FFC…PO Box 1586…Broken Arrow, OK 74013…918-451-0270…Terry Dashner

“Hodgepodge Truth” Does Absolute Truth Exist?

All men want to find truth, or so thought Aristotle. He said that philosophy begins with the desire to know truth. I agree that men want to find truth; however, not all men agree on what truth is. To one truth is relative, existing in one’s own mind only. To another truth is elusive and can’t really be understood, except in a metaphysical sense. (Metaphysical is a fancy word used by philosophers and theologians. It is concerned with issues such as the existence and nature of God. That’s heavy. But let me get back to truth.)

Someone once said that a straight steel rod immersed in a glass of water may look as though it’s bent, but it isn’t. So appearances can be deceiving, can’t they? Keep that illustration in mind while reading this paper for this reason: If it’s easy to misinterpret the true nature of physical things, then it can be easy to misinterpret metaphysical things. Now I’m going to drop another “heavy” on you. To deny the existence of truth is to affirm its existence—truth is inescapable! Therefore, the affirmation that true statements can be made about reality is a rationally justifiable one. For example if I say that truth does not exist, I’m purporting my belief to be true. And if I believe that my statement is true—truth does not exist—I’m banking on it being true. Using this logic my argument goes no place. I’ve just canceled out my statement by asserting what I believe to be true; nothing is true. (Keep scratching your head. This gets clearer as it goes along. I hope.)

I want to write a little bit about relativism. A relative view of truth has been deeply ingrained into the minds and hearts of contemporary people, especially in academic circles. Relativistic thinking has influenced us so much that it is now considered anti-intellectual to believe in absolute truth. The majority of educators and students regard truth to be obsolete, not absolute. Of course you know, as a Christian, that relativism has no place in the church house. A Christian’s belief in God is not based on relative truths. God’s truth, the Word, is absolute truth.

Now being the tolerant and wise person that you are, you may be thinking this: In light of tolerance what value is there in believing in absolutes? There is much value. Think about this: You may tolerate different tastes, but you can’t tolerate relative truth as a child of God. Does that make sense? As a firm believer in Jesus Christ, you may and you should tolerate different cultures, different ideas, different philosophies about religion, different political parties, different races of people, but you can not compromise the fact that Jesus, Himself, said that He is the ONLY way, truth, and life.

You may remember the story about the six blind men who felt different parts of an elephant. In describing the elephant, each told about his part of the elephant. Each was telling the truth, but each description alone did not paint the entire picture. They each had a part of the whole, and the part did not adequately explain the whole. Granted, Christians do not all agree on every stated topic in the Bible; however, Christians do have a consensus on Jesus. He is what He said He is—the only begotten Son of God. The Bible says that believers see through a “glass darkly.” That means that the understanding we now have can only be fully understood in the life that is to come. So, Christians should not boast arrogantly that they know everything there is to know about Christianity or the Bible. It just isn’t true. Christians should stand humbly in the truth that has been revealed to them by the Spirit of God, and win others to the absolute truth about Jesus: He is the way, the truth, and the life. This must be done with a loving heart for all mankind.

If there are no absolutes in this world then 2+2=12 or 6 or 8 or whatever it wants to equal—this is a child’s dream. If mathematics is relative, then a math student may use any answer he or she pleases. If there are no absolutes in this world, then why do we hold criminals accountable for wrongdoing? Why do we tell our children not to lie to us? How will they know what is a lie, and what is truth? There has to be absolute standards because there are absolute truths. God’s laws are absolute and universal. Honest—they are. I certainly wouldn’t lie to you about that! Pastor T.