“What is Truth?”
The hollowed-out theology of the Great Transaction
A s he was about to be executed, a carpenter in Palestine was asked by his captor, “What is truth?”
He didn’t answer. We Christians have been filling in that blank ever since.
The other day, I listened to the founder of a medical charity present his work in West Africa. Let’s call him Andy (which is, obviously, not his real name). While I love the work that Andy and his folks do, I couldn’t stop thinking about Pilate’s question—and Jesus’s non-answer—during his presentation.
“We like to model our work on the life of Jesus,” Andy told me, “the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension.”
I left that meeting both impressed at Andy’s work—and deeply troubled by his reductive approach to explaining it.
(Aside: if you’re not into the religious things I’ve recently been writing, and if you haven’t already jumped ship, now’s your chance.)
Do you believe in miracles?
Before I can explain why I’ve been thinking about Andy’s presentation for the last few weeks, a little background. The four events he referred to bookend Jesus’s life; three of the four are miraculous—meaning, by definition, they evade rational explanation.
