The Nature of Truth

When I was in high school I was fond of saying that man was "the rational animal" in that he acted on emotion and then rationalized the action. I recognized that emotion was the prime mover in human affairs and rationality was the PR department constructing a plausible explanation.

I remember very distinctly how the rational basis of truth was tested as the Internet bubble expanded in the late nineties. Almost all of the "experts" eventually cast aside everything they believed about the valuation of stocks. All the economic theory and time tested knowledge melted away in the face of emotional yearning. Everyone who was in the market was making money. Those who warned against the bubble found their resolve evaporating as year followed year of higher stock prices.

Greed trumped rationality and the "wise" decided that this was a "new economy" that no longer obeyed the old rules. In the battle of cognitive dissonance emotion kicked reason's ass.

With regard to Christianity there are many emotions at play. Throughout the Bible it is usually assumed that the members of the household will adopt the beliefs of the head of the household. In the patriarchal societies of those times this was a social imperative. Today with the breakdown of extended families and communities, the church community exerts a powerful social influence. The church community fills a role that is gratifying and comforting to its members. The deeper one embeds oneself in this community, the more true its doctrines become.

Internally, the sermons and Bible studies, not to mention being "born again", produce moments of clarity and understanding that ring internally as "TRUTH". These emotional affirmations are interpreted within the doctrinal teachings of the church group so that the entirety of the doctrine, even doubtful elements, are reinforced.

Although every single evangelical preacher probably claims that everything he preaches comes straight from the Bible, this is simply false. If you put a dozen people without religious training in isolation for years to study the Bible alone, they would emerge with a dozen different doctrines. The preacher received his doctrine from other people, then cherry picked the Bible, sometimes using single verses out of context or even portions of verses to support a priori "truth". As we consider specific points of doctrine this will be illustrated abundantly.

Biblical truth is received through emotionally charged social interactions and then rationalized by focusing on Bible snippets and assiduously ignoring everything contradictory. When the Bible supports the preconcieved belief, it is irrefutable proof. When it contradicts, it is poetic, metaphorical or just a mystery.