Thursday, April 19, 2007

Truth

A recent discussion along with reading of Josh McDowell’s “Right from Wrong” brought something interesting to my mind. That is the inherent hypocrisy that relativists have, and yet don’t realize it. Relativists believe there is no absolute truth, and seem to almost thrive on arguing that with anyone. Yet, for them believe that there are two problems inherent in relativism. First, to believe that there is no absolute truth is contradicting, because you are in fact believing in an absolute truth…that there is no absolute truth. My mind kind of rebels over that, being that it’s circular, and self-contradicting, but that’s how it is. To believe there is no absolute truth is to acknowledge that you believe something that applies to everyone everywhere, that is, there is nothing that is true for everyone, what is true for that person may not be true for another, which is an inherent belief in a contradictory absolute.

The second fallacy is that a relativist can not debate someone and maintain their position. You see, if you truly believe in relative truth, then you can not ever say the other person is wrong. After all, you believe in relative truth, so I am right for me. You can never say someone else is wrong, lest you contradict yourself, because to state so is to say some other form of truth that is absolute. If I believe you’re wrong, you can’t even argue with me there, because that may be what’s true to me. You can’t argue tolerance, because intolerance for others could be my truth. You see what I’m getting at?

No one truly believes in relative morality, they just like to argue it. In practice, most everyone believes in some sort of absolute truth, if only “Live and let live,” which seems to be what most people really mean by relative truth and morality. And if you disagree, you can't argue with me, because this is true to me! :P

Monday, April 09, 2007

Following

I am currently facing large questions about God's call for my life in the immediate future. These questions arise not because of doubting God's call, so much as the arise from the questions in the details involved. There are things about the calling I feel that make me doubtful that make it difficult to bare. And yet I am certain that it is the right way.

I am reminded of a saying my sister once had on her bedroom wall. "What is right is not always easy, but it is always right!" I have come up with my own similar saying "Following God is rarely easy, but it's with God." And it is so true. It is sometimes hard to follow the Lord's will. Largely the difficulty comes, to me, in the form of my understanding. You see, my understanding why I do something is not always required in my life following after God. And that scares me sometimes. But God reminds me of Job, suffering, beaten down by Satan. All he wants to do is vindicate himself before God in front of his friends. And the whole time I'm reading thinking, "Go on, God, explain it to him, let him know what a great thing he has shown by showing up Satan." Instead, God tells him off for thinking to question His sovereignty. And...I'm left humbled. You see, God doesn't require my comprehension, He requires that I commit to Him and His will. And time and again it's shown to be the absolute best way.

He also reminds me that He truly does know best, and that to seek Him I must throw off my fears and hopes in anything but Him. That is the beauty of it, to me. I must give it all up, and I gain more than I could ahve imagined. By seeking I don't mean the casual," ho hum, yeah, whatever you want God...as long as it involves me marrying a hot chick." Or whatever else, you know what I mean, putting these plans together and claiming you're trusting in God. Now I'm not saying plans are bad, I'm saying that we all to often make plans, then claim they're God's will and anything that deviates from them can't be God's will because they're not part of the plan.

God's will is not a mystical secrecy that we don't get to see, despite the way our attitudes seem to be. God wishes us to know His will, but the problem is that we don't really want to know it. God isn't some fortune teller to answer questions about whatever items we wish. Rather he is "a lamp to our feet" which reveals the next few steps. Think of it, He does reveal the next few steps, but not the context. We are in the dark about our lives and its grand meaning, and God never promises us to understand it. Rather, He promises that we can trust Him, and that though we can't see the way or what's around us, He will lead us to the best thing in the end. We want to know where we should buy our home next year, but God is trying to get us to focus on the guy accross the office. We want to know who we will marry, but God wants to show us where best to focus our ministry.

These things go again any man's nature, or at the very least, mine. We want to know. We want to be confident and secure, independent and strong. But to trust God and truly get the good stuff, we have to be dependent and weak, and it sometimes is down right scary. But in the end, my life isn't worth beans if its in my hands, because I am weak compared to a massive world of which Satan is the prince. I must follow God and put my faith in Him, or there's nothing left for me.