The Truth About Truth… Good morning Hump Day readers. I hope your day is filled with the truth of God. I say this because after listening to the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, it was hard to understand truth—to separate fact from fiction. So many theories yet when the actual videos were posted you had to wonder if those on both sides of this trial paid much attention, including the judge. I’m not here to accuse or deliberate, but as the jury deliberates today a young man’s life does hang in the balance as well as the families whose loved ones he shot and killed. Sadness indeed.

In talking with a friend, he said “we just don’t like truth anymore unless it is our truth.” I thought about that for several days and I get it. In fact, who of us doesn’t like truth—our own truth? Because we feel good when we think we got it right. But in this culture, truth has been flayed open and cut into pieces so you can pick and choose what YOU think is the truth you want to embrace.

In Lee Stroebel’s book, In Defense of Jesus, (a must-read in this culture) there is an excerpt from Paul Copan, (PhD Marquette University, Chair of Philosophy & Ethics-Palm Beach Atlantic University, author of True for You, But Not for Me), that rings true for us today. As we get further from God and embrace the “gods” of our culture, the truth about God-Jesus-the Bible-our faith—all of this and more—gets skewered on the altar of entertainment, politics, and our own selfishness and determination to always be right. Quite frankly, we have forgotten the words of Jesus when he said, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) In other words, without that truth we are in bondage and my friends, look at the world today. Are we not bound up, troubled, and sadly far from God’s truth?

2000 years ago Pilate asked Jesus: “What is truth?” and that question still rings out loudly through the world and sadly, even in our churches today. Copan’s definition is surprisingly straightforward for those seeking truth: “I think people instinctively understand that truth is a belief, story, ideal, or statement that matches up with reality or corresponds to the way things really are. Example: If I say the moon is made of cheese, that’s false because there isn’t a correspondence, or a match-up, with the way things really are. Or consider an event in history: Martin Luther wrote out his ninety-five theses in 1517. That’s factually true, and to disagree with that would mean that you believe something that’s false.”

Copan continues: “Something is true—or corresponds to reality—even if people don’t believe it. I often use the example of the earth being round even when people thought it was flat. Some people have said to me, ‘Well, wasn’t the earth flat for them at that time?’ I say, ‘No, the earth was still round. It wasn’t as though people could fall over the edge of the earth and be swallowed by dragons back then. The earth was round, even if people didn’t believe it.’ So truth is true even if people don’t acknowledge it. In fact, truth is true even if no one knows it, admits it, agrees with it, follows it, or even fully grasps it. Some people believe that whatever works for them is true and that’s the pragmatic view. The problem is that people can have beliefs that are ‘useful,’ maybe temporarily and for certain ends, but they may be completely false. And some things can be true, like the temperature at the North Pole even though they don’t help us in any way. So truth isn’t merely what works. 

On the other hand, the pragmatist does have a point when he asks, ‘Can my beliefs be lived out practically?’ If not, then it’s highly likely that the view isn’t true. What is true can be lived out consistently —there doesn’t have to be a mismatch between ‘theory’ and ‘practice.’ 

Another view of truth is called coherence…this means that our beliefs must have internal consistency. In other words, our beliefs cohere in a kind of web or fit together like a puzzle. Now, coherence is important. If something is incoherent, it can’t be true. But coherence, by itself, isn’t enough to determine if something is true. Coherence is an important component of truth, but it doesn’t constitute truth. It’s not all that there is to truth.”

After reading this section, I asked myself “OK—what IS TRUTH?” Let me finish this with Copan’s words which, for me are powerful and true!

“Something true is like a socket wrench that matches up to a bolt — there’s a fit. And truth isn’t merely propositional. Look at the person of Jesus. When he said he’s the truth in John 14:6, there was a correspondence with reality. There was a match-up: He was faithfully and authentically representing to us who God is. He was the revelation of God, and he genuinely lived out what human beings are supposed to be before God. Ultimately, it comes down to a theological question: Can there be an authoritative viewpoint? To put it in Christian terms, is there the possibility of a special revelation in which God speaks authoritatively for all times and all cultures? Can God break onto the scene and offer a way to know truth with confidence? Not only do I believe he can, but I believe he has.”

In this world of un-truths, up-side-down truths, absurd truths, and downright lies, it’s no wonder folks are confused! But I find Copan’s book and these statements enlightening. We don’t have to worry about truth because—God IS truth—Jesus IS God’s truth and the Light of the world! Perhaps some theology can be confusing or too deep to understand, but go back to our Jesus and think of his tender ways, his powerful teaching and healing, and ultimately his death and resurrection so that all people may embrace the truth of faith in God and an eternity of wonderful life after death.

We have all the proof we need, and even if the world challenges those truths, we can stand firm in them for we have this great truth from 1 John 4:4. I like the expanded words from the Amplified Bible:

“Little children(believers, dear ones),
you are of God and you belong to Him and
have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist];
because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan)
who is in the world [of sinful mankind].”