Whose Truth is True?
Several years ago, I was talking to a student about Jesus Christ. After I shared the gospel with him, he looked at me and said, “That’s all great and stuff, but that’s just your truth.”
After poring over many proofs of Christianity, the student wasn’t fazed a bit. He thought all those truths about Jesus were cool. Just one problem—they didn’t apply to him.
This speaks to the growing movement of postmodernism, which not only questions propositional truth and authority but also goes as far as stating that truth is unknowable. (The basic ideas of postmodernism have existed since the early days of humankind. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve rejected God’s absolute standard in exchange for their own selfish gain.)
This postmodern view of truth may seem acceptable to some, but it’s a contradiction. Think about it: How do postmodernists know truth is unknowable? To say truth is unknown is to know something about truth. This is complete nonsense. It is undeniable that truth is knowable.
But in the midst of so many different religious beliefs, whose truth is true?
Christianity is all about “testing all things” to determine what is right and wrong (1 Thess. 5:21). To do so, however, you must appeal to an absolute position; otherwise, there is nothing on which to base your findings or draw concrete conclusions. Any meaningful statement must be true or false; it must be affirmable or deniable.
This leads to three alternatives to determine whose truth is true:
All religious views are true. This is known as religious pluralism. It is important to point out, however, that most religions don’t hold to such a belief. Why? It’s absurd. Based on the Law of Noncontradiction (A is not non-A), it’s impossible for all religions to be true. It is impossible to affirm God exists and deny he exists at the same time and in the same sense. Christianity, for example, believes in God, but atheism and religions such as Buddhism deny God exists. Either there is a God or there is not. It can’t be both.
All religious views are false. It’s possible that all religious views are false, but to know that, it must be measured by an absolute standard that corresponds to the truth. In this case, there would be a religious view above the rest that is true.
One religious view is exclusively true. Considering that truth is absolute and exclusive, it’s reasonable then to assume that this truth claim is exclusively true. There is one view that is true, and everything opposed to it is false. But how do you figure out which religious view is the right one?
Here are three questions that you can ask to see if a belief system is indeed true:
(1) Logically consistent (Are there contradictions?)
(2) Empirically verifiable (Is there any proof?)
(3) Morally sufficient (Does it work in real life?)
For a statement or belief system to be logically consistent it must not contradict itself, but correspond to reality (that which is true). Moreover, the belief system must not only correspond to reality, but also cohere with the facts of reality (empirical adequacy). In other words, there must be evidence to substantiate its truth claims. And finally, a view or belief system must be viable to live by in the real world (experiential relevance). That is, its actions and values must comply with objective morality that we instinctively know is right.
Allow me to demonstrate how these three tests of truth (logically consistent, empirically verifiable, and morally sufficient) come in handy in very practical ways.
Take, for instance, directions. It matters a great deal to have the right directions in order to reach your destination. If you program the wrong coordinates into a GPS, it will lead you to the wrong location. Similarly, when you are sick, it matters a great deal that your doctor gives the right diagnosis to determine the right course of treatment. So if following the right directions and receiving the right treatments matter, how much more so when it comes to spiritual matters?
Application
Though our views or emotions concerning truth change, truth stays the same. Holding fast to God’s truth will bring you the greatest rewards and have the biggest impact on those around you. Don’t underestimate the influence of those who disregard absolute truth for something more alluring. Take the advice of John: “Test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1).
Excerpt: The Bible’s Answers to 100 of Life’s Biggest Questions (Norman Geisler and Jason Jimenez)