What is Truth | Applied Christianity

What is Truth?

Where do we find our anchor in the search for meaning,
beauty, and certainty in life and the life to come?

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Introduction

Can we know truth?

What do words mean? A cohesive society communicates agreed norms by using a common language with words that hold a shared and understood meaning. Increasingly however, today's society is developing different meanings for the same words. Through linguistic tricks, alternative applications are developed for common words or combinations of words. This destroys the originally accepted use of the word. As an example, the etymology of the word 'homophobic' means a fear of people attracted to the same sex. Increasingly, the word is used as a slur for anyone who does not celebrate homosexuality as a moral good. This is just one example of how words have been co-opted, combined and weaponised.

Beyond that, society is inventing new words to describe phenomenon that previously were unthought of. The expanding list of gender attraction taxonomy is one such example. Far from being more precise, the diffusion of language coincides with divisions within the culture. If one's goal is to destroy a culture, the first step would be to start with deconstructing words. Without shared words, the flow on consequence is a lack of shared 'truth'.

We live in a post-truth world. Surveys regularly show that Australians have stopped respecting or believing the media and politicians. Celebrities dominate the headlines seeking to shape and make the news more than report the facts. When news sites or individuals seek to convey just the facts, they are often shadow banned or out-right censored. Programmed media becomes the official programmed thinking. The sad result is that critical thinking is lost. No one trust anyone or has confidence in anything. Everything becomes relative and societies are manipulated.

“Whenever you watch the news, remember that it is a well orchestrated PR campaign designed to play with your emotions”

E B Tucker

Without truth, we are led by emotions. Emotional-led behaviour is encapsulated in the popular phrases 'Let it Go' and 'Be true to yourself'. But the search for 'inner meaning' is not new. The question What is Truth? is as old as time. Pilate asked Jesus this question when he interrogated Him before the crucifixion. Satan asked that question when he deceived Eve by saying 'Has God really said?' Today our post-modern world is asking the same question. Our society uses phrases such as 'my truth' and 'your truth' as a means to avoid grappling with a fixed and attainable concept of right and wrong. But Jesus has a very different view on this question. Jesus declares:

"I am the way, the truth and the life."

John14:6

So, if we want to confidently know and declare truth, then we first must know Jesus. They way we know Jesus is that He revealed himself to us through the Bible which is the Word of God. John 1:1 says, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The simplest definition of a Christian is a 'follower of Christ'. Therefore, it is on the basis of knowing the Word that Christians know Jesus. Only as we follow Jesus and His teachings, can we discern truth from error, right from wrong, and good from evil. In other words, Scripture is the basis on which we determine an absolute standard. The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to teach us how we ought to think and live what we ought to love and pursue.

'My Truth'

Absolute Truth, Relativism, and Lack of Trust

Trust in Australia's institutions has nearly completely eroded. We expect our politicians of all political persuasions to lie to us. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National ratings have slumped to just 1.5% of the Sydney audience. Is it any wonder why so many people are turning to podcasts, direct streaming and algorithmically curated content. However, as a society this means we are no longer of 'one mind'. Scripture say that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. The same principle applies for societies and cultures with split-thinking create division. We are forming into tribal enclaves bound by groupthink. This social fragmentation fosters feelings of oppression and a lack of tolerance for opposing view points. Isolated communities tend to develop their sense of righteousness from outraged feelings rather than factual evidence.

One purposes of the Applied Christianity Project is to create a Christian community that is of one mind, centred on what God reveals through Scripture. When it comes how we approach the Bible, we search it with the attitude of 'Thus saith the Lord' as opposed to consulting it with a 'my truth' attitude of 'It seems to me'. There are dozens of Christian denominations who genuinely interpret phrases in Scripture differently. Yet, we can and should share fellowship around a shared agreement of God's Word as the authoritative source of truth. We do not spiritually grow out of, nor spiritually progress from, the necessity to have our minds shaped daily from the Word of God. The Bible corrects our mind, our mind do not correct the Bible. Through Scripture, not educational credentials, we find true wisdom. Our creator knows us better than we know ourselves. So we ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our knowledge of Him through prayer and meditation on His Word.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 9:10

Why the Bible?

How the Bible Hangs Together

Christianity is not an oral culture or tradition. It formed 2,000 years ago and spread on the basis of a written words from eyewitness accounts. Both the Old and New Testaments were vetted and used by religious communities across the globe for thousands of years. The shared agreement and common message of the Holy Scriptures is called the canon. So significant is accepted Biblical revelation of Jesus, that other religions merge and build a record of Jesus into their own holy texts.

The Bible is simultaneously the world's most popular and unpopular book. It is a collection of 66 books written over 1,500 years by 39 different human authors, but with one message under the sovereign inspiration and preservation of the Holy Spirit. The original Scriptures were manuscripts that were composed in two different languages. It was composed in Hebrew and Aramaic and preserved in Koine Greek. Over 5,000 manuscripts were cross analysed for no errors and then confirmed into an accepted 'text'. It is from the text that we receive our current translations. Archeology also verifies Bible accuracy with examples like the Dead Sea Scrolls allowing us to check our Bibles with 1st century manuscripts. This adds up to confidence in the preservation of the Bible, just as God's Word claims. We can know that the Bible is historically reliable.

The Bible is also the world's most unpopular book, subject to eradication campaigns, burnings and executions. During the medieval period, power hungry political and religious leaders kept the Scriptures from the common person by holding services in Latin. However, the invention of the printing press and now the internet has seen God's Word spread to nearly the ends of the earth. Today, the Bible is the most published book of all time, having large portions of it being translated into over 3,500 languages. 97% people on earth (7.14billion) have at least a portion of the Scripture in their language. In English alone, we have hundreds of translations. Yet, even today, global thought leaders are plotting to re-write and change the Bible.

Nevertheless, billions of people alive today claim to structure their lives based on its teaching and millions of people read and memorise the Bible as part of their daily practice. They find if provides the answers to the big questions of life and inspiration for day to day living. We should ask why? Furthermore, the Bible does not only provide clinical truthful answers, but unveils images and stories of beauty, love, grace and mercy. These transform us from simply knowledge centres in being fully human. It is wonderfully to see how billions of people testify to how the Scriptures bring meaning and hope. Do not discount the profession of changed lives as evidence for the truth and power that comes from the Word of God.

Interpretation

How to Read Scripture

One of the challenges of reading the Bible is developing a correct interpretation framework (hermeneutics). The Bible is really a library of 66 books written to different audiences. Each book can have a different genre. As such correct interpretation requires careful study including asking these questions:

To whom was it written and how would they have understood it?
What was written and why was it written?
What do I learn about God and how should I respond to him?

The Bible itself claims to be both inspired and inerrant. Inspiration means that it comes from God. Inerrant, means that it was recorded and preserved without error. These are big claims which demand we approach understanding the Bible soberly and seriously. Studying the Bible is something we should do personally, but never only personally. Being part of a Bible Study community is healthy to ensure none of us veer-off into creating a 'private interpretation' and thus fall into error. When we fall into error, it is because we either dismiss what God is saying or misinterpret what He is saying. To help us avoid these mistakes, the following video unpacks what we mean when we say that the Bible is inspired.

Implications

Contrasting Worldviews

Unlike other religions, Christianity makes exclusive claims to recorded, unchangeable and knowable truth. Christianity cannot exist without the Bible. The Bible does not allow room to create a custom or synchronistic religion. The exclusive claims are what makes the Bible so offensive. But if such claims are true, the implications of accepting or rejecting the authority of the Bible flow through all other aspects of life - including the authority to speak into all artistic, social and religious arenas. For that reason, the module of What Is Truth?, is the first in the series of modules within the Applied Christianity Project.