What is Truth?
Feb. 11, 2023
What is truth? This is the famous question Pilate retorted at Christ’s trial. Indeed, there are many competing religious narratives even in the U.S. We receive reports on current events and investigative reports every day. Social media, mainstream media, and alternate outlets all have their own narratives. No narrative is usually exactly the same and in some cases completely contradictory. With our modern means of communication why is this so? And how can we know what is true?
What is “truth” anyway? This question can be applied to the physical world, to abstract concepts or to the unseen world—the metaphysically world. Historically it has been applied to all. It is a primary question of philosophy. [i] For our purposes, let’s examine three areas:
- The “truth” espoused very day in our media and various outlets
- [ii]The Postmodern concept of truth
- The Biblical concept of truth
It helps to have some understanding of the common definitions of truth or what is true. Webster defines truth as follows: a) the body of real things, events, and facts : ACTUALITY b) the state of being the case : FACT c) a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality d)a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true.
What must recognized is the “truth” you see displayed on media is a narrative, not just an exposition of “facts.” . “What defines the narrative form is the choice of chronicled statements that are included, the way they are arranged to create a plot, including which are chosen to begin and end the narrative. This arrangement creates a new level of meaning which may be judged independently of the factual truth of the plot.”[iii] In this way, each “news” output can take a set of “facts” or observations of events and construct a story that “proves” their point of view to be the “truth.” That point of view told in the convincing story form may be far removed from the actual reality of things. Let the viewer and reader beware.
What is postmodernism and how is it manifest in our society? Postmodern thought defines the ideas of reality, truth, and man, and values as follows: 1) Reality is socially constructed by our use of language and our local culture 2) Humans are a product of their social setting. Freedom and autonomy are myths 3) Truths are mental constructs. Truth is relative to the individual and culture 4) Tolerance, freedom of expression, inclusion, and refusal to “have the answers” are the only universal values. [iv] Another aspect resulting from this definition of truth is those in power in the culture determine what is true. What are the practical applications of these concepts? One example of where you’re going to see postmodern ideals flesh out in our culture is what you’re seeing happening on television and in the media every day. What is shown is a culmination of the sexual revolution, the LGBQ push, and transgenderism. “We’re now in a place where people will say things like, “I know I’m in a boy’s body, but I’m not a boy. I’m something else underneath that. And we’re left to define, not just truth out there anyway we want to, we’re now able to define ourselves in any particular way we want to. [v] Hence, we also can create our own morality.
From the date of the publishing of Allan Bloom’s book, The Closing of the American Mind in 1986, tolerance was the only virtue until the last few years. This was clearly in line with the postmodern definition of virtue. With the advent of social media, “cancel culture” has prevailed over tolerance. The idea that someone can be canceled – deplatformed, fired, ostracized, etc. comes from the postmodern idea that truth is constructed and a marriage of the results of critical theory. Critical theory divides identity groups into oppressors and the oppressed or victims. An identity group can be classified under a number of criteria—race, sex or gender, colonial ( nations who established colonies on other shores) or religion. We see this manifested continually.
How then does the bible define “truth?” In the famous question Pilate asked, Jesus had said: “In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” In Jesus discourse with Thomas –who doubted Jesus—Jesus said: ““I am the way and the truth and the life.” So, what is this “truth”? The Greeks defined truth as that which in accord with the facts and that which is real or genuine. The New Testament writers has some nuanced usage including: 1) That which has certainty and force 2) That on which you can rely 3) The real state of affairs 4) In accordance with truth 5) The true teaching of faith 6) The devine reality (and revelation) which is different than man thinks he finds himself. [vi] From 5) and 6) we can see that biblical truth that leads to life is a different view of the world than either modernism ( which depends on reason alone), post modernism or any other grand narrative of how the world works with man. It is in fact a different “worldview.” What is a worldview? “A worldview is a way of looking at and explaining life and the world. It serves as a lens through which the world is interpreted. It is a set of beliefs that influences a person’s perspective, values, and actions. A worldview is a type of belief system or ideology. A person’s worldview can influence the way everything in the world is viewed, interpreted, and explained.” [vii]
Truth for the Christian is revealed by Christ. It is the truth that defines reality both in the material and spiritual worlds. It is the truth that leads to a particular way of life. In fact, the most common name referring to early followers of Christ was as “The Way.” ( E.g. Acts 9:1-2; Acts 19: 8-9. The Way is mentioned several times in Acts and the word Christian only three times.). Christians make their judgements, decisions, and values based upon the reality and truth defined by Christ. This is the Christian worldview. You may wonder why the common narrative purporting to be true about the human condition is so different from yours. Those with a postmodern worldview or its derivatives make judgements and decisions about what is true based on their own secular ideology.
Reader and viewer, beware of the narratives you are fed. Only the Christian worldview is reality and can never be
[i] Truth (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
[ii] Truth Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster
[iii] ByersJerez-NarrativeFormsofTruth-FINALIZED.pdf
[iv] Adapted from: Christianity, the Faith That Makes Sense, D. McCallam, Tydale from www.xenos.org/classes/papers
[v] What Is Postmodernism and How Does It Affect Our Culture Today? – Lifeway Voices
[vi] Quell, G., Kittel, G., & Bultmann, R. (1964–). ἀλήθεια, ἀληθής, ἀληθινός, ἀληθεύω. In G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 1, p. 245). Eerdmans.
[vii] (https://www.worldviewu.org/worldviews-definition)