Do Absolute Truths Exist?
Examining the Issue of My Truth and Your Truth
Are there absolute truths in this world? The consensus in much of today’s society appears to be that there are no absolute truths. There is “your truth” and “my truth,” but nothing that is true regardless of what anyone thinks.
As one writer at the Balanced Life Center stated, “By the statement, what is true for you is true for you, I mean that your own Truth works for you in your life. Everything else is up for grabs.”
First, when discussing the issue, the question should be asked, “Is the person who says there are no absolute truths violating his own belief system?” The most such a person can say is that the belief that there are no absolute truths is “his truth.”
Second, can the person who holds that there are no absolute truths prove such a statement? If this person steps off the edge of a 20 story building he is going to fall to his death, regardless of “his truth” – a belief that he will survive the fall? It’s an absolute truth that the law of gravity dictates that he is going to fall.
Truth in the Bible
The same concepts about absolute truth can apply to the interpretation of the Bible. When someone tries to say that the meaning of a certain passage of Scripture is such and such, someone who disagrees may say, “That’s your interpretation.” While it is true that some Scriptures are debatable as to proper interpretation, it would be wrong to assume that all Scripture is so vague that there are multiple ways to correctly interpret any given passage.
When Jesus says “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me,” the only logical way to interpret this statement is to say that Jesus said someone would betray Him.
Jesus and Truth
In fact, Jesus placed a great emphasis on truth. In the Book of John, Jesus prefaces several statements with “I tell you the truth,” such as “if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death,” “Before Abraham was born, I am,” “the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber,” “I am the gate for the sheep,” and, importantly, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Without absolute truth the Christian has no reason to believe anything in Scripture. Without absolute truth the Christian has every right to ask the question Pontius Pilate asked "What is truth?"
Moral Absolutes
Christian apologist Norman Geisler writes, “The Judeo-Christian concept of right and wrong, unlike non-Christian alternatives, is the only adequate basis for moral action. The reasons for this are many. First, while other ethical views can postulate good moral principles, only a Judeo-Christian view can justify them.
One could argue that this is true for two reasons. Firstly, unless ethics is rooted in the unchangeable nature of a morally perfect being (God), there is no basis for believing in moral absolutes. Only an absolute Moral Law-Giver is a sufficient ground for absolute moral laws. And secondly, if everything is relative, then there is no good reason why anyone ought to refrain from doing anything he or she wants to do, including rape, murder, and genocide.
Of course, humanists and others who deny moral absolutes can believe in general moral principles, many of which are noble. What they cannot do is justify this belief, since according to their system, there is no real ground for such a belief.”
False Teachers
Bible scriptures make it clear that there are false teachers. Paul told Timothy to command certain men to stop teaching false doctrine (1 Tim. 1:3. Peter wrote that there would come false prophets and false teachers who would introduce destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1).
Paul again told Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely, because, in doing so, he would save both himself and those who listened to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:16). That being the case, it is incumbent upon Christians to unapologetically expose those who are teaching doctrine that is clearly against Scripture.
Does Absolute Truth Exist?
In the Bible and in life in general, there are claims that are subject to debate. But it is wrong to conclude that everything is a matter of personal interpretation or that the Christian must be so objective as to not take sides. Ultimately, though, the issue of whether absolute truth exists (in life or in the Bible) is a philosophical question that can only be answered by the individual.
Does Absolute Truth Exist?
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