Truth Has Two Meanings
Truth has two meanings: there is truth as knowledge of reality and truth as reality itself.
-Nikolai Berdyaev, The Beginning and the End
I return to this observation by Berdyaev over and over again, and it often reminds me of the interaction between Pilate and Jesus as recorded in the Fourth Gospel, specifically the part where Jesus declares that everyone on the side of truth listens to him, which then prompts Pilate to respond by asking, “What is truth?”
Pilate’s response is an expression of truth as knowledge of reality. On the other hand, Jesus’s proclamation that he was born and came into the world to testify to the truth falls in line with Berdyaev’s notion of truth as reality itself.
Knowledge of reality is the realm of epistemology—theories of knowledge concerning how, what, and why we know what we know.
Truth as reality itself transcends most defined epistemic contacts with reality. It is not merely knowledge of truth as reality but the direct knowledge of truth as reality itself.
Knowledge of reality as truth relies on secondary thinking and knowledge. Truth as reality exists entirely in primary thinking and direct knowing.
Before encountering Jesus, Pilate existed exclusively in truth as knowledge of reality, as evidenced by his “What is truth?” quip.
Yet during his encounter with Jesus, Pilate most surely experienced truth as reality itself—a penetrating albeit fleeting moment of direct knowledge that provided a silent, wordless, yet infinitely deafening response to his quid est veritas.
Dostoevsky noted the following in a letter to Mme. N. D. Fonvisin, written in 1854:
I want to say to you, about myself, that I am a child of this age, a child of unfaith and skepticism, and probably (indeed I know it) shall remain so to the end of my life.
How dreadfully has it tormented me (and torments me even now) this longing for faith, which is all the stronger for the proofs I have against it. And yet God gives me sometimes moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me.
This creed is extremely simple; here it is: I believe that there is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the savior; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like him, but that there could be no one. I would even say more:
If anyone could prove to me that Christ is outside the truth, and if the truth really did exclude Christ, I should prefer to stay with Christ and not with truth.
Truth as knowledge of reality resides in skepticism and unfaith, in the constant need to question the reality of the divine, and in the yearning to have the divine proved or disproved via some secondary medium or other.
Yet as Dostoevsky notes, even if truth as knowledge of reality could exclude Jesus, it would do little to dent truth as reality itself.
Direct knowledge of truth as reality itself is not guaranteed in this world. We could live our whole mortal lives without experiencing it once. Yet, this does not matter. What matters is our faith in truth as reality itself.
We remain on the side of truth as long as we are open to listening to Jesus and the possibility of experiencing moments in which we love and believe that we are loved.
Moments during which all is clear and holy.
-Nikolai Berdyaev, The Beginning and the End
I return to this observation by Berdyaev over and over again, and it often reminds me of the interaction between Pilate and Jesus as recorded in the Fourth Gospel, specifically the part where Jesus declares that everyone on the side of truth listens to him, which then prompts Pilate to respond by asking, “What is truth?”
Pilate’s response is an expression of truth as knowledge of reality. On the other hand, Jesus’s proclamation that he was born and came into the world to testify to the truth falls in line with Berdyaev’s notion of truth as reality itself.
Knowledge of reality is the realm of epistemology—theories of knowledge concerning how, what, and why we know what we know.
Truth as reality itself transcends most defined epistemic contacts with reality. It is not merely knowledge of truth as reality but the direct knowledge of truth as reality itself.
Knowledge of reality as truth relies on secondary thinking and knowledge. Truth as reality exists entirely in primary thinking and direct knowing.
Before encountering Jesus, Pilate existed exclusively in truth as knowledge of reality, as evidenced by his “What is truth?” quip.
Yet during his encounter with Jesus, Pilate most surely experienced truth as reality itself—a penetrating albeit fleeting moment of direct knowledge that provided a silent, wordless, yet infinitely deafening response to his quid est veritas.
Dostoevsky noted the following in a letter to Mme. N. D. Fonvisin, written in 1854:
I want to say to you, about myself, that I am a child of this age, a child of unfaith and skepticism, and probably (indeed I know it) shall remain so to the end of my life.
How dreadfully has it tormented me (and torments me even now) this longing for faith, which is all the stronger for the proofs I have against it. And yet God gives me sometimes moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me.
This creed is extremely simple; here it is: I believe that there is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the savior; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like him, but that there could be no one. I would even say more:
If anyone could prove to me that Christ is outside the truth, and if the truth really did exclude Christ, I should prefer to stay with Christ and not with truth.
Truth as knowledge of reality resides in skepticism and unfaith, in the constant need to question the reality of the divine, and in the yearning to have the divine proved or disproved via some secondary medium or other.
Yet as Dostoevsky notes, even if truth as knowledge of reality could exclude Jesus, it would do little to dent truth as reality itself.
Direct knowledge of truth as reality itself is not guaranteed in this world. We could live our whole mortal lives without experiencing it once. Yet, this does not matter. What matters is our faith in truth as reality itself.
We remain on the side of truth as long as we are open to listening to Jesus and the possibility of experiencing moments in which we love and believe that we are loved.
Moments during which all is clear and holy.
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