10 May 2025

Pontius Pilate asked the right question when he queried Jesus – What is truth? (John 18:38). Ironically he was staring truth incarnate in the face.

So what is truth? While some might offer a convoluted philosophical response, the answer is simple. Truth is whatever accords with reality. In other words, it always reflects reality. Water is composed of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom (H2O). How do we know that is true? We know it’s true because a chemical analysis of a water molecule yields two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It does not matter who says that water consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom whether it be an evangelical Christian, a Muslim, or a psychotic inmate. Truth is truth no matter who says it. And as the Architect of all reality, all truth is God’s truth.

Thinking that something is true merely because one believes it to be true, can be fatal. Many people—including those that built her—believed that Titanic was unsinkable. After the ship struck an iceberg, many of the early life boats that were launched were tragically less-than-full. Why? Because many of the passengers believed Titanic could not sink and were reluctant to leave the comfort and warmth of the ship and board a rickety lifeboat in the freezing, open ocean.

There are different theories of truth.

There is the pragmatic theory of truth which dictates that the truth of a statement is defined by the usefulness of accepting it. In other words, truth is whatever works for you. This kind of truth is inherently relativistic, rejecting the notion of absolute right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error. Pragmatism ultimately defines truth as that which is useful, meaningful, or helpful. Ideas that don’t seem workable or relevant are rejected as false. This is a catastrophic view of truth; it was the understanding of truth by the Nazi regime in WW2. The pragmatic theory of truth must be rejected.

There is the coherence theory of truth which dictates that truth of any (true) proposition consists in its coherence with some specified set of propositions. In other words, truth conditions consist in other propositions and not in objective reality. Example – if you accept the current popular (and insane) gender ideology as true, then men can indeed become women and vice-versa. This understanding of truth leads down the rabbit hole into Wonderland and opens Pandora’s Box. The coherence theory of truth must be rejected.

Finally, there is the correspondence theory of truth. This is the view that truth corresponds with the facts. In other words, truth presents and reflects reality. This is the view of truth in the Christian worldview (Note: Reality does not bend for sincere but wrongheaded beliefs but has a harsh way of slapping one in the face when reality is ignored or rejected.)

Some Christians are confused regarding the Reformation cry of Sola Scriptura (only scripture). They wrongly interpret it to mean that Scripture is the only source of truth. But there are in fact many other sources of possible truth: mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry, computer science, astronomy, logic, medical, biology, etc., etc. By Sola Scriptura, the Reformers meant that Scripture is the final arbiter of truth, not the sole source of truth.

I’ve seen some Christians reject the Kalam Cosmological Argument simply because it was initially articulated by a Muslim, the 11th-century Persian Muslim scholastic philosopher Al-Ghazali. Of course you can argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument if you don’t believe the syllogism is logically sound . . . i.e., that one of the premises is false or the logic is unsound. But it is unsound to reject it simply because a Muslim articulated it. If a Muslim says 2+2=4, do you reject that statement as untrue?

Sola Scriptura means that Scripture is the final arbiter of truth. It does not mean that Scripture is the sole source of truth.

In the final analysis, all truth is God’s truth. Why? Because truth reflects reality and God is the Architect of all reality. Truth is grounded in reality; as such truth is always discovered, never invented or manufactured. By definition, truth is objective, not subjective because reality is objective. God is ultimate reality. This is why Jesus is truth incarnate (John 14:6); He created all reality (John 1:3).

Truth is absolute and objective, true for everyone and grounded in reality; always discovered, never invented.