Truth in the Context of Christian Faith and its Relation to Other Religions

• Main Author: Reinhold Bernhardt
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Religions and Denominations 2018-12-01
• Series: Religious Inquiries
• Subjects: truth; theology of religion
• Online Access: http://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_80585_0c8059d56f833b54ab51fa02794d0fe6.pdf

In the following reflections on the understanding of truth in regard to Christian faith (or even in regard to religious faith, experience, and language in general), I advocate a relational interpretation of truth. Truth in that sense is understood not primarily as an intellectual assertion but as a qualification of a dynamic, existential, personal relation. Truth is the trustworthiness of that relation and of the person to whom it relates. I distinguish that interpretation from two other types: from the understanding of truth as the rightness and validity of a proposition, and from depicting truth as a qualification of a certain faith or religion as a whole. Contrary to those concepts, a relational understanding of truth is open to a plurality of perceptions of truth without leading to relativism.