“Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with the following statement: There is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.”
How would you answer the above query? George Barna, in his book What Americans Believe, found that 72% of the 18-25 year-olds, 67% of the 26-44 year-olds, 64% of the 45-54 year-olds, 59% of the 55-64 year-olds, and 56% of those 65 years or older agreed that there is no absolute truth. He also found that 59% of the “churched population” denies that there is absolute truth. Even more amazing is that “adults associated with mainline Protestant churches are more likely than all other adults to agree that there is no such thing as absolute truth (73% compared to 65%).”
Over the years I have heard people say that one cannot know the truth. And, I have heard others suggest that truth can be known but one cannot know that he knows it. Then some think you have “your truth” and I have “my truth,” which is just another way of saying opinion is as good as truth.
One thing that causes this kind of thinking is that many find their doctrines and practices without scriptural endorsement. When one cannot, by the truth, prove his point of view, often he will change his view of truth. Truth, then, is no longer absolute as far as they are concerned. It is whatever one wants it to be. And, some, more interested in what is personally advantageous anyway, or having an agenda to pursue, don’t really care whether something is true of not.
It is no wonder that now many treat truth as if it is mere opinion. How often does one hear such phrases like “conservative view,” or “liberal view,” or this is “traditional,” or that is “progressive” when someone refers to a doctrinal matter? Thus, one reduces truth (which is absolute by nature) to a “take it or leave it” perspective since it is at best a point of view and no more.
It is true that some can be more conservative than the truth, while others can be more liberal than the truth. Some can love tradition more than truth or go beyond the truth. My point is that people flippantly tend to toss words around with little or no thought to what is really the truth. How often do people treat all comments about Scripture as being of equal value, as if there is no real truth to which one can appeal in order to know what is right and wrong? And, how many hide behind the notion of “who can say for sure?” when dealing with tough biblical issues rather than really seeking and finding the truth?
All of this is folly and runs counter to what the Bible says about truth. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth” (John 8:32) and pointed out that God’s Word is “the truth” (John 17:17). The apostles and prophets claimed that their word was truth since it came from God and can be understood by those who read it (Ephesians 3:3-5; 5:17).
Why would one be expected to handle accurately “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) if it cannot be known for certain? Why mention that Timothy had “known the sacred writings which are able to give [him] the wisdom that leads to eternal salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15) if knowing the truth is impossible? How could anyone have confidence in their own salvation because, even though one’s soul is purified “in obedience to the truth” (1 Peter 1:22), he couldn’t be sure he actually obeyed the truth? Real obedience would be a total accident rather than a matter of design and intention.
The fact is truth is identifiable, knowable, and understandable. The Bereans knew this. This is why they examined the Scriptures, “to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
How serious is this matter of truth? Many will be lost because they do not know the truth that saves (2 Thessalonians 1:8; 2:10). There are those “who have gone astray from the truth” (2 Timothy 2:18), while others “oppose the truth” (2 Timothy 3:8). Many “turn away their ears from the truth” and “turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:4) because they will not “endure sound doctrine” (v 3). Then there are the “untaught and unstable” who distort the Scriptures to their own “destruction” (2 Peter 3:17).
The truth should be valued above all. By it, one shall be saved. Without it, one has no hope of salvation. May we resolve to “buy the truth, and sell it not” to “get wisdom and instruction and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23).
Mark Hanstein |
