Relativism

As every Christian knows, relativism is a problem. Just taking Jesus at His word, when He said, "I am ... the Truth", it requires that there be Truth. So the grand view of "relativism" that holds to a "true for you" perspective isn't going to work if there is genuine truth.

That being said, I need to point out two important concerns.

First, relativism is true. That is, there are things that are relatively true, that are true for me, for instance, and not for you. The mantra of relativism is "true for you, but not for me", and there are, in fact, actual, truthful applications of that concept. As an example, I like a hot climate, but my son moved to Washington because he likes a cold climate. "I like a hot climate" is true for me, but not for my son. I find beauty in just about every kind of landscape I find, but most people do not. "Most landscapes have their own beauty" is true for me, but not necessarily for everyone. The famous "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a statement of relativism. Or, on a much more pragmatic ground, I can't eat strawberries because their seeds cause me problems, but most of the world can eat them just fine, so "strawberries are bad for you" is true for me, but not for most of the world. Even biblically there is moral relativism. Paul says that there are some who may eat anything and others that only eat vegetables. "Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him" (Rom 14:3). This biblical concept -- we refer to it as "Christian Liberty" -- is there in Scripture. These are examples of authentic relativism. I suspect that these kind of relativistic facts make the whole thing murkier than it should be, but don't simply throw out all relativism because of the abuse of the concept.

There is another thought on relativism that I'd like to examine. I've heard it said from multiple sources that "Christianity is true for you, but not for me" (relativism), but more often it is "all religions are basically the same; it's just that each has its own extra ideas in it." This is relativism again. These are suggestions that you may certainly believe as you wish; truth here is not an issue. Just be "good" (without any sense of a definition of that "good"). So you will find a Christian who says, "You know, the Bible says homosexual behavior is a sin" and will hear in response, "So, don't do it, but don't tell me not to." Relativism. "True for you, but not for me." And in this, the point is missed.

You see, if there is a God and if that God has the right to declare right and wrong -- good and bad^[1] -- then these things are right and good. It doesn't matter what your opinion of them might be. It doesn't matter if they agree with your view. If God exists, then there is a truth about good and bad, morally speaking, and we don't get to decide whether they're right or not. They are truly good and bad. At this point, then, what you believe about what is good and bad is irrelevant. What is relevant is what is true.

Here, let me try a desert example (because I live in the desert). I invite you out for a hike in our lovely desert (because, after all, I think landscapes have their own beauty). So we're out for a pleasant walk when, suddenly, I stop you and say, "Look out! There's a rattlesnake under that bush up ahead." From a relativistic perspective, you might say, "I don't see it, so it's true for you, but not for me." You'd be a fool. You might even push me aside and walk on, ignoring my warning. And when it bit you, you might even be angry at me for not doing more to stop you. Because, you see, whether or not you agree with what I see, there is a truth. It doesn't matter if you see it as true or not. If it is true and you ignore it, it will still bite you.

Relativism is popular. Some like it to the extreme. Others are less so. But the fact is that if there is a God, there is truth, even in the realm of morality. When God declares something as good and we refuse it or that something is sin and we deny it, it won't simply be a case of "Well, it was true for you, but not for me." So the real aim is to discover what is true from God's perspective of good and evil and aligning ourselves to it. Unfortunately, the most popular route is the reverse, determining what we like and don't like and declaring it good or evil in opposition to God. Like that snake you disavow in my desert walk, that won't work out well for you. Nor would it be kind of me to simply let you ignore it.
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^[1] We are assuming here the God of the Bible who, by definition is good and, therefore, is right and good in what He declares right and good.