The Danger of Relativism

— by Phil Clemens

What is truth? Is your truth the same as my truth? Is there a single source of truth? Why is truth difficult to accept?

Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32 ESV)

Jesus was teaching His followers this truth. He began by saying, “If you abide in my Word,” then you will know the truth. However, what happens when individuals first don’t accept “His Word,” or if they do accept it, they just don’t read it, let alone “abide in it”?

In today’s society, God’s Word is truth for some, but for many others, it is just another opinion.  Many believe no one has the corner on truth. Even people who believe that God’s Word is truth have varying thoughts on how you interpret what the Bible says.

Why is this a real danger in the 21st century? If there really isn’t any truth, I can believe anything I want to be true, and it now becomes my truth. Society can condemn my truth, but what are they comparing it to—their truth? Who is to say who is right? Is there really a right truth?

This slippery slope has invaded business, society, religion, and in reality, every area of life. So often individuals will look at truth from a cultural perspective. The truth is really determined in what area of the world you live in. For instance, in many areas of the world, bribing an official is considered a normal business practice. Anyone who doesn’t bribe will rarely succeed, and both life and business will be difficult. In other cultures, bribing is absolutely wrong. So, which is right? Or are they both right? How can opposites both be right? Relativism says they both can be right.

Leaders today need to know that there are moral rights and wrongs. To travel down the path that obvious moral wrongs are acceptable can be very dangerous and can lead to a society where anything is acceptable. The real challenge comes when I place guardrails on what I do based on biblical principles, and society around me does not believe or accept these same guardrails.

Relativism has invaded every area of our society. This is a worldwide issue. Relativism has influenced moral behavior, cultural acceptance, and even our ethics. The idea that we can have a compass based on a true north to guide us in these areas just is not accepted in the 21st century.

Years ago, a Christian theologian, Francis Schaeffer, asked the question, “How should we then live?” It is a question that leaders—Christ following leaders—need to ask today. Our society is in desperate need for leadership that acknowledges truth and lives by it.

Christians over the centuries have not been very good at being the leaders in this area. Some Christians use truth as a weapon, and it can be, but that is not its main purpose. Other Christians use truth as an excuse to why they think and do things the way they do because it is an easy out to blame someone else for their beliefs which they never truly adopted. Finally, some are very intentional in understanding why something is truth and applying it first to themselves before they ask others to acknowledge truth.

Back to Schaeffer’s question: “How should we then live?” Knowing and accepting truth begins with the acknowledgement that there is truth, and it is unchangeable. Often times we are tempted to just modify truth slightly to fit our circumstances. Most every lie, especially ones that are very believable, have a great deal of truth with only a slight modification. We see this in the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Satan approached them with the truth modified, and they accepted it. After all, isn’t this what God said? It must be true.

Our society today is much more sophisticated than Adam and Eve. We are much smarter, and we don’t need someone to tell us what truth is. We know what we know. The problem is, we don’t even know what we don’t know. Society as a whole continues to reject the Author of truth.

The real answer to Shaeffer’s question resides with the person we see in the mirror each day.  How we should be living is not based on our thinking, our morals, or our society. It is based on truth that is given to us by the Absolute Truth—God Himself. Absolute truths need to be discovered, not invented. God desires for us to show the world around us how we should be living and loving, even if people reject His truth. Here is where we as Christ followers fail. Many strong Christian leaders do accept God’s truth as absolute truth—but we miss the second part, which isn’t optional. We need to love others, just as God Himself has loved us. It’s not an option. But it also is not easy, especially when we see society around us clearly walking down a path of destruction.

God has commanded each of us to be light—especially in the darkest places. He has also commanded us to be salt—enhancing the flavor of life that He has given. He wants us to have His eyes and His ears and to demonstrate His love in order to change the world around us and to help people see that there is Absolute Truth and that relativism exists to seduce humankind from it.

——

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.

Related articles