What is Truth?...

Pilate received no answer to his cynical question "What is truth?", and there is no short cut to the answer for us either, though the question is tempting. Truth cannot be defined in neat, simple statements. It is many sided, and constantly shows colours and shades which we have never noticed previously. It defies definition. For Christians, and particularly those of evangelical and fundamentalist persuasion, the concept of truth is closely linked with the collection of books we know as the Bible. This familiar compendium of inspired writings is held up as the complete and final statement of God's truth. Its words, phrases and stories are expected to provide answers for all the spiritual and moral questions we might ask. But not all believers are entirely satisfied with that position. Scripture has many complexities like the truth it is held to represent.

To illustrate how "truth" can be less straightforward than it appears, consider the following definition -
Human beings are animals which stand upright on two legs, use language and tools and have high intellectual capability....
...that statement seems to be a reasonable definition of human-kind, but it excludes paraplegics, amputees, the dumb, and the mentally retarded. It is true, but it is not the whole truth. The statement is not complete and we are obliged to say "......ah but"!

I suggest that the same is true of the Bible. It is true (See Note 1), but it is not The Truth. That title is reserved for the living Word of God: the Logos. The Bible holds such a central position in the Christian faith that it is crucial to understand its importance and its role. People have made enormous sacrifices for the sake of the Bible; they have paid large sums of money, travelled long distances, borne sufferings and tortures, and even accepted martyrdom to obtain, protect, preserve, translate and disseminate this amazing book. It has also brought challenge, comfort, correction, direction and conversion to huge numbers of people. For me, or anyone else, to toss it aside lightly would be unforgivable in view of the experience of all those people and the price many of them paid. Also, I have to acknowledge that, without the Bible, I would not know the gospel stories, the prophetic background of the gospel, or anything detailed about the Christ I hold as precious. The Bible deserves to be taken seriously because of the good it has done. On the other hand, bible texts have been used to justify hatred, divisions, witch-hunts, tortures, injustices, killings and wars. Bible texts have been used to justify cruelty and persecution; quarrels between believers have frequently been based on differing interpretations of scripture. Based on such instances, the Bible could be regarded as the most dangerous book ever written. It is impossible not to take this book seriously, whether for the good or the bad results of its influence.

/Continued