by: Shannon R. Haas
It is quite popular within
our culture today (especially among the West & portions of Europe) to
believe that all paths of faith lead to God.
“Like spokes on a wagon wheel,” they say, “all lead to the central hub
of God.” Oprah Winfrey once gave her analogy as describing a mountain we are
all climbing, but taking different paths to the top (which lead to heaven). Also, I’ve heard from many that, “truth is
relative”, and that “truth is ultimately found within ourselves”. Is this true
though? Are we all ultimately on the
right path that leads to God regardless of what we believe or how we live our
lives? Is there an absolute moral set of
standards given to us from some superior or sovereign God, or are we all here
to evolve our morals on our own through time?
It is getting more common when asking just about anyone these days in
that they will tell you, “right and wrong are a matter of human opinion.” “There are no absolutes,” they say, and
therefore, “my view or belief is as good as yours or that of the next person.” Well if this is so, I say, “Then how can we be absolutely sure that
there are no absolutes”? Some would
also be tempted to twist a few verses from the Bible out of context and say
that mankind needs to just live by “the golden rule”, in that we are all to “love
others as we would want to be loved.” Again,
another would say, “let’s just all get along in the name of peace.” “You be
you, and I’ll be me.” That’s a noble idea; however, under whose
definition of love and peace do we go by?? Well, let’s take a look and
examine these popular cultural ideas from a rational, reasonable, and logical
perspective.
Just taking a brief look at
these claims should immediately throw up some red flags to the average thinking
person. If one were to plan a trip (to
let’s say my house), it would be illogical for me to tell that individual that
they could “just jump on any road, and take any direction, and it will lead to
my house”. That would obviously not fly
and would likely lead to the questioning of my sanity. Take a pilot for instance. If a pilot were to board his plane and say,
“well there are no set of standards or laws concerning thermodynamics, so therefore
I will be flying this plane today in the manner as I see fit”, that pilot would
not be keeping his job very long, and would quickly clear his plane of passengers
from fear. However, I have found recently
that when it comes to those who would take the stand of a conservative,
biblical approach of an absolute, “thus says the Lord”, they are usually immediately
ridiculed and scorned as: intolerant, extreme, radical, fundamental, dogmatic,
judgmental, prudes, (and a variety of other titles are given to them from our
current culture). I have even recently
read the word “hater” given to those who would dare to proclaim a moral
absolute. Some argue that, “it’s unfair
to be comparing the natural realm with the spiritual realm!” But I say, that if
one believes in God we ought to know from a common reasonable sense that the
spiritual realm governs the natural in everything we see around us. The Bible declares this in Romans 1:19-20 “….what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it
to them. For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without
excuse.” Also, in Hebrews 11:3
we read, “By faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen
were not made of things which are visible.”
The ultimate problem is we “suppress
the truth in unrighteousness” because our “deeds are evil” Romans 1:18 & John 3:19. When we look at a building we cannot deny
that there was a builder, when looking at a painting we know there must be a
painter, and when looking at a watch there are no other options but to say
there was indeed a watchmaker. Although
we may not see the watchmaker abroad in Japan (or wherever), we cannot deny
that he exists from the evidence we have before our eyes. The same conclusion is true concerning God.
I believe that much of today’s
problems (especially in America), that have blinded our minds is not only the clinging
to our own selfish sinful lifestyles, but is due to our recent materialistic
and post-modern ideas that have actually developed over many decades. What is post-modernism (PM)? Well, PM takes on many forms today such as:
political correctness, pluralism, moral relativism, deconstructionism, and by a
variety of other titles. From the
mid-1960s through the 1980s, the term was used with increasing frequency to
describe a way of thinking about truth and interpreting language. It ties in directly to the cultural ideas
mentioned above and is well-suited to a society where what we feel is far more
important than facts or what we think.
PM also arrogantly props up evolution as a means of our existence,
instead of special creation that the Bible so clearly declares in Genesis. It has become an integral part of our
education system, political structure, and is pumped aggressively through all
our media. It binds us in ignorance, and
substitutes our own warped reason in place of the Scriptural standard. It is appealing and like a disease because PM
is a way out for living and believing as we wish, without moral accountability
to an absolute, sovereign, righteous, holy, loving, and just God. The total
collapse of morality we see today, and the implementation of PM should be a
stern reminder to us of Proverbs
14:12…”There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of
death.”
During my upbringing, this
idea of ever changing views that evolve through time really bothered me. I was raised believing there was a God, but
didn’t understand all the confusion of different religions, denominations, etc.,
and which was to be trusted as the truth?
My family attended a Catholic Church where (like many liberal Protestant
denominations) its leaders and doctrines continually morph with the culture as
the hierarchy change positions. To me, a
life and world with no set of moral absolutes seemed to have little purpose and
meaning.
To make a long story short,
my frustration grew intensely as I entered my late teen years, which lead to a
life of alcohol and rebellion. At the
infamous high point of it all I ended up committing an armed robbery of a
convenience store at age 21. This
eventually landed me in prison, but ended up being the means and avenue God
used in assisting me to find the truth. Still
lost and confused, one day as I attended a jail Bible study I was struck by a
message the pastor gave concerning Bible prophecy and the astronomical odds of
all these prophecies being fulfilled to the very letter (At this time I was dabbling
with a variety of different religious beliefs: scientology, yoga, etc., and of
course reading the Bible some, but never had any concrete reasons for believing
any of these to be true). Upon hearing
the Bible regarding the fulfillment of prophecy it really drew me to
investigate the Bible further. To my amazement, after continued study and
reading of the Gospels I found that the Bible was indeed trustworthy through
what I call; ‘a sure word of prophecy’. In addition to prophecy, I also found
encouragement in the volumes of Bible apologetics concerning creation,
archeology, and history that confirm the Bible as the unchanging, absolute,
exclusive, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. It is indeed true that the Bible is
sufficient for all matters of life as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped
for every good work.
All of this knowledge
ultimately led me to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior through faith
and repentance (Ephesians 2:8-10). I saw myself as a wretched sinner heaped in
pride and selfishness and in need of God’s forgiveness. My point in briefly sharing this tidbit of
testimony is to explain that for the first time in my life I found a source of absolute truth, a solid rock and
foundation that I could place my trust in.
In fact, the Bible declares that the Lord is the “rock” and “foundation”
for those who place their trust in Him. I now have true peace and no longer have to be
under the world’s post-modern system of an insecure and unstable, ever-changing
culture. In fact, Malachi 3:6 declares: “For I
am the Lord, I do not change”, and in Hebrews
13:8 we see that, “Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
In conclusion, I have become
convinced that the premise behind post-modernism—that everyone has a right to
his own beliefs, and that they all lead to the same place—led to nowhere. Had I
continued on Oprah’s proverbial path up the mountain, God would never have been
waiting at the top for me. Jesus said, “I
am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.” “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” John 14:6 & Acts 4:12.
In today’s society, the lack
of absolutes defines our culture. “Whatever you believe is right for you” is
the mantra. Why is this so? Is it because we are now so afraid of offending
anyone? For taking any stand that is unpopular? In my opinion, having NO absolutes
is much more dangerous and frightening. No absolutes mean no rules, no
discipline, and everyone pursuing what is right in his own eyes. It is the
recipe for disaster and the rampant immorality that we now see throughout our
World. It’s like a father who is
unwilling to discipline and set rules for the well-being of his child. The
child grows up rebellious and headstrong towards the path of his own
destruction; we are doing the same as long as we believe there are no
absolutes!
Shannon R. Haas - srh4christ.blogspot.com
06/11/11 
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