The Truth Behind Tolerance

Truth
When we ask if a religion is true, at the most basic level we mean, is it objectively true? Do its claims accurately correspond with reality independent of anyone agreeing with them? Just like "2+2=4" and "the Nazis were defeated in the Second World War" are objectively true, we are asking whether there are some claims in the realm of religion that are also objectively true. Do they correspond with reality and are they independent of anyone's opinions about them?

Some people think that a religious claim cannot be objectively true but can only "become true for you" as you personally appropriate it. This, however, is a different sense of the word "truth."

It may be that a truth only becomes meaningful to us when we personally appropriate it, but it does not follow that it can't be objectively true. The statement "true for you but not for me" can only legitimately refer to the personal application of truth, not the objective truth value of a claim. If a religious claim is true, it is true for everyone, even though only a few people might apply that truth to their life.

Religious claims are claims about reality. These claims are objectively either true or false. God either exists or He doesn't. God is either personal or impersonal. God has revealed Himself at a certain time in history or He hasn't. What a religion affirms is either true or it is not. Therefore, the most significant question we can ask of any religion is whether or not its fundamental claims are true.

Religious belief may be more than mental agreement with truth claims, but it is never less. In believing, one always believes something and what one believes is an objective truth claim.

In addition, it is possible to know truly without knowing exhaustively. For example, we may not be able to know an infinite God exhaustively, but this does not mean that we cannot know some true things about God. Finally, (since truth by its very nature rules out contrary views as false) truth itself is exclusive and intolerant of error.

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