Universal Truth

So, what is Truth anyway? Is there really such thing as universal Truth? More specifically (and controversial)... does the Bible contain universal Truth? How can we know?

Well, I've been having an email conversation with a couple of friends this past week, and I think the answer is yes... and no. Yes, there are unchanging, universal, non-negotiable, God-given truths which are revealed to His people through Scripture. But no, we can't just isolate and remove any one teaching or principle from the biblical record and universally apply it to any and all human circumstances. In essence, I believe that - rather than universal and transcendent - truth is alive and contextual, wholly dependent on the ever-continuous teaching of God's Spirit.

Modernity would like us to believe that we can read something in the Bible and - once we've properly dissected it into understandable nuggets of truth - overlay those principles to our lives today. I mean, why else would God give us the written record, except to allow us to distill the ancient stories down to timeless principles and moral instruction for our application in today's world? Answer: I don't know... I'm not even certain I believe that interpretation is entirely false. However, I do know that is not a wholly sufficient way to approach the mystery of Holy Scripture.

I don't for a minute believe Yahweh's revelation of Himself to His created beings can be fully manipulated, or digested, or understood, or embraced, or discerned, or grasped apart from His help. I don't believe for a moment that God provided us a logical record of a long history of relationship between the Creator and fallen humanity so we could read (study it, analyze it) it and somehow in our limited capacity, know and understand the fullness of Truth. If that were the case, then what role does the Holy Spirit play in this relational drama? Helper...? Bridge...? Translator...? Puzzle Solver...? 

No.

He is the Spirit of Truth, the One who Reveals (present tense) to His people. His role is not reduced to merely teaching us what the Bible meant... He is continuously at work in His Church, continuously revealing new dimensions of truth to God's people wherever they assemble in submission to God's authority. Yes, I know... the biblical canon has been closed - that is, there will never be any further books added or subtracted from the canon of scripture... but that doesn't mean God's Spirit is not still at work, still revealing God's intentions for His people TODAY, through submission to the ancient account of God and His fickle, rather faithless creation. The canon may be closed, but our story of salvation is still being written day-by-day. 

I admit, this is probably the most confusing, least clear post I've ever done (or will ever do). But I get so frustrated that my Church, whom I passionately love, is so wacky about universal truth and timeless principles. In my estimation (with a lot of help from other who write about this) - I believe this has led to the dangerous error of elevating Scripture (and reason) above experience and tradition, rather than holding them in tension with one another. It also leads to other errors that get us into big trouble. Can you think of any?

Yes, we are rational beings, but I've got news for you: intellectual reason is not the only channel of capturing truth for humans. We are not just cold, rational animals, we are emotional beings... experiential creatures... sensory-responding humans that have the capacity to discern truth in our mind, heart, and spirit. And God is Spirit. And we are to worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

Truth is not a set of principles... Truth is a person. His name is Jesus Christ... and He cannot (and will not) be reduced to a code of morality, or universal knowledge, or one-dimensional philosophical reason. That would be minimizing the power and ability of God to reveal Himself to us in fresh and creative new ways. Truth then, is organic, messy, problematic. It is not merely taught, but caught - captured through all the experiences and expressions of what it means to be human.

Truth is ongoing. Truth is alive. Truth is contextual. Truth is revealed to us as we submit ourselves to the author of life. 

In the immortal words of Lily Tomlin: "And that's the truth!" :-p