TESTING TRUTH-CLAIMS FOR TRUTH

We Can Prove Christianity Is Truth with Absolute Certainty

What Is Proof?

There are different levels of proof, or certainty, that are relevant to specific areas of knowledge and not to others. When we attain the highest level of certainty possible in any one particular area of knowledge, we have realistically reached truth because we cannot demonstrate a higher level of certainty. For all practical purposes, in that we accept this same level of truth in everyday matters and make decisions accordingly, we have reached absolute certainty.

If this sounds confusing, look at it like this. We can’t expect one level of certainty (i.e. mathematical certainty) to apply to all areas of knowledge. There are areas of knowledge in which mathematical and logical inferences play no part and are not even applicable. What we accept as historically true, legally true, and scientifically true do not and cannot depend on absolute proof in the form of logical and mathematical certainty.

Yet we accept historical, legal, and scientific truths without question. Why? Because the preponderance of evidence and our personal experiences have confirmed their dependability (truthfulness) beyond reasonable doubt. Almost all matters of fact rely on probability confirmation. We accept data that flows out of these three categories of truth in spite of the lack of absolute certainty. Let me cite a few examples.

No one rejects the truth that George Washington was our first president, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, Krakatau was destroyed by a volcano in 1883, and most other historical facts, although no one alive today had personally observed them. No one argues that a man can’t be found guilty of a crime that wasn’t witnessed if sufficient evidence demonstrates his guilt. No one denies the scientific fact that the universe came into existence a finite time ago, although no one was there to see it happen. None of these facts are certain in the absolute sense of the word. People accept them as true because the weight of the evidence is so overwhelmingly convincing—highly probable. Granted these facts may not be true, but to deny them—or similar truth-claims—because they are not mathematically certain would be tantamount to denying virtually everything we believe. We couldn’t function in the real world with such skepticism. We couldn’t even eat a hamburger because we couldn’t be absolutely certain it wasn’t poisonous.

Let me put this another way. Let’s say someone claims that he once owned a red Ford truck, and we challenge him to prove it. The ex-Ford truck owner provides evidence of such overwhelming reliability that there appears to be absolutely no chance that he is lying. He produces a color photograph with himself standing next to a red Ford truck dangling the keys. He provides a sales contract with the vehicle identification number, a physical description, and his signature as purchaser. He shows us insurance papers and eyewitness affidavits vouching to his ownership. Most people would consider such evidence as proof equivalent to “absolute certainty” because they could not imagine that such preponderance of evidence could be in error. But does all this evidence really constitute absolute proof? Not at all!

I don’t want to get silly in my illustration, but consider this. There is always the chance that the ex-Ford owner has fostered a clever scam. Maybe the photograph is of someone else’s red Ford truck with his picture taken by it. Perhaps his legal documents were forged, and he bribed the eyewitnesses. Maybe all the eyewitnesses were hallucinating and just thought they were seeing a red Ford truck when it was really a green Chevy van. Maybe the ex-Ford truck owner is an invader from a parallel universe and doesn’t exist in our reality at all!

The point is this. Regardless of how remote, there is always the possibility that what we believe is factual is actually in error. But if we lived with such skepticism and accept truth-claims only to the degree that they are mathematically or logically certain, we would never believe anything in history, accept any scientific theories, or ever convict anyone of a crime.

Let me tie this to religious truth-claims. Christianity can provide the same degree of proof—that is, the highest level of certainty possible—for the deity and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the reliability and authenticity of the Bible, and other Christian truth-claims that is used to prove beyond doubt most other facts that we take for granted in our everyday lives. Furthermore, no other religion in the world offers this same level of certainty.

The Correct Category of Proof

This brings us to an important point. When people demand proof concerning Christian truth-claims, without realizing it they switch from accepting the kinds of proof they accept in other matters to demanding absolute certainty. Thus, when a non-Christian wants proof that the Bible is authentic or proof that Jesus is God, what he really wants is mathematical certainty. But as we saw, this is impossible to obtain because mathematical certainty is an entirely different category of proof than what is used to establish historic, legal, scientific, and religious truths. Mathematical proof does not pertain to these areas of knowledge. This does not mean proof is impossible, only that it is not proof in a mathematical sense.

In light of all this, our first apologetic task may be to help skeptics see that absolute certainty, in a mathematical sense, is not available as proof for any religious truth-claims—including Christian. But it is likewise not available as proof for most other truths we take for granted. Nevertheless, religious truth-claims can be proven, and to a level of certainty that is just as valuable and applicable in the area of religion as absolute certainty is in mathematics and pure logic. This same degree of certainty—and not more—is used to prove practically all historical, scientific, and legal truths that we believe and take for granted. It is in this sense that we can honestly and legitimately assert that we can prove Christianity is truth with absolute certainty.

The kind of proof I’m talking about depends on accumulated evidences, and its conclusions are based on probability—the highest level of certainty possible in the area of history, law, science, and religion. From the start, however, it needs to be understood that probability is only as good as the soundness of the evidence on which is depends. This leads us to next week’s blog article: what constitutes sound evidence and probability conclusions? ©

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