Truth Decay - the book
There are some pretty interesting philosophical theories out there. It seems strange, in a way, that anyone would buy into some of them.
Like the coherentist viewpoint — according to which T can be true under belief system XX while non-T can be true under belief system YY. Since T and non-T are mutually exclusive, they cannot in reality both be true.
Then there's the constructivist view, which states that truth is derived from what we experience, etc. This is in opposition to the idea that truth is objective, that it doesn't require experiences to be produced.
A belief system must be coherent in order to be valid — in other words, a logical belief system will not include two beliefs that are mutually exclusive. Strangely, one philosopher decided that coherence is the ONLY requirement for something to be true. For example, if a belief system stated that cats are primates and that humans must breathe water to live, it would have met all the requirements for a true belief system and would — gasp! — therefore be true. Of course, a belief system composed of abstract statements would not immediately sound that absurd, so it might be kind of easy for a person to convince themselves of the validity of such a philosophy.
Some Christian apologists think it necessary to evangelize using postmodern thinking. This might get sinners to agree that Jesus is Lord — but there happens to be more to Christianity than that one fact. Christianity encompasses the Truth of God, which is not to be understood by postmodern thought patterns. The Truth of God is objective, it can exist apart from the human mind and it exists whether or not we make statements that express it. (The whole idea that language is required for truth to exist just doesn't make sense — but that is another postmodern idea.) If you're gonna present Christianity, present it all and don't fudge.
I thought this was neat (it refers to Eph 4:15):
"'"Speaking the truth in love" is not the best rendering of this expression, for the Greek verb makes no reference to our speech. Literally, it means, "truthing (aletheuontes) in love," and includes the notions of "maintaining," "living," and "doing" the truth.'" (Pg. 151 of "Truth Decay" by D. Groothuis, copyright 2000, InterVarsity Press) There is no point to believing truth if you don't live it out.
There is also no point to beliefs that are not grounded in Truth. Holding to such could cheapen real Truth in the eyes of those involved. Along the same lines, it is important for parents to couple real Truth to the valid beliefs they pass on. Otherwise, their progeny may ignorantly throw out such beliefs thinking they are based purely on tradition.
Like the coherentist viewpoint — according to which T can be true under belief system XX while non-T can be true under belief system YY. Since T and non-T are mutually exclusive, they cannot in reality both be true.
Then there's the constructivist view, which states that truth is derived from what we experience, etc. This is in opposition to the idea that truth is objective, that it doesn't require experiences to be produced.
A belief system must be coherent in order to be valid — in other words, a logical belief system will not include two beliefs that are mutually exclusive. Strangely, one philosopher decided that coherence is the ONLY requirement for something to be true. For example, if a belief system stated that cats are primates and that humans must breathe water to live, it would have met all the requirements for a true belief system and would — gasp! — therefore be true. Of course, a belief system composed of abstract statements would not immediately sound that absurd, so it might be kind of easy for a person to convince themselves of the validity of such a philosophy.
Some Christian apologists think it necessary to evangelize using postmodern thinking. This might get sinners to agree that Jesus is Lord — but there happens to be more to Christianity than that one fact. Christianity encompasses the Truth of God, which is not to be understood by postmodern thought patterns. The Truth of God is objective, it can exist apart from the human mind and it exists whether or not we make statements that express it. (The whole idea that language is required for truth to exist just doesn't make sense — but that is another postmodern idea.) If you're gonna present Christianity, present it all and don't fudge.
I thought this was neat (it refers to Eph 4:15):
"'"Speaking the truth in love" is not the best rendering of this expression, for the Greek verb makes no reference to our speech. Literally, it means, "truthing (aletheuontes) in love," and includes the notions of "maintaining," "living," and "doing" the truth.'" (Pg. 151 of "Truth Decay" by D. Groothuis, copyright 2000, InterVarsity Press) There is no point to believing truth if you don't live it out.
There is also no point to beliefs that are not grounded in Truth. Holding to such could cheapen real Truth in the eyes of those involved. Along the same lines, it is important for parents to couple real Truth to the valid beliefs they pass on. Otherwise, their progeny may ignorantly throw out such beliefs thinking they are based purely on tradition.
posted by Claire at 18:22
1 Comments:
Great post! Made me think a little.
...I got to see Urie again a couple days ago! He brought some drinks out to where my dad and I and another guy were working. Felt privileged!
The Baritone
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