On Universal Truths
When we use the word “universal”, people are referring to those truths, principles, or concepts that are true for everyone. This is not in the subjective sense, as some linguistic barbarians might want to claim, but in the objective sense. In other words, we’re not talking about “universalism”, we are talking about objective truth that is true for all people everywhere. For example, whether you are a physicist or a random guy on the internet, the concept of gravity — that is, things fall when they are dropped — is a universal principle by which all people live or die.
We also use the word “universal” to refer to moral truths, such as don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t kiss another man’s wife, etc. These are truths that all societies, and thus individuals who want to be members of those societies, must live by or else their demise will be imminent.
This leads us to “universal” consequences. Universal truths and concepts are capable of being ignored, and when they are, people suffer universal consequences. Thus, if a man decides that gravity no longer applies to him, he will experience what many physicists and theologians call, “The Fall” and plummet to his death. Should society decide that murder is actually a good, then society will eventually collapse. We are witnessing that now as abortion and contraception are becoming “rationalized murder”.
Thus, the term “universal” does not mean everyone’s opinions matter, but that the rules for every person are the same, whether they submit to these truths or not, and whether they know it or not. This leads us to one last category, and that is how the term “universal” applies to Christianity.
Universal Church
When people hear the word “Universal Church”, they believe that this means, what has been colloquially understood as “little ‘c’ Catholicism”. Meaning, that as long as we all believe in Jesus, then we are Christians. But is belief all that is required? On the face of it, Christianity having no religious rites or ceremonies would be a major shift away from Judaism and its rituals. Thus, it’s not surprising that Scripture indicates the exact opposite regarding “mere belief”.
When Catholics use the term “universal”, they mean that the Church is for everybody. Just as God wills all men to be saved, so the Church echoes this sentiment by calling all men to herself. But not all people are willing to submit, and therefore in that sense, the Church is exclusive.
Similarly, Christianity must be knowable if one is to be accountable to believing it. But if Christianity has been reduced to “game-show” theology, where contestants choose which Christian denomination just sounds the best to them, then Christianity is false on its face because it blatantly condemns relativism.
Take a variety of Christians from different denominations and backgrounds, and ask them to interpret John 6. They will all agree on two things: the consequences for getting it wrong are of eternal significance, and it’s a “hard teaching”.
If no one can agree on what Christianity teaches, especially on heavy passages like John 6, can we really say Christian teaching is universal, binding on all people? For example, what’s to stop a Christian from adding the book of Enoch to the cannon, or removing the Song of Songs from the Old Testament? The Bible, as a “universal rule” of faith may sound appealing, but it is not self-interpreting nor is everyone capable of interpreting it correctly. This is evident from our many denominations and contradictory teachings. Christians outside the Church end up falling into two camps, “I don’t care about doctrine”, and “I gotta spend my whole life figuring out what Christianity really teaches.”
Thus, our myriad of denominations that claim to be the true example of the New Testament Church, are a distraction and shadow on the Gospel. How many evangelicals, with sincere intentions, tout that you just need to “pray the sinners prayer” and you will be saved, when Jesus says in Matthew 7,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
— Mt. 7:21-22
Will God honor this prayer? Yes! Is it the end of your Christian journey? Can you just kick back and drink a margarita while you wait for the rapture? No. As James says,
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
— Jm. 2:24
Belief in God is not enough. Like the parable of the talents, we are expected to use our gifts for God, even if it is in secret. But one cannot just do a “one and done” prayer, and suddenly become a Christian because Christianity makes specific claims that imply the opposite. For example, that certain forgiveness of sins comes through the authority of those that are Christ’s representatives,
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
— Jn. 20:21-23
But Christianity also has the sinner on the Cross, who was presumably not baptized? What does this mean? Also, what are the consequences if we get it wrong? Especially when we consider what Christ says about rejecting his servants:
Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
— Lk. 10:16
Does this mean that if you reject the teachings of your local pastor, you have rejected Christ? On a protestant view, maybe. Otherwise, this passage would be a paper tiger, all growl and know teeth. Regardless, the consequences are high if we get the teachings of Christ wrong, whether that be on the transfer of his authority or His teaching on His body and blood. As Michael Knowles said recently in a debate with Charlie Kirk, “Christ didn’t leave us a Bible; He left us a Church.” This is also affirmed by St. Paul, who, writing during a time when there was no finalized table of contents in the Bible, said to Timothy,
…people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
— 1 Tim. 3:15
In order for something to be universal it must be knowable. That doesn’t mean it happens the same way for everyone, but it does mean that it has to be reasonable for everyone. If the Church is invisible and doctrine is just a personal enterprise, then Christianity would have died a long time ago.
God desires that people worship Him, “in spirit and in truth.” Without the Church, all we have are our spirits, which are finicky and often difficult to distinguish between from reality.
Many Christians will point to the scripture as the universal point of truth, but many of the truths of Christianity were established prior to the existence of a Christian Bible. Within the first 300 years, many heresies broke out in the early Church. One of them was the fact that Christians needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. So the early Christians convened a council, but that council did not say, “Tell them to be like the Bereans and read it for themselves.” Instead, they exercised their authority, given by Christ before His ascension, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and made a judgment.
We need both scripture and the Church, so that when interpretive disagreements happen, the universality of the Christian faith does not become obscured. The Church is the “pillar” that protects Christianity from descent into barbaric fundamentalism or a hippy-dippy relativism.
As one commentator put it,
[The Church] lives under the authority of the word of God and is fed by it, but it also knows what is good food and what is not.
— George T. Montague, SM., Catholic Commentary on First and Second Timothy, Titus.—
— DR —