Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but truth isn't.
"'What is truth?' Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told
them, 'He is not guilty of any crime.'" John 18:38 NLT
What is truth? Is there truth? Where can I find it? Is truth for me truth for
everyone? Does it change? All questions people wrangle with and reach different
conclusions. Relativism makes truth relative, or changeable. Individual
relativism allows the individual to set the parameters. Cultural relativism lets
each culture define truth. Imagine the missionary's surprise when, after telling
a native tribe about Judas betraying Jesus, he noticed they praised Judas
instead of seeing his error. In their culture, betrayal was an honorable trait.
As Jesus stood before Pilate, he proclaimed to represent truth. Pilate
contemplated his statement and asked his infamous question, "What is truth?"
Jesus said he was and is the way, the truth, and the life. Not all agree.
Truth is not relative . . . either to individuals or cultures. What I think is
the truth matters not; nor does what others think. Truth for me cannot not be
truth for you. But individual relativism promotes this concept. You do what you
want, and I'll do the same. Stay out of my business, and I'll stay out of yours.
Cultural relativism manufactures the same mistake. What is true in one culture
is true in another. Just because a culture may accept rape as legal doesn't make
it so in God's eyes.
Individuals and cultures don't erect the rules for determining truth. There are
moral absolutes that transcend individuals and cultures, and God establishes
them. They are viewed most clearly in God's Ten Commandments and in the two
commands Jesus said were the most important: love him with all one's heart and
our neighbors as we do ourselves. God established moral absolutes . . . truth .
. . in the very beginning and recorded them in his Word. Jesus represented truth
when he resided on earth. What I think should be or is truth is immaterial. It
only matters what God proclaims. Have you discovered truth?
Prayer: Thank You, most glorious Father, for giving us the truth.
Martin Wiles
Hodges,
South Carolina, USA
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