Pentecostal Eschatology

What is Truth? :: By Debra Hodges

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Is truth absolute, or is it relative? Is it intrinsically relational? If it is, then not only can it point out our wrongs and correct us, but it can also bring healing and restoration. If, as atheists believe, truth is determined by observation and scientific analysis only, then it is open to revision and may change based on new discoveries. Christians believe that absolute truth exists and is based on revelation from God, who, as creator and sustainer of the universe, is the highest authority. This view makes sense because human beings have both a mind and a heart. Truth viewed only as a set of facts catering to our intellect cannot address our emotional or relational needs. [1]

Defining Truth

Epistemology is the study of different types of knowledge such as facts, skills, and experience. In this discipline, belief, truth, justification, perception, reason, and testimony are examined to discover various sources of knowledge, and to determine how knowledge is obtained. “Alethiology” is a Greek word meaning “the study of truth” and is one area of knowledge studied by epistemologists. [2] These studies set up standards to establish criteria of truth, and these rules are used to verify the accuracy of statements and claims. [3]

Identifying valid criteria of truth helps to identify it and differentiate it from falsehood. The five main theories of truth used by scholars (such as Aristotle, Plato, Dewey, Tarski, Kant, Nietzsche, and Hume) to define it are the following:

  1. correspondence (relational, connected to reality),
  2. coherence (set of coherent beliefs that fit together),
  3. pragmatic (useful or result of inquiry),
  4. redundancy (deflationist as in no-truth, statement true as stated), and
  5. semantic (amount of satisfaction defines truth).

These concepts seek to define truth by establishing relationships between a statement and reality, beliefs, or consequences. [4]

Logic and truth are interrelated because valid conclusions require presupposed truthful premises, but truth itself is not defined by logic. Facts exist regardless of being understood or interpreted. The truth of something does not require the application of logic when it simply corresponds to reality.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Truth is defined as: “The body of real things, events, and facts: Actuality, the state of being the case: Fact…”. [5] The Encyclopedia Britannica discusses truth in terms of metaphysics and the philosophy of language, and states that “Truth is the aim of belief; falsity is a fault. People need the truth about the world in order to thrive. Truth is important.” [6]

Absolute Truth

Can absolute truth be known? Is truth merely a concept or could it be a person? If someone says that the truth is unknowable, how do they know that? Is all truth unknowable, or only truth about Christianity? A person making that claim would have to be omniscient to prove it.

Christians believe in absolute truth because they believe God gave it to them in the Holy Bible and in his son Jesus Christ. People may wonder why God would be personally concerned with individual human beings, but the fact is that God is extremely interested in every single human being He created. The Bible says we are God’s “masterpiece” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV). [7]

God created each person in His own image, and since He is manifested in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), everyone has inherited “personhood” from God. This means that people generally have a sound mind and the ability to form relationships with each other. Since truth has been defined as a relationship to reality, and Jesus is the ultimate source of reality, we can understand what Jesus meant when he said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). [8]

First-century Christians were reminded by the apostle John that Jesus had given them the Holy Spirit to be able to discern the difference between truth and lies (1 John 2:20). [9] King Solomon knew the importance of truth and discernment when he asked God for wisdom: “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1 Kings 3:9) [10]

Today’s culture seems to align itself with Aleister Crowley’s famous statement, “Do what thou wilt.” From this, we can easily see the truth of Paul’s statement about absolute truth in the book of Romans “…because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:25). [11]

The following evidence attests not only to the reliability of the Bible but also to the historicity of Jesus Christ. This evidence proves that faith in God is not blind and unscientific and gives believers confidence that God’s standard of truth can always be trusted to bring the highest good to all concerned.

  1. The extra-biblical writings of Josephus and Tacitus ascribe attributes of goodness, miracle-working, and wisdom to Jesus.
  2. Archaeological artifacts have been discovered such as ossuaries with the name Caiaphas (Jewish high priest present at the trial of Jesus) inscribed on them, bullae with the names and seals of Old Testament kings stamped on them, and stone monuments mentioning the existence of Pontius Pilate and the House of David.
  3. The text in the Dead Sea Scrolls is identical to Biblical manuscripts discovered later and provides details about the culture and history of first-century Israel. They are important because they are a testament to the way God has preserved His Word throughout the centuries.

Relative Truth

Moral relativism is a popular worldview held by many people in today’s culture. It is defined as “…the view that moral judgments are true or false only relative to some particular standpoint (for instance, that of a culture or a historical period) and that no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.” [12] This philosophy espouses many ersatz versions of the truth prompting the question: “whose idea of truth is most important and should be adhered to by the majority?”

Angela Fallentine (a contributor for The Family Proclamation.org) wrote about this worldview in her 2021 article: “What is truth? Moral relativism is the ‘majority opinion’ of Gen Z, new study reveals.” She reported the results of a 2020 study conducted by the Barna Group in association with the Impact 360 Institute. The study indicated that 31% of people in Generation Z (young people aged 13 to 21) “strongly agree” that what is “morally right and wrong changes over time, based on society,” and another 43% “somewhat” agree with that statement. [13]

Atheists, with their reliance on naturalism, are forever enslaved by simple logic because they are limited to beliefs that can be seen and proven based on humanity’s five senses. They have closed their minds to truths that really matter, transcendent truths such as truth, justice, goodness, beauty, and spirit. The apostle Paul wrote about the plight of atheists in his first letter to the church at Corinth. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:13-15). [14]

Should every person’s definition of truth be treated as equally important and valid, or do some definitions of truth bear more weight than others? Disagreements over the veracity of individual truths seem to bear out the need for an absolute standard of truth, i.e., a standard which most people can agree upon and the most individuals benefit from. Having an absolute standard of truth implies an objective view of truth as opposed to a subjective (opinion-based) view of truth held by moral relativists (who maintain that something can be “true for you, but not for me”).

How can a philosophy based on subjective opinions cause anything but chaos? If there is no standard of absolute truth, how can any society be sure their idea of right and wrong is true? If they can’t be sure their view of morality will pan out for good, how many people will be hurt in the meantime if it doesn’t?

People in every culture know instinctively that torturing innocent babies for fun is always wrong, but how do they know that? Evolutionists say it’s wrong because engaging in that practice would be detrimental to the survival of humanity. Christians say it’s wrong because they believe that an all-good God in charge of creation said it’s wrong in his Word. They believe God gave human beings a conscience and the ability to reason, so they would be able to tell the difference between right and wrong.

Conclusion

Moral truth is derived from God’s eternally good, unchanging character. Jesus is truth because being equal with the Father, he bears the same nature. Because of his relationship with the Father and Holy Spirit, he embodies truth within the context of relationship. When we belong to the family of God through Jesus Christ, we experience truth not only with our minds but also with our emotions. With his famous question, “What is Truth?” asked at the trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate had just heard Jesus reveal his origin and mission of bearing witness to the truth, and yet did not recognize that he had come face to face with the truth.

Sources:

  1. Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell, “The Unshakable Truth”, (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers 2010), 39-40.
  2. Epistemology, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology.
  3. Criteria of truth, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criteria_of_truth#:~:text=First%2Dhand%20observation%20determines%20the,observable%20by%20the%20unaided%20sense.
  4. Ralph Walker, “Theories of Truth”, Wiley Online Library, February 18, 2017, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118972090.ch21#:~:text=There%20are%20often%20said%20to,%2C%20redundancy%2C%20and%20semantic%20theories.
  5. Merriam-Webster Dictonary.com, “truth,” accessed October 22, 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truth.
  6. Simon Blackburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/truth-philosophy-and-logic.
  7. “Ephesians 2:10 (ESV),” Bible Gateway, n.d., https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202%3A10&version=ESV.
  8. “BibleGateway – Keyword Search: The Way, the Truth,” n.d., https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=the+way%2C+the+truth&version=ESV.
  9. “1 John 2:20 (ESV),” Bible Gateway, n.d., https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20john%202%3A%2020&version=ESV.
  10. “1 Kings 3:9 (ESV),” Bible Gateway, n.d., https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%203%3A9&version=ESV.
  11. “Romans 1:25 (ESV),” Bible Gateway, n.d., https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201%3A25&version=ESV.
  12. Emrys Westacott, “Moral Relativism,” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/moral-re/.
  13. Angela Fallentine, “What is truth? Moral relativism is the ‘majority opinion’ of Gen Z, new study reveals,” The Family Proclamation, June 1, 2021, https://thefamilyproclamation.org/what-is-truth-moral-relativism-is-the-majority-opinion-of-gen-z-new-study-reveals/.
  14. Bible Gateway. “1 Corinthians 2:13-15 (ESV),” n.d. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%202%3A13-15&version=ESV.

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