What is truth?

Recently I read the following:

'For it is dangerous to think that your own views correspond to 'how things really are.' Those who think they are Right grossly overestimate themselves, are in the process of losing their freedom, have sacrificed their powers of perception, have narrowed their humanity.'

This is about the belief in God and biblical beliefs that a person can have. The quote suggests that there is no certainty, no truth, everything is subjective, personal!

Is it right?

It is to be feared that most Christians today think so. That you can know little for sure and if you think you already know something, you have to be very careful to say it. Because it is very arrogant.

But the consequence of this view is that ultimately the Bible is no longer the truth of God. If the Bible is true, then it imparts truth, precisely about all that we can never know about ourselves. It's how God views things; it is the real reality, His reality.

One reality with multiple interpretations?

Then the conclusion is that there is only one view of reality, namely the view that Scripture itself indicates. But that is contested: 'that is as you see it; I think so and so about it'. Then several interpretations of Scripture are possible.

I have always wondered what to do with a Bible that is open to multiple interpretations. God couldn't have intended it that way. Like: “you see what it means; do your best!"

Division

Divisions among Christians are always about the Bible. How to understand, explain, apply certain things. What can or can't be done, what should or shouldn't be done? That kind of thing. And, of course, it's very recognizable. It begins in the Garden of Eden already: 'Is it really true that God said . . . .?'. Every apostasy begins here; in no longer abiding by the reliable and clear word of God.

The Bible itself is not unclear on this issue. There are a few passages that stood out to me during the week that make it clear that the Bible can be read unambiguously.

Two points of view

The letter to the Romans is the only letter that Paul wrote without a cause of wrong doctrine or practice. Yet at the end he warns against those who

” (…) stir up dissensions and throw up stumbling blocks against the teaching which you have received, and turn away from them. ” (Romans 16:17).

The word "disagreements" (Greek dichostasia) means "two points of view. One can infer from this that the doctrine brought by the apostles could be "interpreted" differently by some, thus creating two different points of view. The logical consequence then, of course, is that then these two viewpoints are put down as equivalent, when in fact they are not. That is the 'stumbling block' (aka 'trap') that is laid there. The text assumes that the teaching of the apostles can be understood unambiguously enough to distinguish other - wrong - reasonings from it.

Paul warns against people who put down these kinds of stumbling blocks and instructs you to turn away from them.

Deviations in doctrine

The same apostle writes to the Corinthians:

“For there must also be deviations in doctrine among you, that those who prove to be tried may be made manifest in your midst“. (1 Corinthians 11:19)

So the Corinthians who were spiritual could discern deviations from doctrine. The many different views in the congregation at Corinth had led to abuses and divisions (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 1: 11-13; 3:1-4).

The 'deviations in doctrine', but also the 'disagreements' are counted by Paul in Galatians 5:20 as 'the works of the flesh'. He goes on to say that "those who do them shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:21).

Can't think of anything beyond what is written

Paul still gives the Corinthians the command

“(…) to conceive nothing above what is written, lest any man exalt himself in favor of one over another." (1 Corinthians 4:6)

Believers are called to base themselves only on what is written in Scripture. This prevents divisions in the community and people from rising above one another.

We find Christian doctrine in the writings of the apostles (the so-called 'teachings of the apostles' - Acts 2:42), based on the Old Testament and the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are called to persevere in this!