Below is a short review of a book I just finished called The Necessity of Prayer by E.M. Bounds. It can be read for free here, or on Amazon over here, or even on audiobook over here. If you want the real real short version then pick up this book and read it, it is fantastic, and only takes about 3-4 hours to read.
E.M. Bounds was a man of prayer. Prayer to Bounds was said to be such “a physical reality” that the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing,” was taken as literally as humanly possible. Prayer was said to be as important to Bounds as breathing, and he lived his life accordingly.[1] Bounds had much to pray for as a “Civil War Chaplin and then POW” in Saint Louis, MO before the Civil War ended.[2] As a result of his lifetime of work, The Necessity of Prayer survives to the present day providing spiritual guidance in prayer “for a lifetime of water-drawing.”[3]
Critique and Interaction
The Necessity of Prayer was compiled from Bounds’ manuscripts after his death and is broken up into fourteen short chapters. Within the fourteen chapters are ten discourses about prayer, and how it pertains to faith, trust, desire, fervency, importunity, character, obedience, vigilance, the Word of God, and the House of God. Each chapter has a short introduction quote given by a leader in prayer or from an anonymous, but relevant, source.
Bounds does not start out with spiritual milk, gradually introducing the subject (1 Corinthians 3:2), but rather the author starts immediately with meat, and an in-depth look at prayer and faith. Within the opening chapters on faith Bounds relies heavily on Scripture showing how God’s word is the foundation of prayer. Example after example is given, showing how he drew conclusions, even when it came to those with a lack of faith and prayer such as Asa.[4] Bounds then moves into examples from Elijah, Daniel, and Christ himself, all of who prayed repeatedly, trusting that the Father had heard their requests.[5] As Bounds moves through the different sections he weaves a pattern, which fuses prayer, God’s Word, and each of his ten points until he proves that “prayer should enter into and underlie everything that is undertaken.”[6] For Bounds this is not just a concept to be studied, this was played out in practical instruction. He admonishes those in ministry who want to be successful to spend twice as long in prayer as they do in the study of Scripture.[7]
Conclusion
E.M. Bounds’ The Necessity of Prayer is a foundation for prayer, and one that should be a priority for any Christian wishing to understand the practicalities of prayer. This publication is written is such a way that any lay-person can read, understand, and glean its wisdom, and any scholar can continue to gain insight for years to come. Bounds relies so heavily on Scripture that his conclusions are less about a personal opinion on prayer and more about understanding the will of God for His people through prayer. There are few modern pastors who seemed to have been more focused on understanding prayer, and as a result, Bounds has given God’s people a call to prayer. “No man loves the Bible, who does not love to pray. No man loves to pray, who does not delight in the law of the Lord.”[8] Bounds uses Jesus in Luke 4:16 to prove this, and then concludes “no two things are more essential to a spirit-filled life than Bible-reading and secret prayer,” and neglecting these two things gives the “Evil One” a great advantage.[9]
[1] E.M. Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer (Radford, VA: Wilder Publications, 2008), ii.
[2] David Smithers, “The Life of E. M. Bounds, What Others Say About E.M. Bounds: Prayer Makes History,” Jehova.net, http://jehova.net/bounds/bounds-biography.htm.
[3] Bounds, ii.
[4] Ibid, 33.
[5] Ibid, 37.
[6] Ibid, 78-79.
[7] Ibid, 80.
[8] Ibid, 75.
[9] Ibid.
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This is an old topic, but one that never goes away, for good reason. Below is basically an excerpt from an assignment in one of my evangelism classes on Servant-Leadership and innovations in the Church, and also serves as a very short review of the book InnovateChurch by Jonathan Falwell. In a three part discussion on leadership, this was topic number one, learning how to minister to the church, but not at the expense of your family.
There are four non-negotiable commitments presented by Jonathan Falwell in InnovateChurch that pastors (and I would add church staff) need to make to themselves, and to God, for effective leadership in the church. As an administrative staff member I will admit, the one I found most difficult to keep is number two: I will not minister to my church at the expense of my family. On the surface, this probably sounds like an easy one to keep, and when I entered into ministry work in 2008 I was committed to this very statement right from the start.
In fact, if your ministry is to be more successful, however that is quantified, it must start with managing your household well. (1 Tim 3.5) There are a few basic things that have kept me focused on the proper balance, or margin if you will. It doesn’t always work in ministry as something, or someone, can always quickly pull you right back in with an “important” issue, or something that needs to be completed right away if you are not diligent.
- It is important to make our priorities line up properly, as stated in InnovateChurch
- We have to learn how to manage our time well
- We have to learn how to focus on a few things we do well, and let the others go
God should be first, our family second, and our ministry third.[1] Saying or writing this isn’t good enough. This actually has to be lived out, and as such, will be proof of its importance in our lives. How are we making God our first priority? How are we managing our household well, and where do we need to change or improve what we are doing day by day.
This means learning how to say no without feeling guilty about saying no, even if it is something important. Often times in church ministry, everything is of the utmost importance, mainly because it is most important to the person asking. We cannot get into the habit of allowing our schedule or calendar to control our life in idol-like fashion.
This means learning how to delegate without looking back. Learning how to give tasks away is hard, especially if they will not be done as well as if we did them ourselves. This includes learning how to enlist volunteers, and building teams of people who can accomplish what we can’t simply because we can’t work 24 hours a day. Rarely is one person only gifted with the ability to do only one task, but God has gifted us with the ability to do a few things very well. This strikes in the face of our multi-tasking 21st century culture, but delegating allows us to focus on those things we can do very well, or are at least our highest priority.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means of course. I do know that when I have built in margin, giving time to my family, I am more productive, and better focused as a staff member. Sometimes that means the most important place I can be, especially in the evening, is in that chair next to Deborah (and Ebby) in our living room.
[1] Jonathan Falwell, ed., Innovate Church, ed. Jonathan Falwell (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2008), 14.
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I love being part of a local church body that takes the GO in God’s word literally, and seriously. Last week I spent as much time as I could studying about mission theology and how it relates to the nature of God for an international missions paper. Even though my study was under the context of international mission, much of the study of mission theology relates to the mission that is being lived out through our local congregation here in Auburn, and local churches all across the country.
Sunday was our very first meeting and worship service for the new multisite location, and it was amazing to see about 150 people there to kick off the new site. With 150 people or more who have committed to making this new site a success it is already bigger than about 80% of the churches in the country. But more importantly, the people here have a huge heart committed to serving people in our area who have never walked into a church before, and that is exactly what scripture talks about through mission theology.
Throughout the Old and New Testament scriptures, God’s mission is deeply related to His own nature. In fact, the two terms are so deeply related to each other that mission can be defined as being part of the “nature of God.” The Latin term missio Dei is often translated as the “sending of God” or the “mission of God” and is derived from the very nature of God himself, “encompassing everything God does in relation to the kingdom and everything the church is sent to do on earth.”[1] When we examine scripture in context we see that “God is the initiator of His mission” sent to redeem his people through Christ, and then through the Church.[2]
While mission is not the only “nature of God”, the nature of God can’t be separated from mission. It is in God’s very nature, and is played out from the calling of Abraham, to the exile and exodus of the Israelites, to the coming the Son of God the Messiah. It can be seen in the setup of the New Testament Church in the book of Acts, and on into our modern day evangelical churches like my own where our leadership long ago decided that this church would not sit idle while “someone else” did the work of mission.
The very mission of God, which is to receive the praise and worship of all nations, is so closely woven together that neither could exist without the other. In modern day cultural terms, mission is not often thought of as a theology, and is rarely related to other aspects of theology. But, when scripture is closely examined, we see God indeed calls all nations to worship him, which then makes it “natural to build a theology of mission at the core of all theological studies.”[3][4]
All that to say, this is an exciting time here at Cornerstone as we move ahead with being one church in multiple locations. We are one of very few multisite churches in our area, or even the state, who are moving through a plan to reach people in our area through more than one location, and doing so with missio Dei as the focus.
[1] McIntosh, John A. 2000. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, ed. A Scott Moreau, s.v. “Missio Dei.” Grand Rapids: Baker.
[2] Sanders, Van. “The Mission of God and the Local Church,” in Pursuing the Mission of God in Church Planting, ed. John M. Bailey, Alpharetta: North American Mission Board, 2006, 24.
[3] Moreau, A. S., Corwin, G. R., & McGee, G. B. (2004). Introduction to World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey (1st Edition ed.). Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Baker Academic, 75.
[4] Bosch, David J. 1980. Witness to the World: The Christian Mission in Theological Perspective. Atlanta: John Knox.
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I am still trying to catch up on my book reviews on my website. The Unexpected Journey is a book I read a while back but hadn’t had the chance to review yet. If you are at all involved in other world religions as they compare to Christianity this book is worth exploring. Overall this is not a book that is going to tell you the ins and outs of every world religion but it does cover the experiences of individuals who converted to Christianity from Islam, a Satanist, Jehovah’s Witness, New Age, Agnostic, Atheist, to Hinduism and more. There are of course many books on other world religions that are more explanatory in nature, but this one still serves a purpose in Christian evangelism.
Below is an excerpt from my full review which can be found in my writing section or the pdf can be found Book Critique of The Unexpected Journey: Conversations with People Who Turned From Other Beliefs to Jesus by Thomas Rainer. In light of world events it is always important to understand other world religions. The violence over the Quran burning in Afghanistan right now is a great example (see also Does Freedom Mean Allowing Idiots to Burn the Quran?).
Content Summary of The Unexpected Journey
In The Unexpected Journey, Rainer walks his readers though a methodical approach to exploring other world religions outside of Christianity and how to reach those people for Christ. The journey takes Rainer and his wife to many different states to interview twelve different people. These people were once believers in a religion other than Christianity, who turned to Christianity, and have continued to grow, through various trials, for their new faith in Christ. Each different encounter or interview is written in its own chapter in the form of a journal entry discussion on how each person made the conversion. Some background details on each particular world religion are included and, each chapter ends with questions relating to how Christians can reach people still believing in various other world religions.
Rainer starts off on this journey of interviews with Mormonism and Rauni’s story. Rauni and her family were deeply engaged in the Mormon church by the time they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, coming with years of experience in the Mormon church. After a closer examination of the teachings of Mormonism and the bible, Rauni’s decision was to leave the church and turn to nothing after feelings of mis-trust in all forms of religion and a harsh treatment from her former faith. Eventually Rauni made the decision to turn to Christ and she and her family, still today, live near Salt Lake City, the heart of the Mormon Church, with the unique ability to talk to others struggling with similar issues.
The next journey takes Rainer and his wife to Chicago to meet with a former Orthodox Jew named Steve Barack. After a brief explanation of the Jewish faith in comparison to that of Christianity, Rainer tracks Barack’s story through the twists and turns that would eventually bring him to an Assembly of God church and on to a faith in Jesus. As Rainer explains from the interview, Barack learned the possibilities of becoming a Jewish Christian, a believer in Christ who is still able to maintain his Jewish heritage.
As Rainer continues his journey and the interviews he is next taken to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City to meet Dr. Ravi, a once karma deficient Hindu, who would take a long journey to belief in Christ. His conversion, much like many Rainer interviewed, came at a huge cost to himself and his family. As is Rainer’s familiar pattern by this point, the author examines Hinduism in a brief form and then ends with a short discussion on how other Christians can reach those in the Hindu religion.
In the next several interviews Rainer travels to several other states, and even conducts one meeting in his hometown of Louisville, KY. Rainer and his wife speak to Mrs. Jones, from Pennsylvania, who claims to have been an Atheist. Mrs. Jones took the unexpected route and goes from believing in nothing or no higher power to faith in Christ, to becoming an effective apologist. Rainer points out that, as Jones explains, “What I really needed was a Christian who had the guts to tell me that I wasn’t the marvelous and upstanding person I considered myself to be.” (Rainer 2005, 74)
Rainer goes on to explain a little about the Atheist worldview and shows why it is so difficult for an average Christian to reach an Atheist. As the author explains, Jones points out that she and many of her Atheist friends knew scripture far better than their Christian counterparts, but the one thing they could not counter was the love some Christians showed her.
The next several interviews that Rainer conducts are with worldviews that do not have the highest number of followers globally, but are still important for the Christian witness to understand. Rainer and his wife went to West Virginia to speak with a Jehovah’s Witness, Paul, who like the others went into his religion with a full effort to promote the Jehovah’s Witness worldview and eventually came to a miraculous discussion for Christ. Paul’s cost of leaving the Jehovah’s was costly as well and Rainer tells such a touching story of how Paul’s life was changed by Christ.
Next, Rainer evaluates the interviews from those with such wide-ranging worldviews as an Agnostic, a former witch, a Buddhist, New Age, a Satanist, and a compelling story from Dr. Townsend, a former believer in Unitarianism. As is the case with all the interviews, each interviewee comes to know Christ as their savoir through incredible circumstances and although these are some of the less followed religions, they are still worthy of note to a Christian who believes everyone should be given the story of Christianity.
One of the last interviews Rainer conducted and wrote about was a conversion of a Black Muslim to that of Traditional Islam and then to Christianity. This particular interview is perhaps the most noteworthy one out of all the interviews conducted. Muslims, and the overall worldview that is Islam, empowers a huge number of people in the world and this religion is more dominant in our day, in 2010, than perhaps it was even at the time the author wrote The Unexpected Journey. Because this religion is so dominant in parts of the world, and encompasses so many people, it is an important interview to conduct.
The journey for Mumin Muhammad started from hate as he rose through the ranks of the Muslim faith culminating in a personal trial that would cost him his friends, his family, and his job. As Rainer points out with this interview, it is so difficult for a Christian to reach those of the Muslim faith, but Mumin shows God can and does work among all peoples.
Evaluation of The Unexpected Journey
Rainer’s The Unexpected Journey takes on a complicated task of interviewing several people and trying to glean from these people the best way for Christians to reach out to others who believe in religions other than Christianity. Rainer pulled together what had to be an enormous amount of information and found a format and method to share this collective information in a journalistic style. Not only is this extremely helpful in the finished product for his readers, but it allows the reader to compartmentalize each chapter and find ways to place themselves into the stories being told. This format lends itself well to readers, from seminary students, to the casual interested layperson of the church, who takes an interest in reaching others for Christ.
As Rainer walks through each chapter he humbly addresses the presuppositions that are common among many Southern Baptists and fundamental Christians. This is an important aspect of each interview and the book in general. As Christians form their opinions on how to live out their own faith they often create stereotypes of other religions and people. Rainer speaks to the heart of this issue by coming out with his own stereotypes in the text and addresses them with the person being interviewed.
A more puzzling aspect of The Unexpected Journey was the particular religions Rainer chose to include in the book. The author briefly touches on these issues but does not make any real indication as to how these were chosen to be included. This would not normally be of concern to the reader except that the premise of the text is to follow a journey of someone who left a religion and moved to faith in Christ. Some of the religions, which all took up at least one full chapter in the book, were very small in comparison to those practicing other religions worldwide, and some perhaps may not even be considered religions to many Christians. This is a minor point for the effectiveness of the overall text, as all the people the author did interview had changed lives for Christ, no matter where they came from.
Perhaps concentrating on the largest or major religions of the world, which encompass the largest number of people, could have been beneficial. It would have allowed a deeper understanding of each story and world religion. Where many Christians will probably come into contact with a Muslim or someone practicing Islam, few may come into contact with a Satanist or New Age believer. While the information was interesting, it probably didn’t cover a large enough group of people. While the information is useful in a select number of situations it probably does not provide enough information for the reader to be able to be an evangelistic witness to those people groups.
Overall, The Unexpected Journey presented a journey, not only for those people interviewed in each chapter, but Rainer also took the reader through a journey to better understand many different worldviews and how to reach each of those people for Christ. The organization of the text was easy to understand for readers of all levels, and the author presented his findings in a way that could easily be taken from the book and brought into real life situations.
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Colossians 3:5-16 is one of those classic pieces of scripture that can be studies and meditated over time and time again. I made this particular post also available in a pdf Put off Flesh, Put on Christ: Colossians 3:5–16 in my writing section.
Colossians 3:5-16 Overview
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 3 starts off with a call to put on a new self. Paul charges the Colossians to put aside their heresy, and outright immorality, and put on the love and compassion of Christ. Chapter 3, (Col 3:1-17, ESV) is often separated out into three practical parts. First, Paul speaks to those seeking spiritual values (v 1-4), second, he calls us to take off the sins of our old life (v 5-11), and finally, we are to put on the virtuous life of Christ (v 12-17).
In our focus here (v 5-16), Paul moves into verses 5-9 and puts forth an argument that is intended to fight the Colossians Gnosticism. Their Gnostic claim was that the body is seen as evil, and as such, is not able to be redeemed, and therefore one might as well live however one chooses to live. Paul quickly warns that these things will lead to God’s wrath (v. 6), and by some indications, this has already come (the present tense of “is coming”, erchetai, is used perhaps to indicated God’s wrath is already upon us).[1]
As Paul moves forward in his rebuke of their behavior he moves into the second section, the call to live the virtuous life of Christ. He uses a reference here to the Scythians, a nomadic tribe of “barbaric” people who were constantly at war (v. 11), and “probably [seen as] the most barbaric the world has ever known”.[2] Even through this type of heathen living, Paul exhorts that Christ is still working among them; “Christ is all, and in all” (v. 11) and calls on the Colossians to put aside their differences, “bearing with” (v. 13) each other, and show the love, unity, and compassion that is available through faith in Jesus Christ.
As Paul closes this section, he tells his audience to “let the word of Christ dwell within you” (v. 16), and for this, we should be eternally thankful in our hearts. The translation for “word” here is the Greek word logos, the same term John uses in his opening announcement in verse 1, saying, “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us”. (John 1:14) While the phrase “let dwell” is only found in the New Testament here in Colossians (v. 16), in both cases, the logos, the revelation of God, is something we are told to “dwell in” and “live on”. Scripture is something to be familiar with, to study, absorb, and digest, something that is to become life itself. A dwelling that permeates our heart and guides us in our life.[3] Something Paul told the Colossians to be thankful for deep in their heart.
What Does this Text Mean, What are Paul’s Instructions?
This particular section of Colossians is one of the more practical sections of the book, having already left the more doctrinal parts in previous chapters, Paul very plainly and directly teaches us to leave the life of sin behind. Where some scripture leaves the reader questioning the motives and instructions of the writer, here Paul is quite clear. Prior to our conviction to follow Christ, we were living in unrepentant sin, sins of the flesh as Paul points out. Every vile and degrading lust is brought out and put squarely on the table before us. In a life prior to God’s grace, which covered our sin, these actions and lifestyles would have been acceptable to us, or at least, not offensive enough to make any serious adjustments in how we intended to live our life.
Once we claim Christ in our life, as the Colossians did, we may still contain the sin described by Paul, but we are called to a higher understanding (v. 12), and a more virtuous life found through following Christ’s teachings. Paul points out that since we are covered by God’s grace, we should not lie to each other (v. 9) but instead, love each other (v. 14) by letting God rule over everything in our life (v. 15). The call to a virtuous life in Christ is fulfilled in love. All other aspects of the life Paul, and ultimately Christ, are calling us to here come down to some offspring of love. Beloved, compassion, the heart, kindness, unity, peace, thankful, humility, gentleness, and patience are all listed among the virtues in this section of Colossians, and all are a call to love.
How Can One Do This, How Do I do This?
One of the most difficult aspects of being a Christian must be to take what is clearly shown to us in scripture and apply it to our life. From a worldview outside the church, we are seen as hypocritical because we do not do this in our daily lives. In UnChristian, Kinnaman’s research shows that 85% of young “outsiders” conclude present-day Christianity is hypocritical.[4] Kinnaman concludes, “The most obvious reason [for this is] our lives don’t match our beliefs.”[5] The outside world, no doubt, is eager to point out when a Christian fails.
Often the outsider does not understand that claiming to being a Christian does not mean we will never fall into sin, and as such, fail our beliefs, but this does not exempt us from trying to live a virtuous life. We are not to choose the Gnostic alternative Paul spoke about in verse 5 merely because original sin places our body (the flesh) in a heretical nature of sin. Obviously this lifestyle cannot be lived out in our own power, but only if we put on the power and hope of Christ, in compassion, forgiveness, and ultimately, love.
In my own life, I continually try to examine those numerous immoral qualities I know still exist in my life, and constantly try to replace them with those found and displayed by Christ. As this walk continues in my own life, hopefully, it becomes more difficult to exhibit those sinful qualities. As Paul tells us to put on a “heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (v. 12), it becomes almost impossible to exhibit any of those qualities and “lie to one another” at the same time. As you put on one, you have to remove the other.
It is an impossibility for someone to have malice intent and show Christ’s love at the same time, so if I put on Christ, I am forced to take off my old self, there is no other way. In the most practical sense, to put off the flesh is to throw away the sin in our life. To put on Christ, is to dwell constantly in the revelation, logos, letting the Love and Word of God rule in our heart.
Works Cited
Constable, Thomas L. “Dr. Constable’s Notes on Colossians.” Sonic Light. 2007. http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/colossians.pdf (accessed September 26, 2009).
Kinnaman, David. UnChristian, What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity… and Why It Matters. 2st Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007.
McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. Vol. V. V vols. Pasadena, CA: Thru the Bible Radio, 1983.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, . The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1st Edition. Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1983.
[1] John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, , The Bible Knowledge Commentary, 1st Edition, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1983), 681.
[2] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. V, V vols. (Pasadena, CA: Thru the Bible Radio, 1983), 358.
[3] Thomas L. Constable, “Dr. Constable’s Notes on Colossians,” Sonic Light, 2007, http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/colossians.pdf (accessed September 26, 2009), 43.
[4] David Kinnaman, UnChristian, What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity… and Why It Matters, 2st Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007), 41.
[5] Ibid, 46.
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After recent comments on my blog lately I once again was reminded how so many people in this world are actually seeking a reality of their own making, not the real truths that are actually real. This post-modern time we live in lends itself more and more to an absolute void of real objective truth and more to the relative nature of truth, which means truth is really just what you make it out to be. So below is part of how we studied “truth” in seminary, with something called the Correspondence Theory of Truth, which is almost better illustrated by the graphic above. If this doesn’t interest you then please head over to The Fillmer Photo Daily blog where I post mostly pictures (and few words), there is always something new to see there as well.
The Correspondence Theory of Truth is actually a tiny little worldly example at the bottom of this post so we have something to compare to what really is the way we get to Biblical truth, but you get the idea.
How Do We Arrive at What is True
This isn’t something new to us, even though we love to think it is with all our modern computer equipment and knowledge. Ling before we appeared, Pilate asked Jesus the rhetorical question, “What is Truth?”
Truth appears to be a property, that is an aspect of certain statements. 2+2=4 is obviously true. 7×5=15 is obviously not. Giraffes have long necks is obviously true. Hippos have red spots is not. The question though for the Correspondence Theory of Truth is, what is truth a property? In this case, there are three candidates: Truth is a property of sentences. Truth is a property of statements. Truth is a property of propositions.
What’s the difference between these?
A sentence is a group of written words, that contain a subject and a verb.
A statement is the occasion of the use of a sentence by someone.
A proposition is what is asserted when a statement is made, the content of the statement.
One may assert the same proposition with two different statements:
- George is a fine fellow who can be trusted.
- Mr. Shannon is a man of integrity who can be relied upon.
Both statements are about George Shannon, and both are true because they assert the same proposition.
One may use the same sentence to assert two different propositions:
- This is really cool!
- This is really cool!
In this instance the same sentence refers once to a dish of ice cream and then to a new car.
We also speak of beliefs as being true or false. Beliefs are basically propositions. They may be stated in sentences. Again the same belief may be stated in different sentences stating the same proposition:
Christ died for our sins.
- Jesus Saves.
- We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Every truth may be represented as a proposition. Don’t be misled by those (postmodernists) who speak of “non-propositional truth.” If it is a truth it may be stated in a proposition—that is as a sentence which expresses the truth. Some thinkers see truth as a property of representations, linguistic representations or mental ones. They are mistaken. Others see truth as a property of propositions which are represented or expressed in thought or speech.
The best known theory of truth is the Correspondence theory of truth goes something like this: Whether what is said about the world is true or not depends on how the world is. In other words, a proposition is true if it corresponds to the way things really are.
Let’s label a proposition with the letter P. P may stand for any proposition you want. Under the correspondence theory of truth, P is true if two conditions are met:
- It is a fact that P
- The proposition corresponds to that fact.
For each true proposition, there must be a fact.
The association of truth with fact entails the association of words with world. In other words, it is possible to use words in ways that accurately describe the way the world is, even if some this this is impossible. This is absolutely essential if the proposition “The Bible is the Word of God” is to have any meaning at all. Conservative, Bible-believing Christians assert that the Bible gives, in words, an accurate, inerrant, description of the way the world is, of what has happened, and of what will happen. The sentences in the Bible, understood in context, accurately portray reality. That is, the propositions expressed in the Bible correspond to the way the world really is.
The Correspondence theory of Truth
This is the “scientific” definition, which serves less of a purpose here but it does have an important place.
The coherence theory of truth states the following: A statement is true if it coheres with other statements. The test of truth is internal. The system of statements one makes must cohere, must be consistent. If one proposition in a group is not consistent with the others, we know that the whole system is not true.
Propositions are truth-bearers. Those who hold to the coherence theory say that truth cannot consist in the relationship between truth-bearers and that which is not a truth bearer (such as a fact). Here is a problem with the theory already. It divorces truth from facts. Truth, these theorists say, consists in the relationship which truth-bearers have to one another. This may be a relation of mutual support among a set of beliefs or non-contradiction between them, or they may together support an overall concept..
We should point out that this theory leads to a relativism, since contradictory systems may be internally consistent. Moral relativists say that there is no external morality, nothing for moral statements to correspond to. If a moral standard makes sense to you that is all that we need.
Religious pluralists—those who believe that all religions are equally valid, that all of them lead to God, depend on the coherence theory of truth. Since all the different religions make sense in terms of their own system, then all are equally true. (It may be argued, however, that not all religions are even coherent within their own system, but this is another matter.
The important thing for us to remember is that the coherence theory separates “truth” from “facts” and seeks only internal consistency. Postmodernists like this theory.
Is the coherence theory of truth useless then for Christians? Not at all. God is consistent and rational. He has created a consistent world for us to live in. Coherence is helpful to us as a negative test—no set of propositions can be true if there is a contradiction within them. The truth will always be internally consistent. By itself, however, that is not enough. True propositions must be consistent with other true propositions, and together, all true propositions must correspond to the way the world is.
Some who defend the Christian faith do so on the basis that the Bible offers a coherent view of reality, and that it corresponds to the world as we actually live in it. No other religion or philosophy offers the same kind of benefit. Even coherent philosophies break down when we try to actually live by them. They just don’t correspond to the way the world really is. Francis Schaefer (The God Who is There) defends the truth of Christianity on this basis.
In conclusion the graph at the top really says it all. There actually are truths in this world, but they are surrounded by false propositions and we only gain knowledge when our beliefs overlap the truth.
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Today’s photo of the day comes from a pile of Hebrew flash cards I have been going through for quite a while. For some reason they never seem to just jump out at me and speak English, but I do finally know the one on the top, the earth or land.
