"Judge not" has become the favorite Bible verse of the modern world. Standards of every kind have been tossed aside, giving way to an ever-deepening relativism. "Truth" by definition, has ceased to be a constant absolute and has changed into a circumstantial, emotion-based blur. Convictions about good and evil have been traded for tolerance and a mentality that says "If it feels good, do it."
When faced with any set of absolutes, even many "conservatives" are quick to interject: "If people want to do it that way, it is their right." An even more popular response: "Who are you to decide what is right and wrong for someone else?"
This philosophy is like a ship with no anchor--it is blown and tossed wherever the winds of public opinion take it.
For example, consider that state of the legal system that has abandoned absolute truth. Law has ceased to hold authority and is now in bondage to the latest public opinion poll. The meaning of justice has been slaughtered as criminals are made out to be the victims, blaming everyone but themselves. It sometimes seems that if someone has good looks, a good sense of humor, and a good defense attorney, they pay no penalty for breaking the law; rather, they set dangerous precedents that, in effect, alter the law.
With no standard of truth, it is impossible to have a system of justice.
This tide of relative thinking has irreparably damaged millions of families across the Western world. The tolerance of sexual promiscuity, adultery, homosexuality, and pornography cannot be underestimated. Its prevalence in our society has put us all at risk--our wives, our daughters, and even our sons. Billions of dollars are spent on pornography annually by spineless males who live by their sex drive and would forsake their own children for temporary pleasure. Schools have taken it upon themselves to teach that there are no "morals" in regard to sex, just as long as it is "safe." Most teens know nothing of purity, and hardly any marry as virgins. The tolerance of Hollywood's wholesale impurity has led to a disintegration of family and moral standards, as entertainment-craving masses await with baited breath the next sexually-arousing action movie. Even those who claim to believe in values and morality often can be found feeding their lusts at the local theater or through their Internet connection.
Since the old-time values of honesty, responsibility, and integrity have been forsaken and replaced with hedonism and selfishness, there is a rising distrust of everyone from politicians to church leaders. And with good reason. When there are no absolutes to determine behavior, trust must be abandoned.
Even language itself has suffered crippling blows by those who perpetrate the idea that there is no truth. Words such as love, faith, peace, fulfillment, joy, happiness, and family have been redefined again and again to fit the cultural winds of the era. Words like these no longer have meanings, only interpretations.
Absent absolute truth, language itself becomes a meaningless mouthing of syllables.
If absolute truth has no place in our lives, then of course we can murder our unborn and kill off unneeded old people. Sure, we can have excessive violence in movies and music. We can go ahead and lie, cheat, steal and slander. If there is no right and wrong, who cares?
Dishonor of parents has become the norm as children are given the right to make their own decisions. Now those who teach there is no right and wrong insist that it it is "wrong" to discipline a child for misbehavior. (Then we wonder why, for example, the USA has more prisoners than it does soldiers.) Parents are no longer given respect, obedience, or honor. Instead, "every man does that which is right in his own eyes" regardless of age. Few TV shows or movies could claim to uphold parenthood and display a functional, loving family. Yet why should they, if there is no truth that demands the honor of one's parents, or one's spouse, for that matter?
Why not just do what feels good, and damn the consequences?
The bottom line is that without a standard of truth, there is no good or bad action. Evil is just as good as good is evil. Cruelty is just as acceptable as compassion. The underlying, fundamental cause for the turmoil we now see in Western society is the abandoning of absolute truth.
Truth is what our world desperately needs.
There is a three-fold reason for the rejection of absolute truth:
1) A widespread campaign to promote evolution. When children are taught that their lives are accidents, it is no wonder that they act like accidents. Their teachers tell them they are advanced monkeys and that only the fittest survive, and then wonder why they bring guns to school. Schools that are supposedly "religion-free zones" have most blatantly preached the religion of humanism to our youth. The pastor-teacher stands in front of the congregation-class and lectures-preaches what children should believe about man's 'good' nature, the environment, socialism, and the accidental origin of the universe. Even though 'tolerance' is supposedly the core value of governments and schools, anyone who dares suggest that absolute truth may exist, or that an intelligent designer may have formed the world, is not tolerated.
Since our culture has steered away from accepting God as the Creator and Lawgiver, we no longer find a basis for universally applicable laws. For if God's laws are invalid, then whose laws should become the standard? The book of Genesis in the Bible is the foundation of all moral truths. If that is ripped away, then there is no precedent for male-female marriage, the use of clothing, the authority of God Law, etc. If God did not create us, then the concept of 'right and wrong' becomes merely a mirage, glistening amidst the sands of aimless relativism. All we have left is to do whatever it takes to get ahead and be happy until we are snuffed out of existence. Evolutionary philosophy steals a person's reason to live. Even more, evolution-indoctrination is killing off true science (study of facts) and rendering true, objective study of nature almost impossible. Today, school classrooms is America aren't even permitted to study theories that contradict materialistic Darwinism.
2) The rejection of the Ten Commandments as God's absolute standard of moral behavior. Many Westerners still believe in "God", or at least their own perception of God, but few live by God's rules. To only believe in God, and not accept His authority to make the laws that should govern our souls, is preposterous. As the Creator and Owner, He has the right to make the final decision in every one of our personal lives. Yet today, people prefer to look at God as a sort of "Santa Claus" figure instead of the Lord of the universe. We have systematically dumped the 10 Commandments by the wayside, and are left with no moral truth that can be applied across the board. Most would agree that the Commandments are good ideas, but how many believe they are essential to personal living? These 10 most basic laws of the Creator must form the foundation of morality, if our freedom and our civilization is to survive.
3) The rebellion of humanity against God. Some know God is the Creator and the Lawgiver, yet, they willfully choose to go their own way and make their own decisions. The truth of God is abandoned for the lie of humanism. People would rather believe almost anything (and they do) in the effort to not believe in God. Their hearts are bent on rebellion against the Creator. Some show this outwardly by their manner of dress, their jewelry, and their drug use, and some show it by their quiet disobedience in the areas of lust, pride, self-righteousness, gossip, and materialism. Regardless of the expression, this wicked rebellion against God invites His judgment. When one forsakes His absolutes and chooses against them, he is earmarked for disaster by his own foolish choices. The same is true for a nation that sets itself up above the laws of Almighty God.
The Answer--the Hope of Truth
The loss of absolute truth has been the most devastating development in the history of Western civilization. Spiritual darkness covers our land, just as it did during the "Dark Ages," when for a thousand years the truth was hidden from the masses. Are we on the verge of another dark era?
We try to implement human solutions to seemingly endless social problems, but they always come up short. Political action and government spending will never reverse this tide. We can't outlaw evil when there is no definitive standard of good. As the Proverbs remind us: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
Contrary to popular opinion, there is Someone who has the right to tell you how to live your life. There is Someone whose opinion is more than just a statistic. His vote is the only one that really matters. You will give an account to Him--and you will answer to His Absolute Standards. It is one thing to agree that a nation needs absolute truth...but it is another to understand that you need it as well. We all do. We need the One who declared: "I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life." The Bible says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." (Eccl. 12:13-14)
The answer to this great need must begin on a personal level. Each of us must individually realize his responsibility to Creator God. If we will commit ourselves to His absolute truth, we can and will see real change in our world.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."
-- Matthew 5:6
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