Ebook
What is truth? Philosophical explorations have merely presupposed truth, rather than define it. The inscrutable nature of truth is a recognition of human finitude, which is both Socratic (the recognition that one does not know) and non-Socratic (the recognition that truth has to be given from without). This opens the way to locating truth outside the individual, which can be appropriated only when the condition to recognize it is given. For Kierkegaard, the incarnation of Christ is the point when both revelation and the condition to recognize it, are given. However, incarnation, being historical, raises the question of objectivity and evidence. This book explores what truth implies for the individual and examines the value of historical research for Christian faith.
”John admirably balances the claims of rational truth and
historical experience, through a close reading of Kierkegaard. In
doing so, he has successfully reoriented Christian apologetics to a
postcolonial mission. In an Asian turn to apologetics, he contrasts
Western intellectual and spiritual hubris with the humility of the
devout idolater, rendering the cultural crossroad of India
contemporary with the New Testament."
--Richard Nelson
author of Aesthetic Frontiers
“A big part of the challenge Varughese John takes on in the present
volume is to sort out the various aspects of confusion over
subjective truth. To my mind he carries off the investigation very
well. What fascinates me especially about Professor John’s
approach, moreover, is the way he draws upon key aspects of the
classical and contemporary traditions of India. Up to now the names
of figures such as Ramānujā and Amartya Sen, for example, have
appeared all too rarely on the pages of discussions of
Kierkegaard’s works, but, with this study as a model, one may hope
that they will appear more and more frequently in the
future."
--from the foreword by Andrew J. Burgess
Professor of Philosophy
University of New Mexico
"Concerned with the vital question of the nature of truth from a
Christian perspective, Truth and Subjectivity, History and
Faith represents a significant dialogue with Kierkegaard’s
thought at the intersection of Eastern and Western culture, Hindu
thought, and Christian faith. The result is a careful and
illuminating exposition of Kierkegaard’s thought and its relevance
in an Indian context . . . this book marks a significant moment in
the widening impact of Kierkegaard studies around the world, and
the intercultural engagement of Christian theology with other
religions."
--Myron Bradley Penner
Associate Priest
The Anglican Parish of Christ Church
Varughese John is RZIM Chair of Apologetics at South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies [SAIACS] at Bangalore, India.