Why is Scripture true?

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swisscakerolls

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Hello, all!

I was recently asked the following question by a pastor I ran into at work. I was hoping someone with a more philosophical/theological mind than my own could help me get somewhere with this:

Is scripture true because it is true, or is it true because it is Scripture?

Frankly, I’m having a hard time fully understanding what the question means in the first place, let alone answering it. I guess I’d lean towards the Scripture end. But that’s only my best guess. 🤷

(In case this is the wrong forum, it was a toss up whether to post this either here or in the Sacred Scripture. It seemed like a philosopher’s question, though, so I gave this a shot.)

I would greatly appreciate any insight! Thanks!
 
Scripture is true because what is said in it is true, and Divine Inspiration guarentees its inerrancy.
 
How is Scripture defined? Is it defined as writing inspired by God? If God knows all, and is perfectly honest about his knowledge, then it would follow that it’s true for both reasons (true because it can be verified and true according to its own definition). And the way he worded the question makes it such that if one part is true, the other follows as well.
 
I would say both of the presented answers are correct. Scripture has an inherent truth to it because it is Divinely inspired (true because it is true). But, we know which books are true because the Church has declared them as Scripture (true because it is Scripture).
 
Scripture is true because beauty is truth and truth is beauty. Since there is nothing more beautiful than the scriptures, nor can there be anything more true. If you can find something more beautiful than the gospels, let me know.

Scriptures are true because there is nothing more liberating than the truth. If men are not liberated, it is because they have not found the gospels. If you believe men have been liberated without the gospels, let me know.
 
swisscakerolls said:
Hello, all!

I was recently asked the following question by a pastor I ran into at work. I was hoping someone with a more philosophical/theological mind than my own could help me get somewhere with this:

Is scripture true because it is true, or is it true because it is Scripture?

Frankly, I’m having a hard time fully understanding what the question means in the first place, let alone answering it. I guess I’d lean towards the Scripture end. But that’s only my best guess. 🤷

(In case this is the wrong forum, it was a toss up whether to post this either here or in the Sacred Scripture. It seemed like a philosopher’s question, though, so I gave this a shot.)

I would greatly appreciate any insight! Thanks!
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Prophecy, prophecy, prophecy. God is batting a 1.000 so far on his prophecy.

Also accuracy, since archeaologists use the Scriptures quite often to find historical sites to dig up.
 
You might also wanna delve a bit deeper and try to find out exactly how they finally agreed on what classifies as scripture, or more to the point, how did they determine what exactly was divinely insprired writings and what wasn’t…that’s an interesting read.
 
Scripture is true because the truths it contains were revealed by God to man. It is however a collection of writings that can be interpreted in many different ways, both literally and symbolically. When Jesus came into the world He fulfilled the prophecies and perfected the teaching of the Old Testament. He founded the Church precisely because we need guidance in the selection and interpretation of the books which constitute the Bible. There are so many different Christian sects precisely because men and women have interpreted the Scriptures for themselves and regarded themselves as infallibly inspired by God.
 
It isn’t 🙂

You can believe it as true, but there is no standard utilized by all humans that can declare any spiritual truth…as absolutely true.

If there was such a standard, we would not have religious Wars.

Scripture like religion is true for people because it means something to them. Not because it has ever been declared as factual and absolute in any way that humans can measure.

Anyone can say anything is true, because God/scripture/church say’s so.

Is it true for you? That’s all you can really ask. It’s personal 🙂
 
swisscakerolls said:
Is scripture true because it is true, or is it true because it is Scripture?
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I think he meant to say “Is it Scripture because it’s true, or is it true because it’s Scripture?”
That models more closely Socrates’ question on Justice. Fortunately, unlike Socrates’ question on Justice, we can clearly see that Scripture and truth are not coterminous spheres. There is truth that is not Scriptural, but there is no Scripture that is not true. Therefore, we must say that “It is true because it’s Scripture.”

On to the next question: "What is ’ truth ’ ? "
 
Scripture is only as valid as the Truth it represents.

Asking why Scripture is true is like asking why gravity is true. It is just the the way the world is.
 
Dameedna

You can believe it as true, but there is no standard utilized by all humans that can declare any spiritual truth…as absolutely true.

No standard by which all humans *will *declare, as opposed the can declare. All humans can, if they will, utilize a standard discovered in Christianity … love one another.

If there was such a standard, we would not have religious Wars.

This standard, if utilized by everyone, would preclude religious wars and any other kind of war as well.
 
Charlemagne_II said:
Dameedna

You can believe it as true, but there is no standard utilized by all humans that can declare any spiritual truth…as absolutely true.

No standard by which all humans *will *declare, as opposed the can declare. All humans can, if they will, utilize a standard discovered in Christianity … love one another.

If there was such a standard, we would not have religious Wars.

This standard, if utilized by everyone, would preclude religious wars and any other kind of war as well.
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And this is the crux of the question. For you this is true, but how are you going to convince a Muslim that the bible is true and the Koran is not? He’s going to ask you why is scripture true? You will have to answer that question before the world will operate under your standard.
You will not convince the world of this, because it’s simply not the case. You can’t prove it’s true, the best you can do is believe that it’s true. The Muslim believes that the Koran is true, the Jew believes that the Torah is true.
The key word is “believe”
 
Scripture is true because the generating force on earth in whom all humanity finds it’s earthly source fathered a lineage* born in his image.*

We all share the same genesis.
The genesis event and subsequent fall were preserved among his offspring* born in his image*.
This lineage of people are the people of God who with their bodies made the Word of God visible.
A tradition followed their lives to preserve their memory for the ages to come.
The stories of their lives became the stories of myth that for the People of God pointed to Our Saviour.
Of all peoples the myth established by them is about them and reveals their beginning and end as well as ours since their father is our father as well.
When God provided Himself a Sacrifice of flesh the people who made His Word visible with their bodies were confirmed as His people.
He taught that the stories His People preserved as a testimony of themselves were also a testimony about Himself.
To know this people is to know Him.
In the ways His People were treated over the ages He was treated as One Man and fulfilled all the things that their lives and bodies had made visible and preserved in writing about Him.
Their lives over the ages was a pattern of His one life.
His life was hidden in the stories of their lives.
The lives of men and women over ages of time born in the image of their father became a living testiment to His individual life.
Myth only points to Truth but Truth Happened!
 
Spirithound said:
I think he meant to say “Is it Scripture because it’s true, or is it true because it’s Scripture?”
That models more closely Socrates’ question on Justice. Fortunately, unlike Socrates’ question on Justice, we can clearly see that Scripture and truth are not coterminous spheres. There is truth that is not Scriptural, but there is no Scripture that is not true. Therefore, we must say that “It is true because it’s Scripture.”

On to the next question: "What is ’ truth ’ ? "
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That which is not “false”.
 
Spirithound said:
I think he meant to say “Is it Scripture because it’s true, or is it true because it’s Scripture?”
That models more closely Socrates’ question on Justice. Fortunately, unlike Socrates’ question on Justice, we can clearly see that Scripture and truth are not coterminous spheres. There is truth that is not Scriptural, but there is no Scripture that is not true. Therefore, we must say that “It is true because it’s Scripture.”

On to the next question: "What is ’ truth ’ ? "
Click to expand...
That which is not “false”.

jd
 
PennitentMan said:
You can’t prove it’s true, the best you can do is believe that it’s true.
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“Proving Inspiration” illustrates how the inspiration of Scripture can be proved.
Basically, the Bible is initially approached as any other ancient work. It is not, at first, presumed to be inspired. From textual criticism we are able to conclude that we have a text the accuracy of which is more certain than the accuracy of any other ancient work. Next we take a look at what the Bible, considered merely as a history, tells us, focusing particularly on the New Testament, and more specifically the Gospels. We examine the account contained therein of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. … Both the Bible (still taken as *merely a historical *book, not yet as an inspired one) and other ancient works attest to the fact that Christ established a Church with the rudiments of what we see in the Catholic Church today—papacy, hierarchy, priesthood, sacraments, and teaching authority.
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We have thus taken the material and purely historically concluded that Jesus founded the Catholic Church. Because of his Resurrection we have reason to take seriously his claims concerning the Church, including its authority to teach in his name.
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This Catholic Church tells us the Bible is inspired, and we can take the Church’s word for it precisely because the Church is infallible. Only after having been told by a properly constituted authority—that is, one established by God to assure us of the truth concerning matters of faith—that the Bible is inspired can we reasonably begin to use it as an inspired book.
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Erich said:
“Proving Inspiration” illustrates how the inspiration of Scripture can be proved.

…This Catholic Church tells us the Bible is inspired, and we can take the Church’s word for it precisely because the Church is infallible.
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I almost spit out my coke reading that…
 
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