Ligonier Ministries has partnered with LifeWay Research to survey the beliefs of Americans on a number of theological and ethical issues. Like past surveys, the 2020 State of Theology survey reveals some encouraging results, but it also reveals confusion and a lack of theological knowledge among evangelicals.
The thirty-first survey question inquires of people’s belief that Religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth. The commentary by Ligonier states that the use of the words belief, opinion, and truth can be confusing to Christians today because these words have different connotations to different people. Belief is defined as “a persuasion of the truth, or an assent of mind to the truth of a declaration, proposition or alleged fact, on the ground of evidence, distinct from personal knowledge; as the belief of the gospel; belief of a witness. Belief may also by founded on internal impressions, or arguments and reasons furnished by our own minds; as the belief of our senses; a train of reasoning may result in belief. Belief is opposed to knowledge and science. In theology, faith, or a firm persuasion of the truths of religion.” Today, belief is often seen as something one does that is opposed to reason. Opinion is seen as purely subjective and having no binding force.
Truth is defined as “Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be. The truth of history constitutes its whole value. We rely on the truth of the scriptural prophecies. The true state of facts or things.” Truth, if it is admitted to exist at all, is often relativized. In classic theological works, opinion, doubt, knowledge, and belief were all ways of responding to a proposition.
Opinion is defined as “the judgment which the mind forms of any proposition, statement, theory or event, the truth or falsehood of which is supported by a degree of evidence that renders it probably, but does not produce absolute knowledge or certainty. Opinion is when the assent of the understanding is so far gained by evidence of probability, that it rather inclines to one persuasion than to another, yet not without a mixture of uncertainty or doubting.” Opinion meant that you assented to the truth of the proposition while holding out the possibility that it might be false. Doubt meant denying the truth of the proposition while holding out the possibility that it might be true. Knowledge meant assenting to the truth of the proposition on the basis of direct experience. Natural belief meant assenting to the truth of the proposition on the basis of another person’s testimony. In this way of thinking, belief, by definition, is not the same as opinion, but both are addressing objective truth.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is defined as “the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth or the assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another; belief, or probable evidence of any kind. In theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the Scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to His guidance, and dependence on His merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the Gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation.” This saving faith is similar to natural belief, but it is not something that fallen man can do. It is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
Jesus Christ claimed to be God incarnate and the only way of salvation (John 14:6). That proposition is either objectively true or it isn’t. Every religion in the world either affirms the truth of Christ’s claims or else denies it. This means that ultimately every religion is about objective truth. Every religious claim is either objectively true or objectively false based on where it stands in relation to the claims of Jesus Christ. Individuals may think that Christ’s claims are true while holding out the possibility that they are false. They may think His claims are false while holding out the possibility that they are true. Neither opinion nor doubt, however, changes the fact that His claims are objectively true.
In God We Trust
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