What is truth anymore?

[pastorables]

What is truth? How do we distinguish the true from the false when it seems that even the church and spiritual leaders are unsure? One commentary states this, one bible dictionary states that, etc... One pastor preaches this, one evangelist preaches that, etc... We separate into camps by church allegiance and minister popularity, not so much unlike what happened in the Corinthian church.

My heart longs for truth. We must uphold it in this fallen world.

I have been thinking much about objective truth of recent. Just how is it established when even rightly dividing various scripture texts can be scrutinized by this Greek scholar or that Hebrew author, etc?

Read these excerpts from a Baptist preacher's sermon in California:

As act two begins we find the missionaries chained away in the bowels of the prison. Some commentators suggest that this is a formulaic insertion into the text, something the story editors added to the show to beef it up for a ratings sweep. Though earthquakes are common in this part of the world, the probability that an earthquake occurred at this precise point in the story and liberated all the prisoners, who did NOT escape, is somewhat suspect. It does make for a great climax, however: Paul and Silas, so secure in their faith that they were singing songs in the night, the night of their own torture and imprisonment, has been an inspiration and a source of hope for many who have found themselves or felt themselves in imprisoned in many different ways.

Hear again the words of Nelson Mandela as he pays tribute to all the singers of those wonderful South African freedom songs, like Siyahamba, today’s opening song. “Imagine how our hearts beat as your voices wafted across the great distances that separated us and penetrated through the prison walls…to reach us in our cells. Every day we heard your voices ring: Let my people go. As we heard that vibrating and invigorating cry of human concern, we knew that we would be free….We drew strength and sustenance from the knowledge we were part of a greater humanity than our jailers could claim” (Nelson Mandela, quoted in “Singing our Freedom,” Seasons of the Spirit, Congregational Life, Lent Easter 2007, p. 130.) Songs in the night – songs of hope, songs of freedom, songs of faith - are lifted up within and without whatever walls, real or imagined, may be thrown up to hold God’s children down; such songs will not go unheard. In our little drama, the peace now really had been disturbed. I suppose one could argue that God was angry and caused the earth to shake in order to liberate God’s servants, though I am not at all certain God works this way, but God is a God of liberation.

This minister seems to be questioning whether or not an earthquake actually took place in Acts 16:26. I see more and more of this type questioning of the Bible. Where does it stop?

What is truth?

[dolfan]

Part of it is arrogance, maybe. The excerpt and your question --- and your frustration --- made me think of Ben Franklin's speech to the Constitutional Convention in 1788, where he admitted that he didn't like everything about the constitution, but couldn't be assured enough of himself and his own opinions to comfortably oppose it especially when the weight of so many good and wise people was there to give it shape. He emphasized that self-doubt and self-minimization in the light of others who were also, like himself, bright, experienced, dedicated people to the causes and principles that shaped America's birth.

Now, lay that against what we believe to be the ultimate expression of good -- the Bible. No mere writing about governmental organization and power, it is God's unveiling of Himself to us. When one of us encourages others to doubt the basic factuality of certain biblical accounts, it feels to us like an assertion that the speaker is placing himself and his assessment of the bible above the writings themselves and above all of the unknown people and circumstances surrounding the deliveries of these great stories to us through time, and it feels as if his assessment is to be taken with greater authority than the simple belief in "thus saith the Lord." Is that really what's going on? Is it just plain old arrogance? I don't know, but it sure does seem that way.

[RamboPreacher]

part of the challenge, though dolfan is that many of our "sacred" doctrines aren't very "Biblical". so while a "majority" of "good and wise" pastors teach a particular subject, it may be that they are teaching it because that is what they were taught, and what they were taught, etc.

I personally am very interested in and concerned for and desirous of attaining the truth. and I am not very concerned with whether or not a "majority" believes the same as I do; though with that said, I do take a very cautious and slow approach for change in those area's. Fortunately, few are directly related to salvation-issues.

[MacUser]

Well stated by everyone. Enjoyed this brief read.