Inspired by Lee Strobel
"People have shifted religious authority away from creeds, traditions, and churches and assumed it themselves," said James R. Edwards of Whitworth College. "People are less inclined today to defer to established religious authorities, and more inclined to express their own religious preferences." *
Increasingly, people seeking religious input draw more from the Internet than from church history, more from their own intuition than formal study. They stress sincerity over doctrinal specifics. They feel untethered to their religious upbringing and are more than wiling to interpret Jesus in a fresh light for a new generation. According to a 2005 survey by CBS, 38% of Americans say the search for spirituality--no matter where that takes them--is more important than sticking to the traditions of their church. ¹
It's All Relative
An Interview with Paul Copan, Ph.D.
In Paul Copan's words, "When people are so certain that they've got the truth and believe their system explains everything, then people who disagree with them are on the outside. They end up in Auschwitz or the Soviet gulags," he said. "So instead of metanarratives, postmodernism emphasize mininarratives. In other words, each person has his or her own viewpoint or story."
That's the post-modern view. "Each person has his own narrative, and who's to say anyone is wrong? Postmodernism celebrates diversity. Postmoderns approach certainty and objectivity by pointing out that we're finite and limited. We're limited by our cultural and family background, our place in history, and our personal biases. We're not totally objective or neutral. There's a suspicion toward sweeping truth claims, which are seen as power-grabbing: whoever is in charge can say 'this is true' and then back it up by oppressing those who disagree."
"To the relativist, no fact is true in all times and all places. Objective relativism says that the beliefs of a person are 'true' for him but not necessarily for anyone else. No truth is objectively true or false. This means that one person's 'truth,' which really amounts to his opinion, can directly conflict with another person's 'truth' and still be valid.
"Religious relativism says one religion can be true for one person culture but not for another. No religion provides a metanarrative or 'big picture' for everyone. No religion is universally or exclusively true. You can have your kind of Jesus and I can have mine; it doesn't matter if our views contradict each other. Moral relativism says there's no universal right and wrong. Moral values are true--or 'genuine'--for some but not for others. Since there are different expressions of morality in the world, there's no reason to think that one viewpoint is any more true than any other."
So adultery is okay? "In the view of the moral relativist, yes," he replied. "Something is wrong only if you feel it's wrong. Now, relativists may not approve of adultery and may even have strong reservations about it. But they'll say, 'Who am I to say someone else is wrong?'
"Then there's historical relativism, which says we can't know for sure what happened in the past, so we're merely left with differing opinions or interpretations of these events. As the saying goes, 'You've got your truth, I've got mine.' "
What are the shortcomings of relativism? "Relativism falls apart logically when you examine it. As a worldview, it simply doesn't work."
"There's no reason to take seriously the claim that every belief is as good as every other belief, since this belief itself would be no better than any other. If we do take it seriously, it becomes self-refuting, because it claims to be the one belief of everyone should hold to. The claims of the relativist are like saying, 'I can speak a word of English,' or, 'All generalizations are false.' His statements are self-contradictory. They self-destruct under examination."
Are there aspects of post-modernism that make sense? "Despite some of its own incoherencies there are some lessons we can learn from it. For example, we do have our limitations, biases, and perspectives. We should admit that. Also, the culturally or politically powerful--even the religious--many times do try to spin the truth to suit their own agenda. And metanarratives often do alienate and marginalize outsiders--although I should note that Christianity teaches the intrinsic value of every individual, including the disfranchised. Finally, the quest for absolute certainty in every area of life is impossible--but I have to add that it's also unnecessary." ²
Resource: ¹ Lee Strobel, The Case for the Real Jesus, p.228,
² Ibid., p.232-235
* James R. Edwards, Is Jesus the Only Savior?"
"People have shifted religious authority away from creeds, traditions, and churches and assumed it themselves," said James R. Edwards of Whitworth College. "People are less inclined today to defer to established religious authorities, and more inclined to express their own religious preferences." *
Increasingly, people seeking religious input draw more from the Internet than from church history, more from their own intuition than formal study. They stress sincerity over doctrinal specifics. They feel untethered to their religious upbringing and are more than wiling to interpret Jesus in a fresh light for a new generation. According to a 2005 survey by CBS, 38% of Americans say the search for spirituality--no matter where that takes them--is more important than sticking to the traditions of their church. ¹
It's All Relative
An Interview with Paul Copan, Ph.D.
"We're living in a postmodern era in which concepts like 'truth' and 'morality' are more elastic than in the past." - Lee Strobel
In Paul Copan's words, "When people are so certain that they've got the truth and believe their system explains everything, then people who disagree with them are on the outside. They end up in Auschwitz or the Soviet gulags," he said. "So instead of metanarratives, postmodernism emphasize mininarratives. In other words, each person has his or her own viewpoint or story."
That's the post-modern view. "Each person has his own narrative, and who's to say anyone is wrong? Postmodernism celebrates diversity. Postmoderns approach certainty and objectivity by pointing out that we're finite and limited. We're limited by our cultural and family background, our place in history, and our personal biases. We're not totally objective or neutral. There's a suspicion toward sweeping truth claims, which are seen as power-grabbing: whoever is in charge can say 'this is true' and then back it up by oppressing those who disagree."
"To the relativist, no fact is true in all times and all places. Objective relativism says that the beliefs of a person are 'true' for him but not necessarily for anyone else. No truth is objectively true or false. This means that one person's 'truth,' which really amounts to his opinion, can directly conflict with another person's 'truth' and still be valid.
"Religious relativism says one religion can be true for one person culture but not for another. No religion provides a metanarrative or 'big picture' for everyone. No religion is universally or exclusively true. You can have your kind of Jesus and I can have mine; it doesn't matter if our views contradict each other. Moral relativism says there's no universal right and wrong. Moral values are true--or 'genuine'--for some but not for others. Since there are different expressions of morality in the world, there's no reason to think that one viewpoint is any more true than any other."
So adultery is okay? "In the view of the moral relativist, yes," he replied. "Something is wrong only if you feel it's wrong. Now, relativists may not approve of adultery and may even have strong reservations about it. But they'll say, 'Who am I to say someone else is wrong?'
"Then there's historical relativism, which says we can't know for sure what happened in the past, so we're merely left with differing opinions or interpretations of these events. As the saying goes, 'You've got your truth, I've got mine.' "
What are the shortcomings of relativism? "Relativism falls apart logically when you examine it. As a worldview, it simply doesn't work."
"There's no reason to take seriously the claim that every belief is as good as every other belief, since this belief itself would be no better than any other. If we do take it seriously, it becomes self-refuting, because it claims to be the one belief of everyone should hold to. The claims of the relativist are like saying, 'I can speak a word of English,' or, 'All generalizations are false.' His statements are self-contradictory. They self-destruct under examination."
Are there aspects of post-modernism that make sense? "Despite some of its own incoherencies there are some lessons we can learn from it. For example, we do have our limitations, biases, and perspectives. We should admit that. Also, the culturally or politically powerful--even the religious--many times do try to spin the truth to suit their own agenda. And metanarratives often do alienate and marginalize outsiders--although I should note that Christianity teaches the intrinsic value of every individual, including the disfranchised. Finally, the quest for absolute certainty in every area of life is impossible--but I have to add that it's also unnecessary." ²
Resource: ¹ Lee Strobel, The Case for the Real Jesus, p.228,
² Ibid., p.232-235
* James R. Edwards, Is Jesus the Only Savior?"
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