The concept of biblical inerrancy is based on the law of non-contradiction and the assumption of truth (aletheia) as correspondence to reality. But one of the arguments against inerrancy is that we are reading a modern view of truth back into Scripture when the Bible itself does not subscribe to such a strict standard for truth. I’d like to respond to this argument.
The simple version of the correspondence view of truth is that truth is that which corresponds with reality. In other words, a statement is true if and only if it matches the way things really are. Implied in the correspondence view are the fundamental laws of thought: 1) Something is what it is. 2) Either something is or it is not. And 3) Something cannot both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect (the law of non-contradiction). The correspondence view of truth assumes this law of non-contradiction (and the other related laws) and insists that a statement is false if it does not correspond with the way things really are. If two statements absolutely contradict one another, they cannot both be true (they cannot both match the way things really are), and they both could be false -- if neither of them correspond to reality.
This correspondence view of truth is implicit throughout Scripture, beginning in Genesis. The very first lie in the Bible (the serpent telling Eve, “Ye shall not surely die”) was a lie because it contradicted reality. Eve, and Adam, actually died from eating the forbidden fruit.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 taught the Israelites that they could test prophets according to whether or not their prophecies came to pass. If a statement (the prophecy) matched the reality (the event predicted actually occurred in time and space), then the prophet passed that test. If the prediction did not match reality, then the prophet was considered false. The truth was determined by its correspondence to reality.
The truth of Christianity hinges on whether or not Jesus actually rose from the dead. If his body still lies in the grave, then we have been deceived into following a false religion. The apostles knew that their claim that Jesus rose from the dead had to match reality. Paul confessed that he would be a false witness (a liar) if his truth claim didn’t match reality (I Cor. 15:15). The correspondence view of truth is assumed here.
Jesus himself warned us of false prophets and false Christs, and said that they would deceive many (Matthew 24:11). He was concerned about what people believed. If one believes that a particular person is a Messiah when in reality the Messiah is another person, he will lose his soul for putting his faith in the wrong person. The correspondence view of truth is implicit in this teaching of Jesus.
I have shared just a few examples of a multitude of indicators that the Bible assumes the correspondence view of truth. This understanding of truth culminates in the claim of Jesus to be the Truth -- the disclosure of Ultimate Reality, the Source of anything else that is real. Christ embodies that Reality as a Divine Person.
The simple version of the correspondence view of truth is that truth is that which corresponds with reality. In other words, a statement is true if and only if it matches the way things really are. Implied in the correspondence view are the fundamental laws of thought: 1) Something is what it is. 2) Either something is or it is not. And 3) Something cannot both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect (the law of non-contradiction). The correspondence view of truth assumes this law of non-contradiction (and the other related laws) and insists that a statement is false if it does not correspond with the way things really are. If two statements absolutely contradict one another, they cannot both be true (they cannot both match the way things really are), and they both could be false -- if neither of them correspond to reality.
This correspondence view of truth is implicit throughout Scripture, beginning in Genesis. The very first lie in the Bible (the serpent telling Eve, “Ye shall not surely die”) was a lie because it contradicted reality. Eve, and Adam, actually died from eating the forbidden fruit.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 taught the Israelites that they could test prophets according to whether or not their prophecies came to pass. If a statement (the prophecy) matched the reality (the event predicted actually occurred in time and space), then the prophet passed that test. If the prediction did not match reality, then the prophet was considered false. The truth was determined by its correspondence to reality.
The truth of Christianity hinges on whether or not Jesus actually rose from the dead. If his body still lies in the grave, then we have been deceived into following a false religion. The apostles knew that their claim that Jesus rose from the dead had to match reality. Paul confessed that he would be a false witness (a liar) if his truth claim didn’t match reality (I Cor. 15:15). The correspondence view of truth is assumed here.
Jesus himself warned us of false prophets and false Christs, and said that they would deceive many (Matthew 24:11). He was concerned about what people believed. If one believes that a particular person is a Messiah when in reality the Messiah is another person, he will lose his soul for putting his faith in the wrong person. The correspondence view of truth is implicit in this teaching of Jesus.
I have shared just a few examples of a multitude of indicators that the Bible assumes the correspondence view of truth. This understanding of truth culminates in the claim of Jesus to be the Truth -- the disclosure of Ultimate Reality, the Source of anything else that is real. Christ embodies that Reality as a Divine Person.
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