Allow me to pick up where I left off, or at least, spend a bit more time in a particular area of our study. Objectivity. Objectivity is key. But what do we mean when we say we need objectivity. Objectivity is a particular view that Truth does in fact exist outside of your and my opinions. Truth is not subjective (individual opinions) or relative (the opinions of a particular group). As Christians, we believe in a particular view of Objective Truth. It is a view called a “correspondent view of truth.” In modernism a correspondent view of Truth says that “truth exists in as much as it corresponds to the reality of nature.” The Christian version is very similar, yet absolutely distinct. Christians believe that “Truth exists in as much as it corresponds to a reality found in God.” Nature can be deceiving, especially since it is tainted by the fall of man (a subject to be dealt with at a later date). But God is unchanging. He is Truth. His Word is Truth.
God is Truth so we know that there is objectivity. I know that I am being repetitive, but it is both vital and necessary that we keep this in mind especially as we enter into a discussion on the interpretation of Scripture.
From here in a typical systematic theology we would discuss how God being the source of Truth communicates Truth to us through His Word. And so we would need to discuss What is Scripture?, Which books should be included in the Bible?, What is the apocrypha?, What about the pseudo-gospels or the Gnostic gospels?, What is the canon?. All these questions are worthy pursuits, but smarter men have written extensively on these subjects. And my discussing them would only be a poor imitation. I would recommend reading Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology to learn about these issues.
We will assume that we are on the same page, that the protestant canon is the canon, that Scripture is both inspired and inerrant. It may be necessary to revisit these ideas in the future, but for now, I would like to jump to a different subject, the next logical subject in building a systematic and that is the topic of Hermeneutics, the interpretation of God’s Word.
These next couple of blogs will be the pivotal point of this whole blogging experiment. One’s hermeneutics, interpretive principles, will lead necessarily to one’s Anthropology (doctrine of man), Harmartiology (doctrine of sin), Trinitarianism (doctrine of God), Soteriology (doctrine of salvation), Ecclesiology (doctrine of the church), and especially Eschatology (doctrine of the end times). So over the coming blogs I will tread softly and try my hardest to be both fair and accurate in dealing with varying views.
Once again…Objectivity is key, because Truth is objective. If Truth is subjective or relative, if it means everything, then it means nothing. There would be no Truth and this whole blog would be pointless. It would just be another meaningless voice, expressing a meaningless opinion on a meaningless subject.
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