The Truth about Truth

I was speaking to a crowd of high school and college-age young people one evening at a denominational youth conference. These were not ordinary Christian kids; they were the brightest and most exceptional from their churches, handpicked by their leaders. Approaching several young people, I held up my Bible and asked the same series of questions: “Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?” (“Yes!”) “Do you believe the Bible is true?” (“Yes!”) “Is it historically accurate and reliable?” (“Of course!”) Then I lowered my voice and asked them, “Why?” Each confidently affirmed belief in the Bible, but not one of them could tell me why he or she believed.

The next day at the morning session, a young man—I’ll call him Darren—came up to me, bursting with excitement. “I know the answer—the answer to your question about why the Bible is true.” “Wonderful,” I said. “Let’s hear it.” “It is true because I believe it,” Daniel beamed as if he had just won a new Ferrari. The young people who had gathered around him smiled and nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

I asked him, “Does this mean that the Bible would also be true for other kids in your school?” “It is if they believe it,” Darren responded. I gazed at him for a moment. “Do you know the basic difference between you and me?” I asked. “To you the Bible is true because you believe it. For me, I believe the Bible because it is true.”