What Is Truth?

In the previous article we established the simple idea that truth exists. Having done so, we can now take a brief look at the nature of truth and determine just exactly what truth is.

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Truth Corresponds to Reality

Put simply, truth is telling it how it is. Philosophers call this the “Correspondence Theory” of truth, because true statements correspond with a reality or fact.

For example, the statement “The chair is green,” is true if the chair it refers to is green. Similarly “It is a sunny day today,” is true on the condition that the day is indeed sunny.

This view of truth ties the truthfulness or falsity of statements to observable facts. If the chair is blue, then the statement above is false. If it is raining outside then it is not true that it is sunny today. This kind of thinking about truth is intuitive and natural for human beings to engage in.

The correspondence theory of truth is a helpful model when it comes to investigating religious claims because it allows us to arrive at conclusive answers. If truth corresponds to reality, then it is either true or false that God exists. There is a fact of the matter which can be determined through investigation.

Truth is Exclusive

On the Correspondence view, two people may disagree about whether or not God exists. Because there is ultimately a fact of the matter (God either exists, or he doesn’t), this means that one of the people will be wrong. This tells us something else about the nature of truth: that it is narrow, or exclusive.

Consider a mathematical equation such as 2 x 3. There is one correct total for that equation; any true solution must equal 6. However there are an infinite number of incorrect answers you could give. 7. 12. 8 billion. Guacamole.

Only one total corresponds to the equation in a true and accurate manner. All of the other possible answers are false and should be discarded. Accordingly there is a narrow, singular truth about how and why the universe exists. All of the other theories will be false because that’s the nature of truth. It excludes all contradictory answers.

Truth is Discovered, Not Made

This flies in the face of post-modern theories of truth which say that we can construct our own truths, or that “you have your truth, I have mine.” These views are extremely popular, at least when it comes to religious or ethical questions.

However adherents of these more subjective theories of truth usually fail to live consistently with their own beliefs. When they read their doctor’s instructions for taking medications, they ultimately demonstrate that they believe that there is a fact about the drugs they are taking and that they need to be taken in the correct dosage and at the right times to be used safely.

When they enter a car park and pull out their keys, rational people head straight for the car they know to be theirs. They don’t try to unlock every car in the lot or take whichever car they feel like. Even if they did, using the excuse “It is true for me that this is my car,” would not be an adequate legal defense when they are arrested for stealing someone else’s vehicle. There is a fact of the matter about which car they own and are free to drive.

Truth is discovered, not made. When we consider the universe and the question of whether or not it is the product of an intelligent mind, we cannot just project what we would like to be true onto the question. This is literally making things up. Any conclusion we arrive at using this method is pure fiction. To learn the truth about the origin of the universe or to discover what life is all about, we must instead investigate and look for the evidence that will point us either towards or away from the conclusion that God exists.

Application

What does this mean for our investigation of Christianity? The statements “God exists,” or “Christianity is true,” are either true or false. There is a fact of the matter in both cases. If they are found to be true, then other conflicting worldviews are immediately demonstrated to be false, because truth is exclusive by nature and it does not permit contradictions to exist. Christianity and opposing worldviews cannot both be true at the same time, for example.

Additionally, we must investigate the evidence to determine which worldview corresponds best with the realities we observe in the universe. We cannot invent our own worldview apart from the facts; to do so is to create a delusion for ourselves. If Christianity is true, it must align with observable features of the universe and explain them adequately. I will go on to demonstrate in future posts that this is precisely the case.

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