Norman Geisler (1932–2019) on the Truth about Truth
July 02, 2019by: Frank Turek, Norman L. Geisler
What Is Truth?
What is truth? Very simply, truth is “telling it like it
is.” When the Roman governor Pilate asked Jesus “What is truth?” nearly 2,000
years ago, he didn’t wait for Jesus to respond. Instead, Pilate immediately
acted as if he knew at least some truth. Concerning Jesus, he declared, “I find
no fault in this man” (see John
18:38). By exonerating Jesus, Pilate was “telling it like it is.”
Truth can also be defined as “that which corresponds to
its object” or “that which describes an actual state of affairs.” Pilate’s
judgment was true because it matched its object; it described an accurate state
of affairs. Jesus really was innocent.
Contrary to what is being taught in many public schools,
truth is not relative but absolute. If something is true, it’s true for all
people, at all times, in all places. All truth claims are absolute, narrow, and
exclusive. Just think about the claim “everything is true.” That’s an absolute,
narrow, and exclusive claim. It excludes its opposite (i.e., it claims that the
statement “everything is not true” is wrong). In fact, all truths exclude their
opposites. Even religious truths.
This became comically clear when a number of years ago I
(Norm) debated religious humanist Michael Constantine Kolenda. Of the many
atheists I debated, he was one of the few who actually read my book Christian
Apologetics prior to the debate.
When it was his turn to speak, Kolenda held up my book
and declared, “These Christians are very narrow-minded people. I read Dr.
Geisler’s book. Do you know what he believes? He believes that Christianity is
true and everything opposed to it is false! These Christians are very
narrow-minded people!”
Truth is unchanging even though
our beliefs about truth change.
Well, Kolenda had also written a book which I had read
beforehand. It was titled Religion Without God (which is sort
of like romance without a spouse!). When it was my turn to speak, I held up
Kolenda’s book and declared, “These humanists are very narrow-minded people. I
read Dr. Kolenda’s book. Do you know what he believes? He believes that
humanism is true and everything opposed to it is false! These humanists are
very narrow-minded people!”
The audience chuckled because they could see the point.
Humanist truth claims are just as narrow as Christian truth claims. For if H
(humanism) is true, then anything opposed to H is false. Likewise, if C
(Christianity) is true, then anything opposed to C is false.
What We Can’t Change
There are many other truths about truth. Here are some of
them:
Truth is discovered, not invented. It exists independent
of anyone’s knowledge of it. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.)
Truth is transcultural; if something is true, it is true
for all people, in all places, at all times (2+2=4 for everyone, everywhere, at
every time).
Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about
truth change. (When we began to believe the earth was round instead of flat,
the truth about the earth didn’t change, only our belief about
the earth changed.)
Beliefs cannot change a fact, no matter how sincerely
they are held. (Someone can sincerely believe the world is flat, but that only
makes that person sincerely mistaken.)
Truth is not affected by the attitude of the one
professing it. (An arrogant person does not make the truth he professes false.
A humble person does not make the error he professes true.)
All truths are absolute truths. Even truths that appear
to be relative are really absolute. (For example, “I, Frank Turek, feel warm on
November 20, 2003” may appear to be a relative truth, but it is actually
absolutely true for everyone, everywhere that Frank Turek had the sensation of
warmth on that day.)
In short, contrary beliefs are possible, but contrary truths are not possible. We can believe everything is true, but we cannot make everything true.
In short, contrary beliefs are possible, but contrary truths are not possible. We can believe everything is true, but we cannot make everything true.
This article is adapted from I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be
an Atheist by Norman L. Giesler and Frank Turek.
Frank Turek (PhD, Southern Evangelical Seminary)
serves as the vice president of Southern Evangelical Seminary. He has appeared
on numerous television and radio programs.
Norman L. Geisler (1932–2019) cofounded Southern
Evangelical Seminary and wrote over 100 books, including his
four-volume Systematic Theology. He taught at the university and
graduate level for nearly forty years and spoke at
conferences worldwide.
Source : https://www.crossway.org/articles/norman-geisler-19322019-on-the-truth-about-truth/
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