ABSTRACT
Exodus is a foundational Western narrative and illustrates two paradigms of truth. First is being true-to the world: if something is true, it is true for all people in the world. This is truth as fact. The second concept is being true-to an oath, i.e., making and keeping a commitment from marriage to business contracts, and covenants with God. This is truth as faithfulness where what is true applies only to those making the covenant. In Exodus, God uses truth as faithfulness. He asks the Israelites to make a covenant with him: if they worship only him, he will make them his chosen people. He does not say he is the only God in the world, or that what he says is true for all people.
The two truth paradigms generate endless deadly conflicts today. If one side has truth which applies to everyone, and opponents refuse to agree, they must be persuaded – or even eliminated. If we only have truths that are relative to a covenant community, then we have the postmodern dilemma – we have no way to settle disputes over truth. Fortunately, we have a third, alternative foundation in much-overlooked stories from ancient Greece about the Muses.
