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Absolute Truth in a Relativistic Society
Exclusive Christian claims are
offensive
John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.
I Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…
Ephesians 4:4-6 -There is one body and one Spirit--just
as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of
all, who is over all and through all and in all
Acts 4:12 - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is
no other name under heaven given to men by which we
must be saved.
Matthew 7: 13,14 - Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that
leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads
to life, and only a few find it.
Romans 6: 23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God
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At its core, postmodernism is a rejection of
absolutes.
To think you or your group have discovered
the answers to all of life’s questions and
problems is seen as presumptuous and
arrogant
The postmodernist may even go so far as to
say that religion is the main barrier to world
peace. A claim to absolute truth alienates
and can lead to marginalization, oppression,
abuse or even violence against other groups.
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Postmodern is a term applied to many realms
– art, architecture, music, film, literature,
sociology, communications, fashion, and
technology.
As a philosophy, in general, it is defined in
contrast to modernity
Modernity is fundamentally about order:
about rationality and rationalization, creating
order out of chaos
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The modern age in the western world began
in the 16th century and peaked in the 200
year period from 1789 to 1989.
Human reason, education, science, and
technology defined the modern age.
Man and his enlightened understanding and
technological genius had within his grasp, so
he thought, the possibility of engineering a
great society
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We were dedicated to ideals. Our fathers and
grandfathers willingly sacrificed their lives on
foreign soil to see the triumph of good over
evil.
As a nation, we attempted, with a good level
of success, to export our culture, our ideals,
our values, and our political system into the
world community so that freedom and
democracy would mark every society.
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But from the perspective of a new breed of
philosophers and social critics, this modern age
has crumbled down around us. Human reason as
the instrument of progress has allegedly failed.
The Second World War demonstrated that the age
of reason and enlightenment had produced very
little in the way of human evolution.
Disillusionment was compounded by the rise of
Communism, the Vietnam War, weapons of mass
destruction, youth rebellions, assassinations,
political corruption, racial wars, etc.
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The postmodern mindset offers to the
Christian Church a unique challenge. Unlike
the modern rationalist, the postmodernist will
not challenge the truth of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. He will merely say, "Yes, but it is your
truth."
The issue is no longer truth versus error, or
right versus wrong as was the case in the
modern age. The concept of error or wrong
has been removed from the postmodern
vocabulary with one exception
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It is wrong to say that someone's worldview,
religion, culture, philosophy or experience is
wrong. It is an error to say that someone is in
error.
To claim that the only way to heaven is through
faith in Christ will bring rejection and scorn.
The Postmodernist will grant the right to declare
our truth, but not a right to criticize "the truth"
of others. They say only mean-spirited people
seek to exercise power over others by saying, "I
am right and you are wrong."
Ai
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Reason and Relationship are the key
Reason without relationship can be perceived
as pushy, arrogant, and uncaring.
Relationship without reason can be seen as
shallow, emotion based, or unfounded.
In the “old days” people had to believe and
then they could belong. Today people need to
belong and then they will come to believe.
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Christianity is arrogant
in claiming that Jesus
is the only way to God.
All religions are equally
valid and basically
teach the same thing.
It is arrogant to insist
your religion is right
and to convert others
to it.
OBJECTION
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Christianity is not the
only religion to claim
exclusivity.
This ignores doctrinal
differences by insisting
doctrine is
unimportant
Is it not arrogant to say
that those who believe
their religion is right
are arrogant?
RESPONSE
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Each religion sees part
of spiritual truth, but
none can see the whole
truth.
Objection
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Implied here is a
comprehensive
knowledge of spiritual
reality.
The statement may
have an appearance of
humility, but it really
assumes a superior
vantage point which
claims no religion has
the entire truth.
Response
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Religious belief is too
culturally and
historically conditioned
to be “truth.”
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Objections
You can’t say, “All claims
about religions are
historically conditioned
except the one I am
making right now.
If you insist that no one
can determine which
beliefs are right or
wrong, why should we
believe what you say?
Response
It is no more narrow to
claim that one religion is
right than to claim that
one way to think about
all religions is right.
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For the postmodernist, words do not convey
objective meaning. They emerge out of the
subjective mindset of the author and enter into
the subjective mindset of the reader.
Written texts mean different things to different
people and no singular interpretation of any text
is better than any other interpretation.
Because words do not convey objective meaning,
the practice of formulating propositional truth
claims from words is soundly rejected. Words
merely tell a story – a narrative.
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Christianity is and always has been a religion of
the Book. We begin with the understanding that
the authors of Scripture, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, were seeking to communicate objective
reality in the words they employed.
Since the words of the text do not convey
objective meaning for the postmodernist,
presenting truth as propositional statements
drawn from the text is impossible. All you can do
is tell the author’s story and allow the reader of
that story to provide his or her own
interpretation
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Luther coined the phrase, "Plato is a friend;
Socrates is a friend. But the honor supreme
must go to truth.“
Apart from truth, we wander aimlessly.
We are left with nothing greater than our
own ideas.
We have no standard against which to
measure the meaning of our own existence.
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The best argument for the gospel is
◦ not a propositional argument, but a living argument:
◦ not sound arguments as much as sound lives – truth-ing
the gospel in the way we live it out in authenticity and
community.”
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Blaise Pascal said similarly: “Men despise religion.
They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The
cure for this is first to show that religion is not
contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and
respect. Next make it attractive, make good men
wish it were true, and then show that it is.”
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So we must engage the head (know the
arguments, give them truth);
We must engage the heart (understand them
and their world, not just their worldview);
And we must perform what we profess so
that they might obey the living Christ.
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The Case For Faith…Lee Strobel
The Reason for God…Timothy Keller
The New Evidence That Demands a
Verdict…More Than a Carpenter….Don’t
Check Your Brains at the Door…Josh
McDowell
Mere Christianity….C.S. Lewis
Jesus Among Other Gods… Who Made God?
And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough
Questions of Faith….Ravi Zacharias