual struggle with their own lack of faith, and are far from possessing a peaceful conscience, never interrupted by any disturbance. On the other hand, we want to deny that they may fall out of, or depart from, their confidence [fiducia] in the divine mercy, no matter how much they may be troubled."
HEIDELBERG CONFESSION & TRUTH A. D. 1563
This confession spoke to worship style. Jesus said our worship must be in spirit and truth. "We should not portray God in any way, nor worship him in any other manner than he has commanded in his Word." This confession stated the content of worship be determined only by Scripture.
ANABAPTIST CONFESSION & TRUTH A. D. 1644
To every true lover of the truth especially to the brethren of the separation. I propose to manifest the true constitution of the church. [John Smyth 1609] .
"That God has decreed himself from everlasting touching all things, effectually to work and dispose them according to the counsel of his own will, to the glory of his Name; in which decree appear his wisdom, constancy, truth and faithfulness … Constancy is that whereby the decree of God remains always immutable. Truth is that whereby he declares that alone which he has decreed … the sense of them does always agree with his decree."
C. H. SPURGEON 1856
"If any hold not the truth, we cannot allow that they belong to "the church of the living God." It is not for us to adopt the cant phraseology of the present day, and say that men may be of the Church, and yet differ from the truth of God; nay, by no means … they do not belong to the one Church; and not belonging to that, they cannot belong to Christ." [Spurgeon's Encyclopedia of Sermons, A Sermon Delivered on Lord's Day Morning September 14, 1856, 1 Tim. 3:15, New Park Street Chapel Southwark] .
(trooth) (`emeth, emunah, primary idea of "firmness," "stability" (compare), hence "constancy," "faithfulness," etc; the Septuagint's Apocrypha and the New Testament, aletheia , pistis ; in adjectival and adverbial sense, "in truth," "of a truth," "faithful," etc; alethos ; alethinos ; ontos <1 Cor 14:25>; pistos <1 Tim 3:1>; in the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American), the American Standard Revised Version, as generally, "faithful"; Anglo-Saxon: treow, tryw with Teutonic stem, trau-, "to believe," "to keep faith"): I. TERMS
II. GENERAL VIEW
.. 1. Aspects of Truth
...... (1) Ontological
...... (2) Logical
...... (3) Moral
...... (4) Religious
.. 2. Standards of Truth
.. 3. Special Features in Biblical Writings
III. ANALYTICAL SUMMARY
.. 1. Truth in God
.. 2. Truth in Man
.. 3. Truth in ReligionI. Terms.-- The English word has developed and maintained the broadest, most general and varied usage, going beyond both Hebrew and Greek, which were already extended in connotation. It is possible to analyze and classify the special applications of the term almost indefinitely, using other terms to indicate specific meanings in special connections, e.g. loyalty
; honesty ; fidelity ; justice ; uprightness ; faith <26:2>; righteousness ; reality ; veracity . It is unfortunate that translators have generally adhered to single terms to represent the original words. On the other hand, they have sometimes introduced words not represented in the original, and thus unduly limited the meaning. An example is , where the original meaning "being true," i.e. in all respects, is narrowed to "speaking the truth." II. General View.-- No term is more familiar and none more difficult of definition.
With applications in every phase of life and thought the word has varying general senses which may be classified as:
1. Aspects of Truth: (1) Ontological truth, i.e. accurate and adequate idea of existence as ultimate reality. In this sense it is a term of metaphysics, and will be differently defined according to the type of philosophical theory accepted. This aspect of truth is never primary in Scripture unless in the question of Pilate
. He had so far missed the profound ethical sense in which Jesus used the word that Jesus did not at all answer him, nor, indeed, does Pilate seem to have expected any reply to what was probably only the contemptuous thrust of a skeptical attitude. In Proverbs where, if at all, we might look for the abstract idea, we find rather the practical apprehension of the true meaning and method of life . Ontological reality and possible ideas of reality apprehending it are obviously presupposed in all Scripture. There is objective reality on which subjective ideas depend for their validity; and all knowing is knowledge of reality. There is also in the whole of Scripture a subjective idea, the product of revelation or inspiration in some form of working, that constitutes an ideal to be realized objectively. The Kingdom of God, for example, is the formative idea of Scripture teaching. In a definite sense the kingdom exists and still it is to be created. It must be kept in mind, however, that only vaguely and indirectly does truth have abstract, meta-physical meaning to the Biblical writers. For John it approaches this, but the primary interest is always concrete. (2) Logical truth is expressive of the relation between the knower and that which is known, and depends upon the arrangement of ideas with reference to a central or composite idea. Truth in this sense involves the correspondence of concepts with facts. While this meaning of truth is involved in Scripture, it is not the primary meaning anywhere, save in a practical religious application, as in
. (3) Moral truth is correspondence of expression with inner conception. Taken in its full meaning of correspondence of idea with fact, of expression with thought and with intention, of concrete reality with ideal type, this is the characteristic sense of the word in the Scriptures. Here the aim of religion is to relate man to God in accordance with truth. In apprehension man is to know God and His order as they are in fact and in idea. In achievement, man is to make true in his own experience the idea of God that is given to him. Truth is thus partly to be apprehended and partly to be produced. The emphatically characteristic teaching of Christianity is that the will to produce truth, to do the will of God, is the requisite attitude for apprehending the truth. This teaching of Jesus in
is in accord with the entire teaching of the Bible. suggests the importance of right attitude for learning, while <4:18> shows the effect of a wrong attitude in ignorance of vital truth. (4) Religious truth is a term frequently met in modern literature, but it has no sound basis in reason and it has none at all in the Bible. All truth is ultimately religious and only in a superficial way can religious truth be spoken of as an independent conception. Least of all can religious truth and scientific truth be at variance.
2. Standards of Truth: Philosophy has continuously tried to find tests for truth, and so has wrought out theories of knowledge-- epistemologies, Not to go back into the Greek philosophy, we have in modern times such theories as (1) the Kantian, (2) the scholastic, (3) the Hegelian, (4) the pragmatic, (5) that of the "new realism"; and these include only such as may be defined with some clearness, for the tendencies of current thought have been toward confusion concerning all standards of truth and reality, and so toward widespread agnosticism and skepticism. This temper has, naturally, reacted on thinking in practical ethics and upon the sanctions of religion. There is thus in religion and morals a tendency to obscure the distinction between what is and what ought to be. See AUTHORITY; ETHICS; PHILOSOPHY; RIGHT; SIN.
In the Bible, the known will of God is final for man as a standard of truth, not as arbitrary, but as expressive of God's nature. God's nature is all-comprehensive of fact and goodness, and so is, all and in all, the source, support and objective of all concrete being. The will of God thus reveals, persuades to and achieves the ideals and ends of complete existence. The term "truth" is sometimes, therefore, nearly equivalent to the revealed will of God.
3. Special Features in Biblical Writings: (1) The Old Testament uses the term "truth" primarily of God and applies the principle to man. The practical objective is ever prominent.
(2) The Synoptic Gospels and Acts use the term chiefly in popular idiomatic phrases "of a truth," "in truth," "surely" (compare
). In there is a more serious and comprehensive application, but it is in the flattering words of Pharisaic hypocrisy (compare ). To be sure, we are to understand that even in the phrases of common speech Jesus employed the term in all seriousness . (3) In Paul the sense of divine faithfulness, as in the Old Testament, is occasionally met
. Again the term emphasizes sincerity <1 Cor 5:8; 2 Cor 7:14>. Generally it has direct or clearly implied reference to God's revelation in Jesus Christ with a view to redeeming men. In a general way the term is thus equivalent to the gospel, but there is never identification of the two terms (see ). In , "the truth of the gospel" is its content in the purpose of God, in contrast with misconceptions of it: the true gospel as against false representations of the gospel. (4) In the Johannine writings we find occasionally the emphatic phrase of genuineness <1 Jn 3:18; 2 Jn 1:1; 3 Jn 1:1> and emphatic reality
. In Revelation we have "true" in the sense of trustworthy, because ultimately real or in accord with ultimate reality ( , etc). Generally, as in the Gospel, we approach more nearly than elsewhere in Scripture a metaphysical use, yet always with the practical religious end dominant. Truth is reality in relation to the vital interests of the soul. It is primarily something to be realized and done, rather than something to be learned or known. In the largest aspect it is God's nature finding expression in His creation, in revelation, in Jesus Christ in whom "grace and truth came" , and finally in man apprehending, accepting and practically realizing the essential values of life, which are the will of God ( f; <1 Jn 2:21; 3:19>). Truth is personalized in Jesus Christ. He truly expresses God, presents the true ideal of man, in Himself summarizes the harmony of existence and becomes the agent for unifying the disordered world. Hence, He is the Truth , the true expression (Logos, ) of God. See the same idea without the terminology in Paul ( ff; <2:9>). Similarly, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth because His function is to guide into all truth . (5) It is understood by many that in James, Peter, Hebrews, and possibly the Pastoral Epistles, the term connotes "the body of Christian teaching" (compare
). The use of the article here cannot be conclusive, and instead of "the body of Christian teaching," it seems more correct to understand the reality of life values as represented in the gospel plan of salvation and of living. In a general way this would include "the body of Christian teaching," but the reference would be less concrete. James is too early a writing to employ the term in this so specific a sense. III. Analytical Summary.
1. Truth in God: (1) Truth is presented in Scripture as a chief element in the nature of God
. (2) But this quality is never given as an abstract teaching, but only as qualifying God in His relations and activities. So it is a guaranty of constancy ; especially a ground of confidence in His promises ; of right dealing with men without reference to any explicit pledges ; a basis of security in the correctness of His teachings ; of assurance within His covenant relations . (3) God's truth is especially noteworthy as a guaranty of merciful consideration of men. This is an important element in the theology of the Old Testament, as it is a point guarded also in the New Testament . (4) Equally is the truth of God an assurance to men of righteous judgment in condemnation of sin and sinners <1 Sam 15:29; Ps 96:13; Rom. 2:2,8>. In general the truth of God stands for the consistency of His nature and guarantees His full response in all the relations of a universe of which He is the Maker, Preserver, and End. 2. Truth in Man: As related to God in origin and obligation, man is bound morally to see and respond to all the demands of his relations to God and to the order in which he lives under God. (1) Truthfulness in speech, and also in the complete response of his nature to the demand upon it, is urged as a quality to be found in man and is commended where found, as its lack is condemned. It is essential to true manhood. Here, as in the case of truth in God, truth is regarded as revealed in social relations and responsibilites. Truth is not merely in utterance, nor is it only response to a specific command or word, but lies in the response of the will and life to the essential obligations of one's being
. (2) Truth in man is in response to truth in God, and is to be acquired on the basis of a gift from God. This gift comes by way of teaching and also by way of the working of the Divine Spirit in the life of man. Highest truth in correspondence to ideal is possible only by the working of "the God of truth" in the spirit of the man. Man's freedom to realize his being is dependent upon his receptive attitude toward the Son of God. Hence salvation in its fullest idea is stated in terms of truth (
ff; ff). See in general, .
3. Truth in Religion: The modern study of religion on an evolutionary hypothesis and the comparative study of religions have contributed to an extensive questioning whether there is any absolute truth in religion, or at least any standards by which truth in religion may be known.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYLOPAEDIA
G. E. MOORE [1953]
BERTRAND RUSSELL [1956]
J. P. MORELAND [1987]
PETER VAN INWAGEN [1993]
"Our beliefs and assertions are thus related to the world as a map is related to the territory. It is up to the map to get the territory right, and if the map doesn't get the territory right, that's the fault of the map, and no fault of the territory." [Peter Van Inwagen, Metaphysics, Boulder CO: Westview, 1993, 56.]
"TELLING IT LIKE IT IS"
WILLIAM ALSTON [1996]
"Truth may be tested in many ways but it should be understood in only one way. There is one reality, to which statements or ideas must conform in order to be regarded as true." [Geisler, 745].
ROBERT AUDI [1998]
TRUTH CORRESPONDS TO REALITY
This is how Jesus used truth in many passages. "But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish-- the very works that I do-- testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me" [John 5:36].
"Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me" [John 10:25].
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE VERIFIES TRUTH CLAIMS
REALITY OF THE GOSPEL TESTIMONY
GEISLER LIST OF WHAT TRUTH IS NOT
2. Truth is not what feels good.
3. Truth is not relative or determined by popular vote.
4. Truth does not contradict itself. Jesus Christ and Madelyn Murray O'Hare can not both be right.
5. There are no in-between truths. One cannot determine the truth about goodness by saying one should be considered good in comparison to Hitler, but evil in comparison to Mother Teresa as relativists claim.
6. Truth is not a work in progress even though people may increase in their capacity. Copernicus and Galileo can not both be right.
7. Being dogmatic does not evidence truth. Truth is absolute even if our grasp of it is not.
INFALLIBLE CRITERION OF TRUTH
T. REES
There Must Be an Infallible Criterion of Truth: "If we are .... to attach any definite intelligible meaning to the distinction between things as they really are, and things as they merely appear to be, we must clearly have some universal criterion or test by which the distinction may be made. This criterion must be in the first place infallible; that is, must be such that we cannot doubt its validity without falling into a contradiction in our thought ..... Freedom from contradiction is a characteristic that belongs to everything that is real .... and we may therefore use it as a test or criterion of reality " (Taylor, Elements of Metaphysics, 18-19). A more skeptical philosopher writes: "That the truth itself is one and whole and complete, and that all thinking and all experience moves within its recognition, and subject to its manifest authority, this I have never doubted" (Joachim, The Nature of Truth, 178). It is only a thoroughgoing skeptic that could disp ense with authority, a "Pyrrho," who holds suspense of judgment to be the only right attitude of mind, and he, to be logical, must also suspend all action and cease to be. There can be no question, therefore, except in total nescience, as to the fact of authority in general; and the problem to decide is, "What is the authority in religion?" [T. Rees, Infallible Criterion of Truth, Authority In Religion, International Standard Bible Encylopaedia]
"When the belief is true, it certainly does correspond to a fact; and when it corresponds to a fact it certainly is true. And similarly when it is false, it certainly does not correspond to any fact; and when it does not correspond to any fact, then certainly it is false." [G. E. Moore, Some Main Problems in Philosophy, New York: Macmillian, 1953, 279.]
"The world contains facts, which are what they are whatever we may choose to think about them." [Bertrand Russell, Logic and Knowledge, New York: Macmillan, 1956, 182]
"A relation of correspondence between a thought and the world. If a thought really describes the world accurately, it is true. It stands to the world in a relation of correspondence." [J. P. Moreland, Scaling The Secular City, Grand Rapids, Baker, 1987, 81-82]
LIKE A MAP TO THE WORLD
"Each of our beliefs and assertions represents the world as being a certain way, and the belief or assertion is true if the world is that way, and false if the world is not that way. It is, as one might put it, up to our beliefs and assertions to get the world right; if they don't, they're not doing their job, and that's their fault and no fault of the world's."
PETER KREEFT AND RONALD TACELLI [1994]
"Truth means the correspondence of what you know or say to what is. Truth means telling it like it is." "All theories of truth, once they are expressed clearly and simply, presuppose the commonsensical notion of truth that is enshrined in the wisdom of language and the tradition of usage, namely the correspondence [or identity] theory. For each theory claims that it is really true, that is, that it corresponds to reality, and that the others are really false, that is they, they fail to correspond to reality." [Peter Kreeft And Ronald Tacelli, Handbook on Christian Apologetics, Downers Grove, ILL: Intervarsity, 1994, 364-366.]
"A statement is true if and only if what the statement says to be the case actually is the case." [William Alston, A Realist Conception of Truth, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1996, 5-6.] NORMAN GEISLER TRUTH [1998]
"Truth is what corresponds to its referent [the idea to which a word refers]. Truth about reality is what corresponds to the way things really are. Truth is "telling it like it is." This correspondence applies to abstract realities as well as actual ones. There are mathematical truths. There are also truths about ideas. In each case there is a reality, and truth accurately expresses it. Falsehood, then, is what does not correspond. It tells it like it is not, misrepresenting the way things are. The intent behind the statement is irrelevant. If it lacks proper correspondence, it is false." [Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, 743].
"True propositions whether believed or not … correspond or are identical with reality. It is usually added that they are true in virtue of that correspondence." [Robert Audi, Epistemology: a Contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, New York: Routledge, 1998, 239.]
Most Evangelical Christians agree that truth does correspond with objective reality. Many associate truth as being sufficiently real to be supported by historical evidence.
Paul also used verifiable truth as foundational to his message. "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins" [1 Cor 15:17]. We understand this was so important because it is the fabric of our salvation. "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus {as} Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" [Rom 10:9]. [John Jefferson Davis, Theology Primer, 57-65]
In the final analysis the fate of every believer rests on the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit to the Word of God which is sufficient to overcome challenges to faith or the presence of evil in the world. Empty philosophy is not able to withstand these threats. " But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" [1 Cor 2:14]. Romans 8:33-39
33. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;
34. who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
35. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36. Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."
37. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39. nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1. Truth is not what works. It is not pragmatic.