Abstract:
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
Machine summary:
Truth in the Context of Christian Faith and its Relation to Other Religions Reinhold Bernhardt 1 Received: 05-10-2018 / Accepted: 02-12-2018 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.
Albrecht Ritschl adopted the distinction between theoretical knowledge statements and practical value judgements in the second and third editions of the third volume of his main work Die christliche Lehre von der Rechtfertigung und Versöhnung and interpreted religious knowledge as a certain type of value judgement (Werturteil) (see Ritschl 1870-1910, vol.
Relational According to this model, religious truth is not conceived of in terms of a doctrinal concept of revelation knowledge about supra-natural facts (as it could be the case in the propositional model) nor as identifying an essence of religion (like in the ontological model).
Truth here does not mean inerrancy of supra-natural knowledge, the rightness of religious propositions, or claiming that the Christian religion is the true religion.
Existential Truth, according to this understanding, is related primarily to the meaning and orientation of a person’s life based on a faithful relation to God. It refers to understanding and practicing one’s existence, is perceived in the mode of certainties (as opposed to knowledge), and is articulated in the mode of confessional language (as opposed to supra-natural fact assertions).