Today, the Texas A&M Journal of Law Civil Governance published a very timely conversation between Judge Kacsmaryk and the 2023 Jurist of the Year, Judge James C. Ho. It is titled, "What Does It Mean To Be A Christian On The Bench?" ...Some non-Christians questioned whether Christians believe in truth, so I asked an AI LLM.Judge Kacsmaryk had this to say about textualism ... "This is where the faithful Christian should have a Textualist advantage: we believe there is such a thing as objective, external, knowable Truth."
Yes, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is correct in his characterization of what many (and arguably most traditional or "faithful") Christians believe. The quote comes from a recent speech or remarks titled "What Does It Mean To Be A Christian On The Bench?" where he argues that a Christian worldview provides an advantage in textualist statutory interpretation because it orients the interpreter toward seeking an objective, external, knowable truth (in this case, the "ordinary public meaning" of legal text at enactment, rather than subjective or evolving interpretations).
Core Christian Belief on Truth
Christianity, across its historic branches (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical), has long affirmed that truth is objective, external to the human mind, and in principle knowable. This stems from several foundational ideas:
God as the source of truth: The Bible portrays God as truth itself (e.g., "I am the way, the truth, and the life" in John 14:6; God "cannot lie" in Titus 1:2 or Hebrews 6:18). Truth isn't invented by humans or cultures but reflects God's nature and the reality He created.
Objective reality: Creation is orderly and real, independent of our opinions (Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:20 — general revelation through nature). Moral and spiritual truths are likewise grounded in God's character and commands, not personal preference.
Knowability: Humans, made in God's image, can apprehend truth through reason, observation, conscience, and especially special revelation in Scripture (which is seen as inspired, authoritative, and propositional truth — 2 Timothy 3:16-17). While sin and finitude can cloud understanding, truth is not inherently inaccessible or purely subjective.
Correspondence view of truth: Something is true if it corresponds to reality as it actually is. This contrasts with relativism (truth is whatever feels right to the individual or group) or postmodern skepticism (truth claims are power plays with no objective anchor).
This view directly opposes Pilate's skeptical "What is truth?" (John 18:38), which Kacsmaryk references. Christians historically reject the idea that truth is fluid, constructed, or unknowable; they see it as fixed and discoverable, even if imperfectly grasped by fallen people.
Variations Among Christians
Not every self-identified Christian holds this view with equal rigor today:
Traditional/orthodox Christians (evangelicals, conservatives in other traditions) strongly affirm objective truth. Apologists and theologians routinely contrast it with cultural relativism, arguing that denying objective truth undermines morality, the gospel claims ("Christ is the only way"), and even coherent reasoning. Surveys sometimes show gaps among younger churchgoers, but the doctrinal stance of historic creeds and confessions is clear.
Liberal or progressive Christians may lean more toward experiential, contextual, or metaphorical understandings of truth, emphasizing love, justice, or personal encounter over propositional absolutes. Some embrace elements of postmodern thought. However, even here, claims about God, ethics, or Jesus often retain an implicit claim to objective validity ("this is what Christianity truly is").
Catholic tradition adds natural law and magisterial teaching as reliable guides to objective moral and theological truth.
Protestant emphasis often highlights sola scriptura — Scripture as the external, objective standard.
Overall, Kacsmaryk's "we" refers to "faithful" Christians who take core doctrines seriously. This belief has been a through-line in Christian thought from the early church fathers through Aquinas, the Reformers, and modern apologists. It isn't unique to Christianity (many theistic religions and classical philosophy affirm objective truth), but it fits naturally with a Creator who reveals Himself reliably.
Relevance to Textualism
Kacsmaryk's broader point is that if you already believe in objective truth (rather than seeing interpretation as endless deconstruction or personal projection), you're better equipped to pursue the fixed public meaning of a legal text without injecting modern preferences. Whether that gives Christians a practical "advantage" in judging is debatable — plenty of non-Christian textualists (e.g., Justice Scalia, who was influenced by but not defined by his Catholicism) succeed by the same logic. But the underlying premise about Christian belief holds.
In short: Yes, he is correct. Faithful Christians do believe there is objective, external, knowable truth — rooted in God, reality, and revelation. This has been a consistent teaching, even as cultural pressures toward relativism challenge it.
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