My wife and I recently had the privilege of being in Edinburgh at the time of the annual festival.
Its theme this year was "The truth we seek ... inviting audiences to explore truth in all its many forms", with a particular emphasis on diverse voices.
That theme raises interesting questions. What is this truth we seek? Is there one or are there many truths.
If many, are they still "true" if they contradict each other?
The vibe was that if we listen to one another, we will eventually discover truth. Obviously, we do need to listen to diverse voices to learn. But won’t some ideas lead us further away from truth?
We also attended a church’s "festival service". I assumed it might be an attempt to creatively share with the many festival attendees what Christians believe.
On the contrary, visitors couldn’t sit in the main body of the church. That was reserved for civic dignitaries wearing antiquated clothing and carrying ceremonial maces and rods.
The preacher spoke on the festival theme, with one Bible reading reporting Pilate asking Jesus, "What is truth?". Good question.
What contribution, the preacher asked, does the Bible make to this discussion? His conclusion: to find truth we must seek it together (Jesus talked with both the rich and the poor) and truth is love.
It would be interesting to explore both of those points, but I was left wondering about what he didn’t say. I wondered if one of the clear scriptural lessons is that some truth is not discovered by listening to each other; it is revealed by God.
Jesus once asked the disciples who people thought he was. They reported various opinions.
When Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", Jesus encouraged him, saying he had not learnt that from other people but from God.
Our brains are incredible but not so incredible that we can figure out everything ourselves. Some issues are just bigger than us.
Take the very basic question: Is there one true God?
Individuals and societies have come to numerous conclusions, from there being no gods to there being tens of thousands. We have had millennia to weigh up the options, dialogue and discover the truth.
So, what is the result? Is there only one true God?
We need an authority greater than our own opinions, but where do we find that? Who actually knows the answer?
Christians say that in the Bible, God has spoken. Obviously other religions, or individuals, might make similar claims. OK, so those claims need to be evaluated.
But, in answer to the previous question, the Bible is very clear that there is only one true God. It deals with the issue of multiple other gods but comes to one firm conclusion.
We do not have to agree, but we do have to consider the possibility that God has answered that question for us.
Or what about Jesus’ question to the disciples? Who is Jesus? Was Peter right? There is no end of theories, but do we need someone — someone who actually knows — to reveal that truth to us?
Is Jesus the Son of God? Did He die so that we might be forgiven by God? Does our eternity depend on our response to Jesus?
There are many opinions, but if the Bible really is God’s revelation, the answers are immediately clear. Yes.
In the context of "the truth we seek", I wondered if the Edinburgh preacher should have said that, biblically speaking, some truth is revealed.
I also wondered why he didn’t comment on Jesus’ words, "I am the way, the truth, and the life". That might have been an obvious text.
Jesus did not claim just to know the truth but to be the truth. If we study Jesus’ actions and listen to His words, we discover truth. Jesus is truth embodied.
In the Bible, God says, "My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9), and "The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight" (1 Corinthians 3:19).
We need to hear from someone who actually knows.
Humility includes being willing to listen, yes, to each other — the killing of Charlie Kirk has tragically highlighted that — but also to God. Some truth is revealed.
What a joy it is to learn profound, life-changing truths when we listen humbly to God.
■ Peter Cheyne is a retired Presbyterian minister currently on the team at East Taieri Church.
