The Nature of Truth - Romanticism vs. Christianity

Overview of Romanticism

  • The subjective self either perceives or creates truth.
  • Truth is discerned through imagination, perception, and reflection:
    • Art, poetry, inspiration, and even heightened feeling become quasi-divine means of accessing this truth.
    • Nature may play a quasi-divine role as well, but it is always channeled through human perception.
  • Truth is accessed primarily by the individual.
  • Little or no place is given for community, tradition, or dogma. Romanticism tends to stress individuals interacting with fellow-feeling.
  • The supernatural/metaphysical is reduced to the natural and psychological:
    • Romanticism uses Christian language to express essentially secular phenomena.
    • It does remind us that life has something higher about it than the simple mundane.
  • The method of Romanticism can be too loose or fuzzy in its claims, for it ignores the specifics of Scripture. It places the weight of finding truth on individuals.

Overview of Christianity

  • The subjective self is only a limited part of the perception and discovery of truth.
  • All truth has its origin in God and is ultimately given by the work of the Holy Spirit in creation:
    • This happens through general, natural means such as the natural-social world, including human imagination, intuition, and poetry.
    • This happens through specific revelation, most perfectly and completely in Scripture, and also through the specific acts of God in church history.
  • Truth is accessed primarily by the community of which individuals play an important role.
  • A large role is given for the community of faith, tradition (including church history), and dogma.
  • The supernatural/metaphysical gives meaning to our natural, psychological processes, which are clouded by sin and need special revelation to correct them.
  • The work of God's Spirit is both more personal and more active. Our spirits respond to the work of the Holy Spirit.  While we still have a role in discovering and being obedient to truth, the ultimate action of truth is God's rather than ours.