MORAL RELATIVITY
okay, and so i begin the long and arguous attempt by linking a bunch of verses together... here we go
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
judges 21:25 (nkjv)
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:32
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." To this, Pilate replied "What is truth?"
John18:37-38
man has always grappled with the issue of authority, obedience, morality and standardisation. as the quote in judges describes, there was once an era where man was teh relative authority for his own actions- he did what he pleased, as what was right and wrong were merely self-determined, and the relativistic worldview accommodated such lifestyles. modern day life is not unlike the world in judges- our worldviews are desperately shaped by liberalism and democracy to the point where my personal freedoms as a human being, if i am to paraphrase democratic constititutions, allow me to livee a free life- a life where i can pursue "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
but at what cost? if i am my own basis of truth, and i am a changing, finite being, then surely there is no benchmark for anything. to borrow ravi's illustration, if i am in a car, and i notice that everything outside my car is moving, then i know i am moving. but if i put my foot on the pedal, i notice that the objects from which i am relative to, are static. what if those objects too, were to start moving when i imagined myself to sttop? surely i would be disoriented and confused spatially, because our finite senses are dependant upon a relative motion and relative stacitiy. what is our basis for knowing whether we are moving or stopping? how do u kknow if your life is progressing or retrograding? what are the authorities and points of reference that ocme into play when you make decisions? such a life is compeltely unliveable. we need absolute truth in our lives if we are to live meaningfully or purposefully.
i have heard many who tell me, "i'm young. let me play for a while. ill stop drinking later. or i'll stop smoking soon. or i'll stop clubbing soon. soon, i'll go t church IN MY OWN TIME. WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT, i'll go. GIVE ME TIME" all these references to letting one determine the position of the self are are simply equivocations- the license to do as one pleases, just as in judges, when man did what was right in his own eyes.
jesus came along many years later and said, "i am the way, the TRUTH, the life- NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME" joh 14:6. in that, jesus was making an absolute claim to being the source of objective truth, and having that bound to him and his person. today, in a world of moral uncertainty, jesus stands alone in claiming to be that source. many other religious teachers claim that the truth is OUT THERE, and awaits enlightenmnent, but jesus alone says i am that truth my child. if god is not the objective basis for truth (which i hope i've established as compeltely necessary) then what is? how else can we explain the pulsating moral obligations we feel when we see a well-bodied man taking colelctions for the red cross? how else cna we explain the feeling of sympathy and deep loss when we see someone passing on, even though we may not be completely familiar? these rest on absolute truths- the absolute truth of jesus, who says, "child, you are infinitely valuable. i love you. live in a way such as to please me, because you were designed as such". jesus is that truth.
pilate once asked, "what is truth" in a classic statement at jesus trial. i love that quote, so loaded with postmodern implications and truly, suited for the thinkers of the 21st century. nietzsche (hope i got that right) said, "god is dead". and with that, absolute truth died for many ppl, including nietzsche himself, who commited suicide after being pronounced insane. today, we ask the same question. what is truth. and jesus answers with confidence- i am the way the truth and teh life. make no compromises with the truth of christ and his word.
O God Of Truth
Hymn Lyrics
O God of truth, Whose living Word
Upholds whate’er hath breath,
Look down on Thy creation, Lord,
Enslaved by sin and death.
Set up Thy standard, Lord, that we,
Who claim a heavenly birth,
May march with Thee to smite the lies
That vex Thy groaning earth.
Ah! would we join that blest array,
And follow in the might
Of Him, the Faithful and the True,
In raiment clean and white!
We fight for truth, we fight for God,
Poor slaves of lies and sin!
He who would fight for Thee on earth
Must first be true within.
Then, God of truth, for Whom we long,
Thou Who wilt hear our prayer,
Do Thine own battle in our hearts,
And slay the falsehood there.
Still smite; still burn; till naught is left
But God’s own truth and love;
Then, Lord, as morning dew come down,
Rest on us from above.
Yes, come: then, tried as in the fire,
From every lie set free,
Thy perfect truth shall dwell in us,
And we shall live in Thee.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
judges 21:25 (nkjv)
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:32
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." To this, Pilate replied "What is truth?"
John18:37-38
man has always grappled with the issue of authority, obedience, morality and standardisation. as the quote in judges describes, there was once an era where man was teh relative authority for his own actions- he did what he pleased, as what was right and wrong were merely self-determined, and the relativistic worldview accommodated such lifestyles. modern day life is not unlike the world in judges- our worldviews are desperately shaped by liberalism and democracy to the point where my personal freedoms as a human being, if i am to paraphrase democratic constititutions, allow me to livee a free life- a life where i can pursue "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
but at what cost? if i am my own basis of truth, and i am a changing, finite being, then surely there is no benchmark for anything. to borrow ravi's illustration, if i am in a car, and i notice that everything outside my car is moving, then i know i am moving. but if i put my foot on the pedal, i notice that the objects from which i am relative to, are static. what if those objects too, were to start moving when i imagined myself to sttop? surely i would be disoriented and confused spatially, because our finite senses are dependant upon a relative motion and relative stacitiy. what is our basis for knowing whether we are moving or stopping? how do u kknow if your life is progressing or retrograding? what are the authorities and points of reference that ocme into play when you make decisions? such a life is compeltely unliveable. we need absolute truth in our lives if we are to live meaningfully or purposefully.
i have heard many who tell me, "i'm young. let me play for a while. ill stop drinking later. or i'll stop smoking soon. or i'll stop clubbing soon. soon, i'll go t church IN MY OWN TIME. WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT, i'll go. GIVE ME TIME" all these references to letting one determine the position of the self are are simply equivocations- the license to do as one pleases, just as in judges, when man did what was right in his own eyes.
jesus came along many years later and said, "i am the way, the TRUTH, the life- NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME" joh 14:6. in that, jesus was making an absolute claim to being the source of objective truth, and having that bound to him and his person. today, in a world of moral uncertainty, jesus stands alone in claiming to be that source. many other religious teachers claim that the truth is OUT THERE, and awaits enlightenmnent, but jesus alone says i am that truth my child. if god is not the objective basis for truth (which i hope i've established as compeltely necessary) then what is? how else can we explain the pulsating moral obligations we feel when we see a well-bodied man taking colelctions for the red cross? how else cna we explain the feeling of sympathy and deep loss when we see someone passing on, even though we may not be completely familiar? these rest on absolute truths- the absolute truth of jesus, who says, "child, you are infinitely valuable. i love you. live in a way such as to please me, because you were designed as such". jesus is that truth.
pilate once asked, "what is truth" in a classic statement at jesus trial. i love that quote, so loaded with postmodern implications and truly, suited for the thinkers of the 21st century. nietzsche (hope i got that right) said, "god is dead". and with that, absolute truth died for many ppl, including nietzsche himself, who commited suicide after being pronounced insane. today, we ask the same question. what is truth. and jesus answers with confidence- i am the way the truth and teh life. make no compromises with the truth of christ and his word.
O God Of Truth
Hymn Lyrics
O God of truth, Whose living Word
Upholds whate’er hath breath,
Look down on Thy creation, Lord,
Enslaved by sin and death.
Set up Thy standard, Lord, that we,
Who claim a heavenly birth,
May march with Thee to smite the lies
That vex Thy groaning earth.
Ah! would we join that blest array,
And follow in the might
Of Him, the Faithful and the True,
In raiment clean and white!
We fight for truth, we fight for God,
Poor slaves of lies and sin!
He who would fight for Thee on earth
Must first be true within.
Then, God of truth, for Whom we long,
Thou Who wilt hear our prayer,
Do Thine own battle in our hearts,
And slay the falsehood there.
Still smite; still burn; till naught is left
But God’s own truth and love;
Then, Lord, as morning dew come down,
Rest on us from above.
Yes, come: then, tried as in the fire,
From every lie set free,
Thy perfect truth shall dwell in us,
And we shall live in Thee.
posted by leb at 7:41 AM
2 Comments:
BROTHER! =)
so nice for you to touch upon that topic.
while in OBS my instrutctor told me this, "stop trying to find the right way of doing things and the right way of reaction to something. usually the immediate reaction is the right reaction". she's an NUS arts graduate and an artist by profession. sigh... when i heard this i was deeply annoyed and confused. when one was just dead drained after an entire day of kayaking, such words made so much sense. in the heat of the moment one utters a curse, in the heat of the moment u allow unwholesome talk to come out. surely it doesnt hurt, surely there has to be kartharsis for the inner anger you feel. even after the course was over, i pondered day and night over what she said. i weighed it against my christian morality and wondered if perhaps i've been too caught up with doing the right thing. but in time i realised how this kind of thinking justifies almost any action! haha i knew it bordered on moral relativity but it just seemed enticing. =)
my point is this. Man as a whole has accepted this attitude of compromise and moral relativity. whether knowingly or unknowingly, they have fallen into this post modernist trap of relative truth. haha my brothers, let us rise up! let up stir up a Renaissance of Truth! where we take our example from Jesus and his disciples and we live it out now in a style of our own and applicable to the now!
Jesus Said,"the truth shall set you free". and we say "Amen to that!"
Lets not mix up survival instinct with moral choices. A firm moral stance what forms reactionary choice.
Point in case, your christian morals reacted instinctively to your instructor's statement. That immediate reaction as you have explained and affirmed by leb's post was the right one.
Compromise occurs in the moral fabric that affects your day to day choices like 'unwholesome talk'
E.g. An alternative immediate reaction might be instead of loud *%#@@, a quiet lightning prayer of 'help me lord' or 'lord let me see this as you would'. Its a reaction that we all hope to achieve and one that is the right way.
I hope you see what i am getting at. The act of living in the moment and reacting is not sin in itself nor a moral compromise.
Yet in the absence of God's prompting and plan our failable human nature will show through.
Therein is our need for God and his loving truth to be part of our lives.
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