The Truth-Claims of Christianity

The Truth-Claims of Christianity
By David R. Dilling


In addition to its metaphysical assumptions, Christianity is so addressed as to involve certain epistemological matters. Most obvious of these is that Christianity claims to be true. Its truth-claims extend to all Biblical assertions whether they involve God or man, history or science, miraculous events or supernaturalist doctrines. In other words, Christianity claims to present a revelation from God not only in the sense of a personal communication but as a body of propositional truths.
From this I draw two corollaries. One regarding the nature of Christianity; the other regarding the nature of Christian faith. First, Christianity is not mere fideism. Neither is it mere philosophy. Christianity does not consist of religious experience alone, nor is it to be regarded as a mere system of value judgments a là Ritschl. Rather, Christianity is a religion of revelation and redemption centering in the historic person of Jesus Christ, providing both objective truth and the good life.8
Likewise, Christian faith, properly understood, is neither mere emotion on the one hand,
GJ 6:1 (Wtr 65) p. 34
nor is it mere intellectual assent on the other. Faith in the Biblical sense is a committal of the whole personality to a known object. It is neither irrational nor supra-rational but a reasoned and reasonable response. Paul, for example, said, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim 1:12). Christians are likewise encouraged to give “a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15).

Grace Seminary: Grace Journal Volume 6. Grace Seminary, 1965; 2002, S. 6:33-34