The Return to Embodied Truth

Embodied truth is one of the elements of the ancient faith which, some observers say, is currently being recovered by the emerging generation of Christians. As the late Robert Webber points out in The Younger Evangelicals, the ancient pagans' reaction to the Christians was not, "Look at the power of their rational arguments," but "See how they love one another."

A key element in the recovery of embodied truth is the recognition that the Scriptures belong to the church and are only properly read, interpreted, and applied within the context of the worshiping community. This runs counter to the foundationalism of twentieth century fundamentalism which, influenced by the Enlightenment's emphasis on rationalism and empiricism, came to regard truth not as the reality embodied by the community of faith, but as an objective, observable fact. Reason was employed as a means of "proving" revelation, rather than revelation being affirmed as the author of reason. Thus was born the doctrine of "inerrancy," in which Scripture was elevated above and separated from the community. The truth of the Bible, according to twentieth century fundamentalists, could be "proven" by rational arguments and empirical evidence. But once the Word of God was separated from the community that embodied it, truth became not a matter of divine revelation but of human interpretation. Thus, truth became relative and subjective, precisely what it was never intended to be. Yanked from the community to which it belonged, the Bible could now be interpreted by individuals who proceeded to twist it to say and mean whatever they wanted.

Fundamentalism, despite its rigid insistence on "absolute truth," is the product of a naturalistic worldview which inevitably leads to reductionism and moral relativism. In bifurcating the truth revealed in Scripture from the truth embodied in the community, fundamentalism sowed the wind which is now reaping the whirlwind of competing post-modern "truth claims."

A return to the idea of truth as embodied by the believing community is long overdue and will be a catalyst for a far more vibrant witness by the church. It is one thing to claim to know, or be able to "prove," the truth. It is quite another to embody it in community. Secularists can argue with the former. But they cannot begin to compete with the latter.