Reflections on Truth

“Truth is not always popular but it is always right.” This quote from A Column to Cherish which appeared in the Sunday Sun really got me thinking about truth. But what is truth anyways? Truth is not solely an abstract philosophical concept therefore philosophy inevitably ends up defining truth too narrowly. Simply put, truth is that which corresponds to reality. True beliefs are those which portray reality as it is not as we hope, fear or wish it to be.

The biblical understanding of truth reflects fact that truth is multifaceted: theoretical, literal (Word of God) and personal (Jesus). For Christians, the God of Israel reveals himself not only in his Word but in his deeds. Truth is also expressed in the person of Christ in the New Testament. In his message and in his way of life. For the Christian, truth is not an abstract, “out there” concept. It is something that is inside us. It sanctifies us (John 17:17). It cleanses us. It does something to us.

The human mind has been deified in the Western world and, in the tradition of Kant, is viewed as the sole means of attaining truth. But the mind falls woefully short when it comes to the things of God. The mind has been marred because of the noetic effect of sin. Divine revelation is necessary; not only because of human depravity but because some things go beyond the capacity of reason (like the Trinitarian concept). Simply reasoning about faith therefore, cannot lead to tangible sign of those things (that are matters of faith). Revelation is also necessary.

“Truth is a daunting difficult thing, it is also the greatest thing in the world. We are chronically ambivalent towards it. We seek it and we fear it. Our better side wants to pursue truth wherever it leads. Our darker side balks when the truth leads us anywhere we do not want to go. We want both to serve truth and to be served by it. Such is our uneasy lot east of Eden.”