Philosophical theories of truth and the logical status of intra-Biblical fallacies of contextomy

Abstract

The relationship between the Old Testament and the New Tes- tament is a major problem in the discipline of Biblical theology. From a historical perspective the ways in which some New Testament authors have justified their truth-claims by appealing to the Old Testament clearly involve the fallacy of contextomy. A good example of this is the interpretation of texts from the Psalter in the letter to the Hebrews. As a result, the question of logical status arises, i.e., Is it true? With this article the author hopes to contribute to the ongoing discussion by suggesting that, given so many incommensurable philosophical theories on the nature of truth, a more nuanced manner of speaking may be in order. Whether and in what sense the text will be seen as “true” ultimately depends on what we mean when we affirm or deny that something is true in the first place.