Relativism

People say That's true for you but not for me or some form of it all the time and it's called relativism.  Most people believe truth is based on the situation or circumstances.  A Barna survey showed that 64% of American adults said truth is "relative to the person and their situation" where 83% of teenagers said "moral truth depends on the circumstances".  6% of those surveyed said moral truth is absolute.  This survey is from 2002 but it probably hasn't changed all that much, if anything the percent believing in relativism has probably increased.

Some examples of statements that reflect relativism are:

"Christianity and the Bible may be true for you but it's not for me." "That's just your interpretation." "Who are you to judge?" "There are lots of paths to God." "Belief in Jesus as the only way to God is intolerant."

Most everyone has heard at least a couple of these.  Is relativism true?  Does relativism even stand up to it's own claim that truth is in the eye of the beholder?  One question can start to point out the problem with relativism and the rejection of absolute truth.

Bob: "Everyone's beliefs are true or false only relative to himself." John: "Is that absolutely true?"

Do you see the problem here? The statement Bob is making is an absolute statement about truth.  If truth is relative to the person why should I even care about Bob's statement because it's not true for me?  Bob is saying that truth is not absolute but yet he's making an absolute statement about it.  It's because in practice relativism doesn't match with reality.  Truth is a belief that matches the way things really are.

Regardless of our own view something can be true even if...

• ...we don't agree with it
• ...we don't practice it
• ...we don't follow it

Moral relativism says that right and wrong are dependent on individual or culture.  The question to ask the moral relativist is: Were Hitler and the Nazis wrong?  There is no basis within relativism to say that it is wrong.  If according to relativism each culture gets to decide their own right and wrong how could Hitler have been wrong?  The culture of Nazism said it was right to murder, rape, torture, and scientifically experiment on Jews.  If the relativist answer is that the rest of world said it was wrong and they stopped it, it's then just a case of might makes right.  The biggest and strongest get to decide what's right and wrong.  So if the Nazis would have prevailed in WWII it would have been ok because they were stronger?  Or would murdering innocent Jews be ok because the Nazis won?  When taken to it's logical conclusion it's clear to see that moral relativism is really just a justification for not following an objective moral standard.

Truth can be known and truth is real.  We don't get to make up our truth because truth is objective and is true no matter if we agree with it or not.  Truth claims should be examined and tested.  Test people's truth claims with gentleness and respect.  Our culture is ripe with relativism and they didn't come to their ideas overnight and won't change their minds with just one conversation.

Resources

True for You, But Not for Me: Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith by Paul Copan

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Gregory Koukl
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision by William Lane Craig

These are just some of the really great books that discuss the problems with relativism.  All the above selections are also available on Kindle.