The Truth About Truth ​

[soso]

The Truth About Truth

An interview with Paul Copan, PhD

Drawn from In Defense of Jesus

I went back to the infamous question /posed by Pilate /two thousand years ago.

“What is truth?” I asked.

I was expecting a complex answer /laden with philosophical jargon.

Instead, Copan’s definition was surprisingly straightforward:

“I think people instinctively understand that truth is a belief, story, ideal,

or statement that matches up /with reality or corresponds to the way () things really are.”

When I asked him for an example, he said, “If I say the moon is made of cheese,

that’s false /because there isn’t a correspondence, or a match-up, with the way () things really are.

Or consider an event in history: Martin Luther wrote out his ninety-five theses in 1517.

That’s factually true, and [to disagree with that] would mean that you believe something //that’s false.

“Something is true — or corresponds to reality — even if people don’t believe it.

I often use the example of the earth /being round even /when people thought () it was flat.

Some people have said to me, ‘Well, wasn’t the earth flat for them at that time?’

I say, ‘No, the earth was still round. It wasn’t as though people could fall over the edge of the earth

and be swallowed by dragons /back then. The earth was round, even if people didn’t believe it.’ ”

“So truth is true even if people don’t acknowledge it,” I said, cementing his point in my mind.

“That’s right. In fact, truth is true /even if no one knows it, admits it, agrees with it, follows it,

or even fully grasps it.”

* Agree with means to have the same opinion as another person or to approve of something.

Agree on means to share the same opinion about items, topics or standards:

Agree to means to commit to (a course of action, a proposal, etc.):

agree 가 자동사로 쓰이는 관계로 전치사를 붙혀 타동사구로 쓴다 보이나

agree 가 타동사로 쓰일 경우는 어떤 내용을 찬성하다는 의미로 that 절을 쓴다

* grasp · 1. to seize and hold by or as if by clasping with the fingers or arms. 꼭잡다

2. to comprehend; understand: 이해하다

“Some people,” I observed, “believe that [whatever works for them] is true.”

“Yes, that’s the pragmatic view,” he said, nodding in acknowledgment.

“The problem is that people can have beliefs //that are ‘useful,’ maybe temporarily and for certain ends,

but they may be completely false. And some things can be true — like the temperature at the North Pole

— even though they don’t help us in any way. So truth isn’t merely what works.

* The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best." 실용주의

“On the other hand, the pragmatist does have a point /when he asks, ‘Can my beliefs be lived out practically?’

If not, then it’s highly likely that the view isn’t true.

[What is true] can be lived out /consistently

—there doesn’t have to be a mismatch between ‘theory’ and ‘practice.’

“Another view of truth is called coherence,” he continued. “This means that our beliefs must have

internal consistency. In other words, our beliefs cohere in a kind of web or fit together like a puzzle.

Now, coherence is important. If something is incoherent, it can’t be true.

But coherence, by itself, isn’t enough to determine if something is true.”

* Cohere ; to stick together; be united; hold fast, as parts of the same mass: 융합하다/딱 맞다

coherence ; the quality of being logical and consistent; the quality of forming a unified whole.

“Why not?”

“Look individually at Buddhism and Christianity,” he said.

“They both have an internal coherence, right?”

“That’s right,” I replied.

“Yet both of them can’t be true,” he said.

“The Buddhist rejects the existence of God, while the Christian embraces the existence of God.

So by itself, internal coherence isn’t enough:

we have to ask [whether either of these views matches up /with reality].

Coherence is an important component of truth,

but it doesn’t constitute truth. It’s not all //that there is /to truth.

* If two things match up, they are similar and are designed to connect or to work together:.

“Ultimately, any theory of truth is going to correspond with reality.

Something true is like a socket wrench that matches up /to a bolt — there’s a fit.

And truth isn’t merely propositional.

Look at the person of Jesus.

When he said he’s the truth in John 14:6, there was a correspondence with reality.

There was a match-up:

He was faithfully and authentically representing to us [who God is].

He was the revelation of God,

and he genuinely lived out [what human beings are supposed to be before God].”

* A proposition is simply a statement. 선언/진술문

I was reminded/ of a quote I had come across /in my research. I searched through [my notes]

/until I found the words of New Testament scholar Andreas J. Köstenberger and read them to Copan:

The very notion of truth has largely become a casualty of postmodern thought and discourse.

Truth is no longer “the” truth, in Jesus’ terms who claimed to be “the truth.”

Rather it is conceived of as “your” truth or “my” truth

— that is, different yet equally legitimate ways of perceiving reality.

Hence truth is simply one’s preferred, culturally conditioned, socially constructed version of reality.

* search through something ; to examine all the things found in something. 

* postmodern 포스트 모더니즘의, 후기근대파의, 탈근대 (전근대는 낡은, 오래된, 진부한)

* Truth is no longer “the” truth, in Jesus’ terms who claimed to be “the truth.”

  예수님이 성자 하나님이시고 거짓말이 필요없으신 분이시고 말씀하신 그대로 현실로 되기에 진리이시다

Copan was listening carefully /as I read. “I agree with [his analysis],” he said.

“Ultimately, it comes down /to a theological question: Can there be an authoritative viewpoint?

To put it in Christian terms,

is there the possibility of a special revelation //in which God speaks authoritatively for all times and all cultures?

Can God break onto the scene and offer a way to know truth with confidence?”

* come down to something ; to be the most important aspect of a situation or problem.

He allowed [the question] [to hang in the air for a moment], then added:

“Not only do I believe he can, but I believe he has.”

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