Is Truth Relative?

In one of my previous posts, What is Truth, I made reference to a couple of pseudo-Christian groups to illustrate how Truth is reconstructed, which then undermines the true Gospel of Christ. This is not to say that those who join or are born into such groups are manipulating truth themselves – they may be very sincere in their quest for meaning. But they are taught by those who do manipulate truth, because their leaders are taught by those in higher authority who manipulate truth. When the Lord Jesus spoke of “the blind leading the blind”, this would be included under that.

Now I want to examine Relativism because many people, even in parts of the worldwide Church, are of the view that truth can be adjustable, moveable, fluid. Surely not in the Church!? Not in MY Church, you may well say! Well, if some say the Bible is always to be taken literally and another says some parts are not applicable today, what would be your personal response? Are you a fundamentalist or a liberal? Or perhaps, in wanting to win others to the faith, have you ever compromised on what the Holy Bible says, in order to gain a hearing? Have you given in to liberalism even for a moment by caving in when someone asks a difficult question or if someone points out an ’embarassing’ Bible passage? Even if we deny just one small part of what is written in the ‘God-breathed’ scriptures (see 2 Timothy 3:16), we become guilty of indirectly agreeing with relativism.

A fairly well-known British church leader, who has been known for good social action initiatives to help communities, has now become equally well known for his Biblical views in support of same-sex relationships. The Rev. Steve Chalke, a Church Pastor, in his admirable pastoral concern for people identifying with LGBT+ who have felt rejected and marginalised in the Church in general, openly endorses committed homosexual relationships. He still declares he believes in the Bible. He may be very sincere in his Christian views, but one would have to really reinterpret what the scriptures actually teach, in order to endorse same-sex relationships. One can claim to believe in the Bible’s teachings, yet handle it with a liberal lens at the same time.

I have previously made mention of ‘Progressive Christianity’ which is really just another name for liberal theology. The fact that Jesus is ‘the way, the truth and the life’ is reinterpreted. The exclusivity of Jesus being the ONLY way of salvation is questioned and challenged. To the ‘Progressive’, truth IS relative if it means that individual’s rights are undermined in any way. It is more about social politics than discipleship in some of it’s views. Liberal Christianity and relativism go hand in hand.

The well-known Bible verse ‘For God so loved the world…” (and often proclaimed without the rest of the passage around it) is handled in the video below through a ‘Progressive’ liberal lense. Watch from 1:48 up to 5:20. Note carefully how the speaker describes ‘Christ’.

It is a serious matter to lead others astray. Let us ensure that we are continually studying the Bible prayerfully, not legalistically but in relationship with and honour towards the Saviour Jesus Christ. Let’s be willing to grapple with the Bible for what it actually says, the hard parts too, not what we might like it to say to make it more agreeable to the masses.