Faith and Reason:Truth, Authority, and the Search for Certainty

Part 7: Truth, Authority, and the Search for Certainty

We’ve explored faith and reason, how we know God, and what religion is. Now we come to a crucial and deeply personal question: How do we know what to believe?

In a world flooded with opinions, skepticism, and competing truth claims, many people feel paralyzed. They long for certainty, but fear being deceived. Others reject the very idea of religious authority, equating it with control or oppression.

But the Catholic tradition has a different perspective. It teaches that truth is real, that authority can be trustworthy, and that certainty is possible—not by eliminating faith, but by grounding it in something solid.

The Problem with “My Truth”

Today, people often speak of “my truth” and “your truth.” This language is meant to show respect for others’ experiences, but it easily slips into relativism, the belief that there is no objective truth—only personal perspective.

But truth, by its very nature, is not relative. If two statements contradict each other, they cannot both be true in the same sense. Either God exists or He does not. Either Jesus rose from the dead or He did not. These are not matters of taste.

We can be kind and respectful, but we must also be clear: truth is not something we create. It is something we discover.

Faith Seeks a Foundation

Faith is not a vague feeling. It is trust—but trust in what? Or rather, in whom?

For Catholics, faith is trust in God who speaks, and in the Church He established to preserve and transmit His revelation. That leads us to the idea of authority.

We all rely on authority. Every day, we trust experts, teachers, witnesses, and loved ones. We believe what they say not because we have proven every fact ourselves, but because we find them credible.

Religious faith is similar. It is not a leap in the dark, but a step into the light, based on the authority of God, who cannot deceive, and His Church, which has preserved the faith through the ages.

Why the Church?

Jesus did not simply deliver a message and vanish. He founded a Church—not just a community of believers, but a living body with teaching authority.

As He said to the apostles,

“Whoever hears you hears Me.” (Luke 10:16)

The Church is not above the Word of God, but is its servant. Through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium (the teaching office), the Church helps believers know what God has revealed.

This is not control. It is mercy. Imagine trying to figure out all the doctrines of Christianity on your own. The Church is not a barrier to truth. She is its guardian.

Is Certainty Arrogant?

In a world that praises doubt and deconstructs every truth claim, conviction often looks like arrogance. But there is a difference between being certain and being proud.

Certainty does not mean knowing everything. It means being firmly grounded in what you have good reason to believe. Humility is not thinking you might be wrong when God has spoken clearly. It is recognizing that the truth is bigger than you, and receiving it with gratitude.

As Chesterton put it,

“The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”

Truth and Love Belong Together

The Catholic faith does not ask us to choose between truth and love. It asks us to speak the truth in love, and to love because the truth has been revealed.

Truth without love becomes harsh and rigid. Love without truth becomes sentimental and vague. But truth and love together reflect the very heart of God.

Faith and Reason: A Final Word

We began this series with the question, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” We now see the answer: they belong together.

Faith and reason are not rivals. They are partners in the pursuit of truth. Reason asks the questions. Faith receives the answers. And both are gifts from God, meant to lead us to Him.

At the heart of it all is this: truth is not a concept. It is a Person. Jesus Christ is the fullness of truth and the face of the Father’s love.

To know Him is the goal of every search. To trust Him is the beginning of wisdom. And to follow Him is the path to life.

Thank you for walking through this series. If it has helped you grow in understanding, confidence, or wonder, then it has done its work.

Let the journey continue.