Absolute Truth vs. Relativism

Excerpts from Pathway to Victory Radio Broadcast

September 2022

Pastor Robert Jeffress

Absolute truth applies to everyone.  Relativism is the rejection of absolute truth in favor of “your own truth.”  Society today no longer believes in truths that apply to everyone.  Relativism is the new truth.  Embracing relativism affects us morally in all aspects of our life.

Many are offended that America was founded as a Christian nation, that abortion is wrong, and that the Bible tells us that Christianity is the only right religion.  If we embrace relativism, we are saying that absolute truth only applies to those who believe it.

The DANGERS of embracing relativism:

1/ Relativism is the rejection of absolute truth.  It says that anything is permissible!  This is the result of rejecting God and His word as absolute truth.  We cannot reject absolute truth without any consequences to society, such as normalizing crime, rape, pedophilia, etc.

2/ Relativism discourages biblical discussions.  Voicing an absolute truth is now considered hate speech, thereby absolute truth becomes untruth.

3/ Relativism promotes persecution.  Relativism implies that absolute truth is hate speech and haters must be silenced.  It “tolerates” absolute truth only if convenient to a discussion, and it persecutes those with the knowledge of absolute truth (found in the Bible).

The foundational principles of Absolute Truth

1/ Absolute truth is universal because everyone believes in absolute truth.  For example, everyone knows that if you jump off a building, gravity will pull you to the ground and either kill you or seriously hurt you.  But relativists will tell you that truth only applies to those who believe it.  A relativist would be hard-pressed to try to convince you that when you jump off a building, gravity is not an absolute truth.

2/ Absolute truth is revealed in God-given values.  An absolute truth is that life begins at conception.  When this gets debated, we exchange absolute truth for false truth.

3/ Absolute truth is exclusive.  Relativists say everyone is right.  Who, then, is wrong?  In a heated debate on absolute truth, there is one right person and one wrong person because there are untruths floating around in the world.  We know that everything cannot be true and we also know that not everyone is right.  Pluralism says that no “one opinion” or belief system can claim to be right.  This is the opposite of absolute truth.  Absolute truth is an exclusive truth that reflects what is actually true and pure.   The Bible guides us on this.  One thing to consider:  all religions are not telling the truth about God.

4/ The abuse of absolute truth is a forced neutrality.  Remaining on the fence about absolute truth will lead to never knowing what absolute truth is.  It’s time for Christians to become increasingly intolerant toward neutrality.  Not hateful, but we need to stand up against relativism and not allow evil to be called good.  We must pursue absolute truth!