By the Numbers

Monday, March 14, 2011

Is It True That There Is No Absolute Truth?

Is It True That There Is No Absolute Truth?

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A Bible-believing seminary student attended a postmodern church by mistake. The pastor preached that all religious beliefs are true. Sermon over the student tried to slip out unnoticed, but the pastor with booming voice and a big smile shook his hand and asked if he lived in the area.
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He replied, “No sir, I’m a seminary student living in Bowling Green, home on break.”
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“Wonderful” the pastor said, “What are your beliefs?”
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“I’d rather not say sir,” replied the seminary student.
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“Why not son?” asked the pastor.
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“Because I don’t want to offend you sir,” he replied.
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“Oh, son, you can’t offend me because I believe all religious beliefs are true. It’s okay, he said, nodding and smiling. “Please tell me what you believe.”
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“Okay,” the student leaned toward the pastor, cupped his hand around his mouth so those going out the door wouldn't hear him, and whispered, “Sir, I believe you’re going to Hell!”
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Pastor Postmodern stood straight, eyebrows raised; face turned pink as cool aid, cleared his voice and replied, “Well, guess I’m wrong after all. All religious beliefs can’t be right since yours certainly isn’t.”
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Pastor Postmodern's Rethinking
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This seminary student put huge troubling question marks in Pastor Postmodern’s mind about absolute truth. The pastor thought all college and seminary professors taught there’s no objective truth, or if so, we can’t know it. All truth is relative, not absolute. Statements can be true for you but not for me.
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Scratching his head, the light came on. Every one of these denials assumes there is absolute truth. And if there isn’t, then we have no sure reason to believe anything anybody says—religious or secular. Nobody could ever tell a lie and we can’t live by relativism. Oh, to think I paid those misfit professors to feed me demonic deceptions that destroy men’s souls denying absolute truth.
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When someone makes a claim that’s true all opposing claims have to be false. If it’s true that 2+2=4, then any number other than #4 is false. And that never changes. Truth is truth for everybody, everywhere, at all times. Truth is what corresponds to reality. It’s telling it like it is. In a room with the temperature 75%, some persons may feel cool, others comfortable, and others hot, but 75% is the same temperature for everybody, everywhere, at all times. People once believed the world was flat, but discovered it's round. The truth didn’t change. Its round no matter what people believe. One can’t even argue against truth without assuming the truth of their arguments to disprove truth. Absolute truth then is unavoidable and is always absolute, exclusive, and knowable. Everything opposing it is false and a lie.
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People hope to get the truth from parents, children, doctors, teachers, politicians, food labels, advertisements, salespersons, and the list is unending. Relativism of truth and morals is certain breakdown of society that leads to a dictatorship of forced slavery to curtail anarchy.
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What Then Is Fair and Truthful?
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Persons sometimes ridicule Christians as narrow-minded, bigoted, intolerant, arrogant, unloving, dogmatic, absolutist, imperialistic, even dangerous for saying their faith is true. But why is this only directed to Christians? It seems they alone have an the only sure basis for absolute truth. An infinite personal, ethical Creator is the only certain basis for absolute truth, and for human dignity in God’s image, human rights as God holds us accountable, ethics as God’ given ethical standards in creation, conscience and Christ. There can be no more certain basis for absolute truth than in the absolute standare of God Himself shown to us in the person of Jesus by his claims to deity with fulfilled prophecies and multiple miracles that prove it.
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The above objections apply to everybody who says their beliefs are true. Socialists say they’re politically correct. Atheist professors deny absolutes. Pantheists think the universe’s energy is god. Muslims believe the Quran is unquestionable truth and they should force infidels to accept it. All these groups hold beliefs claimed absolute truth but deny it to others. But unlike Jesus, they show no evidence their claims are true.
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Isn’t it hypocritical to condemn Christians for judging--always taken out of a context that specifies hypocritical judgment, Matthew 7:1-5--while their accusations judge Christians? Only Christians preach that God is love and that we should love one another because only Christians have a basis for love. God enables us to love by putting His love in us, and He will one day judge our behavior toward our fellow man. Before Christ came, the world had no concept of a loving God. Today society ignores the biblical basis of moral concern and responsibility—agapa. Society defines love to mean any physical pleasure and unrestrained sex with anybody anytime--eros.
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 How Tolerant Is The New Tolerance?
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The “buzz word” today is intolerance. Tolerance no longer means to respect a person’s right to hold views you believe false and disagree with. The absolutist’s view of truth and morals angers our postmodern secular society. You must accept their view as true and not claim your view is absolute truth. It’s like Nazism—Hitler murdered anyone who disagreed with him. Laws made behind closed doors are suspect because lawmakers know public protest. Christian teaching requires honest, fair, free, open debate that seeks the most good for citizens.
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 Pastor Postmodern converted to Pastor Truth-teller. Until now unwilling to admit it, he knew world religions and philosophies differ radically in their beliefs about God, man, salvation, and life after death. Limited human beings make opposing assumptions that are often no more than human guesses. Buddha’s philosophy, Confucius’ wise sayings and Muhammad’s claims could be their subjective human thinking. And we know these conflicting views can all be true and give no objective evidence of being true.
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The Only Certainty!
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The only certainty about such things would be if God himself came into our world, told us who he was, and did things honest, fair-minded people, who could put aside their pride and prejudice, could believe. And this is exactly what the New Testament, the Christian creeds, and Christians from Jesus until today claim. Christian faith is the only world religion that can show multiple ancient detailed prophecies of Messiah that fit Jesus exactly.
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Bible Christianity is the only faith that can show published records proclaiming Jesus deity and miracles within three decades of Jesus’ life--witnesses still lived who could verify the facts. And creeds and hymns used in the churches were incorporated into the letters of the apostles scholars believe go back to within three to eight years after Jesus’ death (Rom. 1:3-4; 1 Cor.11:23; 15:3-8; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 1:15-18; I Tim. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:8; John 1:1-18; 1 Pet. 3:18-22). Christian martyrs didn’t die to blow up innocent men, women and children and send them to Hell, but to verify God’s truth with their own blood. Bible Christianity is God’s authority—it teaches love, respect, free speech, truth. As such, it has no rivals--it alone is God's absolute truth. 
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Jesus is the Source of truth because He's our creator. He then is the Judge of whether we follow His will. And He can be our Savior if we trust Him to save us as unworthy sinners. In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Have you come to the Savior of sinners yet? If not, won't you humbly admit your sin and trust Jesus to save you? Then link this blog to yours & share God's truth with as many persons as possible. See my note below. God bless you as you unashamedly share God's absolute truth.
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1 comment:

  1. Humanists who deny absolute truth expect you to believe as unquestional truth atheism, that the universe exployed into being without cause, life arose spontaneously from dead checicals, molecules can arrange themselves into men, people are soulless perishing animals, and the world is all an accident of chance without purpose or rationally. What an insane,insecure, suicidal world! Biblical Christianity gives what humanism takes away--God,life, truth,human dignity, ethics,freedom, purpose,opportunity for heaven.

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