Religious truths-more than personal opinions<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
By Steve Cornell
http://thinkpoint.wordpress.com/
 
"I am glad you've found something to help you." This is a common response to those who tell others how their new found faith in Christ has changed their lives. Sometimes it's another way of saying, "It's good for you, but don't push it on me or expect me to believe it!" This treats religious beliefs as merely pragmatic. What it does for you is what really matters. Truth becomes a very personal matter not much different from personal taste. It's like saying, "I believe cheese cake is the best cake!" But is religious truth merely something useful or a matter of taste? Some truths are personal opinion. My beliefs about cheesecake might be true for me but certainly not binding on others. Who would expect me to seriously defend cheesecake? If I said, "Ford makes the best trucks," I might be asked to defend my statement because this kind of opinion can be objectively debated. The same would be true if someone said, "Hitler was a good person."    
Although truth is sometimes only personal opinion, in many situations we want more than opinion. When a doctor offers a prognosis, I don't want his feelings about my condition, I want objective truth. When I take my car to my mechanic, I want more than his personal opinion. In history class, we don't want to hear someone's version of history, we want the facts. When testifying in court, we hold people accountable for telling the truth, the whole truth, so help you…… Then we use a variety of means to test the truthfulness of their claims. 
On matters of greater importance, truth must be more than personal feeling. But how does this apply to religious truth? Is religious truth something we create for ourselves rather than an objective reality we discover? Is it merely a matter of personal opinion or can it be objectively proven? Is it reasonable to ask that religious beliefs accurately correspond with facts and reality? Many religious claims are too important to relegate to personal opinion-- especially when they make universal or univocal claims. According to scripture, all people are sinners; all people must die and answer to God; Jesus died for the sins of the whole world and is the only savior who can forgive our sins and reconcile us to God and one day is coming when every knee will bow before Jesus and confess his Lordship (Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:27; John 3:16; I John 2:2; I Timothy 2:3-6; Philippians 2:9-11).
If the account of Jesus Christ is not based on real events or facts, the person who believes it is a fool no matter how it makes him feel or how much help he claims to get from it. His beliefs are based on imagination not on verifiable facts and reality. C. S. Lewis presented the dilemma this way, "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." This is true because of the facts about Christianity.   
It seems reasonable that some religious claims should be considered objectively true and others false. God either exists or He doesn't. It is irrational to say that God exists if it makes you feel good or helps you to believe in him. Christianity teaches that God has revealed himself at a certain time in history through Jesus of Nazareth. Is this true or false? The Bible is either trustworthy to guide us into truth about God or it isn't. Stating matters dramatically, one teacher said, "I don't want to know what it means to you; I want to know what it means if you were dead." Is there a meaning beyond individual feeling or opinion? To distinguish true from the false, one must ask, "Do these claims correspond with reality and facts independent of anyone's opinions about them?" Religious claims are mostly claims about reality.
Such claims must be investigated to learn if they are objectively true.
Some people wrongly suppose that this approach to religious truth might lead to dangerous forms of intolerance. But this fear is based on a widespread misunderstanding of the virtue of tolerance. If I conclude that another person's religious affirmations are false, tolerance requires me to respect her right to hold to them. Tolerance only becomes a virtue where there is strong disagreement and respect for those with whom you disagree. 
Steve CornellSenior pastor<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Millersville Bible ChurchMillersville, PA 17551717-872-4260