All truth is unified and coheres. That’s true, and is not only inherent in the definition of “truth” but a specifically Christian confession: In Him who is Truth, all things hold together.
But - how do all things cohere? What kind of picture of “coherence” are we working with? Do all things cohere in the way the jagged pieces of a jigsaw fit into a single picture, with neatly geometric borders? Or do all things cohere in the way the different parts of my body cohere? My hand certainly coheres with my eyes and my liver, but the coherence is not clean in the way the coherence of jigsaw pieces is clean. My body - and yours too, I’ll bet - has a complicated, jagged kind of coherence. A cathedral is a coherent whole too, but it’s a whole with a lot of apparent loose ends.
It is crucial to emphasize the coherence of truth. But when we have said that all is coherent, we have not said all that can be said, and we have only begun to explore the really intriguing stuff.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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