Theology of Truth

Introduction:  Why Truth Matters

            In a world that drifts towards relativism at an ever-accelerating speed, it is vital for religious communities to understand what beliefs we claim and why we claim these beliefs.  Of the major religions throughout human history, Hinduism alone allows for complete relativism.  Still, the reality of every other religious community is that each community makes truth claims and, to some degree at least, all religious claims cannot exist harmoniously, without contradicting one another.  Particular truth claims allow a religious community to define itself, and therefore understanding and seeking truth is of primary importance to all religious communities and, in our case, particularly relevant to the Christian faith.

            When the Church claims Jesus as Creator and Lord, it is making a truth claim that is unique and at odds with most other religions throughout human history.  From the beginning of the Christian Church, the phrase “I believe” has been incorporated into initiation and liturgy.  In the same way that the early neophyte entered into the Christian community with phrases like, “I believe in God the Father Almighty”, so have believers throughout the centuries employed truth claims to distinguish what they believe.  The assertion of particular beliefs reflects the truths behind Christianity.  Therefore, when a Christian announces, “I believe”, what he or she is really saying is, “This is what I believe to be true”.  Consequently, for Christianity to exists as a particular belief system, particular truths must be acknowledged and pursued. 

What Do We Mean by “Truth”?

            Speaking from a pluralistic position, Catherine Keller argues, “To speak of truth is to speak of some kind of knowing” (Keller 28).  For Keller, truth is not the product of a particular process, but the process itself.  In a similar vein, his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI presents belief as, “an adventurous break or leap” (Ratzinger 52), reflecting the inquisitive and explorative nature of persons and faiths seeking truth.  Here we see that, at both ends of the spectrum, theologians agree that the “process” of truth is paramount to the acquisition of truth.  In both cases, truth is not simply an absolute claim without inquiry, or a “blind faith” that professes belief based upon arbitrary sources and authorities, but the product of extensive thought, inquiry, and questioning.  Furthermore, for theologians like Keller, the process is in fact the truth that we seek.

            One must also note that truth is not the exclusive property of a particular community.  An initial reading of James Cone’s, God of the Oppressed, may result in the improper assumption that truth is the exclusive property of the black community.  However, as Cone presents most clearly, truth, for him, is found within communities of the oppressed.  Consequently, truth is alien to communities of oppressors, but such a claim is not to say that a single group has monopolized truth.  A poor example of this assumed ownership is present in what Keller describes as “Christian Shibboleths”.  Christianity is plagued with a history of exclusivism and intolerance, defended by the improper interpretation of Scripture, and “make(s) a no exit where there was a way (Keller 35).  While truth claims validate religious communities, to argue that all other belief systems are void of truth is improper, divisive, arrogant, and destructive.

            Despite the significance of the pursuit, and the danger of absolute claims resulting in intolerance and arrogance, truth is nonetheless an object that we seek to understand and attain.  Wolfhart Pannenberg argues that people abandon themselves in exchange for the object of belief (Pannenberg 5).  This object of faith is the truth that the person of faith seeks.  According to Christian theology, this truth, which we strive after, is found in Jesus Christ, the personification of God’s truth to humanity.  Therefore, while the process is of the utmost importance, and the absolutes do have disastrous consequences, the Christian faith nonetheless claims Jesus Christ as truth, and on that truth rests the Church.

How Do We Attain Truth?

            After establishing what truth is, the task of attaining that truth must be discussed.  In order to receive or attain truth, one must pursue the proper sources.  Traditionally, “revelation” has served as a major source of Divine knowledge, or, the ultimate truth.  Throughout the centuries however, revelation has taken on many forms and shapes, from prophetic speeches; to divinely inspired words and texts; to visions and first hand encounters.   Furthermore, each theologian in our discussion would agree that in Jesus Christ the truth has been revealed.  For theologians like Keller, Christ exemplified the process that is truth, whereas Cone would argue that Christ represents truth in His identification with the oppressed.  In any case, truth as revelation is a truth that is revealed to humanity from a higher power.  Considering the Christian belief in God this is not a difficult stance to hold, however, there are still other sources that must be pursued.

            Experience serves as another source of truth for theologians.  Theologies are developed out of experience, and thus what people believe to be true about God is a product of the context from which people emerge.  Pannenberg sums this belief up when he writes, “God proves himself to be God in our experience of existence” (Pannenberg 35).  For example, the disciples knew Christ to be true out of their experiences with him.  At the same time, black communities identified with the God of the Exodus by their own lived experiences.  Therefore truth is not simply based upon revelation at a given point, but as an understanding and knowledge developed over the course of life.

            Finally, reason can serve as a vital and dependable source of truth.  Pannenberg argues that faith is the product of trust and that trust must find a counterpart.  Reasonably, Pannenberg presents that humanity cannot help but trust.  Following this reasoning, one must have a counterpart or object of trust, and here, Pannenberg reasonably turns to the Christian faith.  This formula is not to suggest that the use of reason results in the same belief, only that belief, and faith, and truth may be the products of intellectual exercise and reason.  Again, we may turn to Ratzinger, who describes faith as an adventurous leap.  If truth were simply a revelation or experience that needed no intellectual exercise, the leap would not be adventurous at all.  In fact, reason often counters the absolute truth claims and Christian Shibboleths which we have discussed.  Therefore, when utilized as a tool for encountering and interpreting truth, reason serves as a vital necessity with which to discern truth appropriately.   

How Do We Interact With Truth

            Having established what truth is and how truth is attained, we must then turn to and apply an appropriate interaction with truth.  To begin, truth is something that exists in a particular context.  As Ratzinger argues, Christianity is positioned at a particular point on the plane of history.  For an example of this location, we might look to the black community depicted by Cone, that is both positioned in and formed by the oppression of black Americans.  It is the proper acceptance and recognition of context that validates the truth claims of this community.  As white theology has proven throughout years of slavery and segregation, to ignore or encourage the unjust realities of the present is to undermine the truth claims of an entire community.

            Religious communities must also recognize the necessity of community in the pursuit of truth.  When exercised appropriately, truth is revealed in community.  Pannenberg notes that the Apostles Creed, or the truth claims of the Christian church, serves to unite all of Christianity.  Therefore, as truth claims unite a community, the pursuit of this truth must be accomplished in the same community.  Additionally, if experiences reveal truth, and humankind experiences life in community, then logically the pursuit of truth would most naturally be accomplished in the same fashion.

            Finally, any interaction with truth must be met with the realities of human existence.  Terms like “mystery” and “faith” imply something greater than the humanity that seeks to attain them.  Using the example of the Divine Name, Keller argues that even claiming specific truth jeopardizes the credibility of that truth (Keller 18).  Can the name God, the product of linguistic limitation, really appropriately describe a supreme deity?  As the Church moves forward in her search for truth, she must do so while recognizing the limitation of her own human position.  Here we turn to the guidance of a greater power, the example of Truth incarnate, and the work of God through our communities and experiences to reveal the truth to us.

Conclusion

            As Christian theologians across the board agree, truth is vital to the establishment and success of religious communities.  Truth not only defines the community, but also serves to unite and advance communities of faith.  While the road to discerning truth is not easy, the object of this journey is nonetheless paramount to the very idea of religion.  Without truth claims, particular communities are impossible to define.  What we believe is what makes us a community.

            Yet, in our pursuit of truth, we must exercise great wisdom.  How we define, attain, and interact with truth are opportunities to build strong religious communities, but also may threaten to destroy and divide.  Recognizing the limitations of human understanding of divine truth may serve us in this endeavor.  Seeing humanity in light of absolute truth is a humbling reminder that, though we seek truth, we may never fully attain it.        

Bibliography

Cone, James H.  God of the Oppressed.  Maryknoll, NY:  Orbis Books, 1997.

Keller, Catherine.  On the Mystery.  Minneapolis,MN:  Fortress Press, 2008.

Pannenberg, Wolfhart.  The Apostles’ Creed:  in Light of Today’s Questions. 

Eugene,OR:  Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2000.

Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal.  Introduction to Christianity.  San Fransisco, CA:  Ignatius

Press, 2004.