Absolutes vs Relativism



Col 2:6-8 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Relativism is a philosophical position that says all points of view are equally valid and that all truth is relative to the individual. It's a philosophy that uses words and thoughts to steer us away from Yahweh. It is evil by design and it's very subtle.

And now, it has found its way into the minds of many Christians and is literally destroying every ounce of Truth and conviction in it's path. Leaving behind in it's wake a path of deceived, powerless, cold and indifferent people who call themselves Christians.

Isa 5:20 Doom to you who call evil good and good evil, Who put darkness in place of light and light in place of darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Pro 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Absolute Truth - Inflexible Reality
"Absolute truth" is defined as inflexible reality: fixed, invariable, unalterable facts. For example, it is a fixed, invariable, unalterable fact that there are absolutely no square circles and there are absolutely no round squares.
Absolute Truth vs. Relativism
There are some religious orientations (atheistic humanists, for example) who argue against the existence of absolute truth. John Dewey (1859-1952), co-author and signer of the Humanist Manifesto 1 (1933), declared, "There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes." Humanists believe one should do, as one feels is right.
Absolute Truth - A Logical Necessity
You can't logically argue against the existence of absolute truth. To argue against something is to establish that a truth exists. You cannot argue against absolute truth unless an absolute truth is the basis of your argument. Here are a few of the classic arguments made by those who seek to argue against the existence of absolute truth…

"There are no absolutes." First of all, the relativist is declaring there are absolutely no absolutes. That is an absolute statement. The statement is logically contradictory. If the statement is true, then there is, in fact, an absolute - there are absolutely no absolutes.

"Truth is relative." Again, this is an absolute statement implying truth is absolutely relative. Besides positing an absolute, suppose the statement was true and "truth is relative." Everything including that statement would be relative. If a statement is relative, it is not always true. If "truth is relative" is not always true, sometimes truth is not relative. This means there are absolutes, which means that statement is false. When you follow the logic, relativist arguments will always contradict themselves.

"Who knows what the truth is, right?" In the same sentence this person says that no one knows what the truth is, then he turns around and asks those who are listening to affirm the truth of his statement.

"No one knows what the truth is." They obviously believe their statement is true.

There are philosophers who actually spend countless hours toiling over thick volumes written on the "meaninglessness" of everything. We can assume they think the text is meaningful! Then there are those philosophy teachers who teach their students, "No one's opinion is superior to anyone else's. There is no hierarchy of truth or values. Anyone's viewpoint is just as valid as anyone else's viewpoint. We all have our own truth." Then they turn around and grade the papers!
Absolute Truth - Morality
Morality is a facet of absolute truth. Relativists say, "It's wrong for you to impose your morals on me." By declaring something is wrong, they are contradicting their self by imposing his morals upon you.

They also say, "There is no right, there is no wrong!" So, you must ask, is that statement right or wrong?

If you catch a relativist in the act of doing something they know is absolutely wrong, and you try to point it out to them, they will get mad and say, "Truth is relative! There's no right and there's no wrong! We should be able to do whatever we want!"
If that is a true statement and there is no right and there is no wrong, and everyone should be able to do whatever they want, then why did they get mad? What basis do they have for their anger? You can't be appalled by an injustice, or anything else for that matter, unless an absolute has somehow been violated.

Relativists will also argue, "Everybody can believe whatever they want!" It makes us wonder, why are they arguing? It's funny that they are the ones who want to argue about relativism.

If you try to tell a relativist the difference between right and wrong, they will say, "None of that is true! We make our own reality!" If that's true, and we all create our own reality, then our statement of moral accountability is merely a figment of the relativists imagination. If a relativist has a problem with a statement of absolute morality, the relativist should take the issue up with himself.
Absolute Truth - The Conclusion
We all know there is absolute truth. It seems the more we argue against it, the more we prove its existence. Reality is absolute whether you feel like being cogent or not. Philosophically, relativism is contradictory. Practically, relativism is anarchy. The world is filled with absolute truth.

A relativist says that everyone should be able to believe and do whatever they want. Of course, this sounds good to them, until they come home to find their house has been robbed, or someone tries to hurt him, or someone cuts in front of him in line.
No relativist will come home to find his house robbed and say, "Oh, how wonderful that the burglar was able to fulfill his view of reality by robbing my house. Who am I to impose my view of right and wrong on this wonderful burglar?" I guarantee you, that relativist will feel violated just like anyone else.

There is some validity to some aspects of relativism. What one society considers right the other may consider wrong. Some are acceptable, some are not. These have to do with Cultural Relativism. They are customs that are culturally based.

Now, if society “A” says its ok to beat your wife for not cooking you dinner, and society “B” says its wrong, then whose right? So, somewhere there has to be a point of reference from which Truth comes from.

If Society lives by and establishes it's own laws based on what every person believes to be right or wrong, we would self destruct in a matter of months if not weeks.

So, our challenge is to reacquaint ourselves with Yahweh's Holy Word and not let the spirit of relativism poison our minds. God's Word is Truth, PERIOD. It is His Word that brings life and peace.
Psa 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Psa 119:16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.