A Question of Truth: The Importance of the Confessional Tradition for a Current Understanding of Faith

Open lecture with professor Stefan Dienstbeck, Rostock.

What is truth? The question posed by none other than Pontius Pilate during the trial of Jesus is more relevant to theology today than ever before. Whereas early Christian confessional theology and dogmatic theology up to the Enlightenment assumed that their statements were true, or at least wanted to be true, in 20th and 21st century theology there is a big hesitation in this regard. What significance can biblical texts and confessional traditions still have for theological statements today? How can theological statements still be made without immediately running the risk of negating reason and becoming unscientific? The lecture will take up precisely these questions and, taking into account theological positions of the 20th century, will try to work out how to deal with truth claims in theology. The considerations culminate in the thesis, based on Paul Tillich, that a Christian approach to the question of truth must always fulfil a Christological criterion in order to avoid turning into heresy or heterodoxy.