Monday 27 September 2010

relativism

6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)

It very fashionable to doubt everything in this modern world, even we believers doubt that we hold onto some higher or grander truth or that there is a singular path to salvation Some even seem to believe that a really good atheist could by their own perfect goodness open to non believer the gates of heaven.
The argument runs like this, some Christian (regular attendees of church and even some ministers) have not been and are not and will not be good people. That some people who are not believers are better than these Christians and thus not only dose Christianity not hold monopoly of doing good but neither do we hold the right to truth.

This discussion is held in a greater narrative called post-modernism or relativism. The relativist says there are many faiths and unless you behave counter to the commands of Christ (and judge them) you must accept them as equally truthful or at least you must accept that your faith, your truths is merely one among a set of probably infinite set of faiths and truths.

These ideas erode faith and I mean faith. There is only one God and one way to him and that is through Jesus Christ. Yes other believe differently but people believe many silly things mere belief does not reality make. I could believe until I exploded that I was a six foot anodise with a personality that made women knees buckle but reality would not bend one inch to my delusions and those who seek God can believe until the end of days there is a path excluding Jesus but they will never find it because the truth is that Jesus is the path.

Now your ministers and reverent may speak against this they will say this is nothing but empty dogma, that I am nothing but an scared and confused believer running away from the “realities” of the post modern world (though how anyone can use realities and post modern in the same sentence is beyond me). I embrace them and there challenge and dear reader I tell you this I am fearful not of post-modernism. I have studied its poisonous and truth destroying creed, I see daily the effect of taking moral certainty and exchanging relativist morals (though moral they are not they are merely the temporal taste of man).

I will say something to those who think that are faith can exist in the world where certainty, faith and even rules are not immortal but temporal, a world where certainly is exchange for anarchy. It is they who are scared. They are the decedents of the church that denied the literal truth of Gods existence, which denies the historical truth of his miracles and now they turn and run from his laws and truth.
Look at what they give us. They give us a bible which we can no longer understand alone (we require commentary, historical lesions, a MA in linguistic philosophy and in post modernist ideals and of course ancient Greek). No we mere humans cannot understand the true message of the bible anymore they say. It is for these (largely post Christians), to lead us so we can fully understand the churches 2000 year old mistake that of actually believing in the bible and its universal application.

So what are we to do? When I say we I refer to you my dear reader who remains loyal to the singular greatest fruit of the protestant revolution, the revelation or rediscovery that the bible contains all we require for salvation and that anyone can follow this path, that anyone can meet Jesus and that even the most unlearned, darkest, most oppressed soul can know Jesus and the sole path to salvation through him.

So what are we to do? Those of us who remain to save are beloved and multiple churches (actually the Catholics are leading the charge, they long ago realise that relativism and doubt is incompatible with faith). Well my catholic brothers and sisters can remain loyal to their church teaching and to the pope who is relived not because of his past but because the forces of doubt know that he alone among church leaders will not buckle and bend to them but will stand alone is necessary against their poison.

Those of us in the protestant churches that challenge relativism and refuses to alter their message of sovereign truth need only to remain true in the knowledge that they are the decedents of the protestant revolution and of Jesus Gospel but also keep this article in mind, keep the scattering, diluting effect of relativism in mind and carry on the good fight.

Those of us (and I think this is more common in the Anglican community) whose churches are trying to embrace (or swallow) the relativist / post modern ideas? We must be prepared to fight against them, to even stand against are church leadership not only on a particle level but also on an intellectual level. We must cry out against the dangers of relativism and remain true even in internal exile to the single truth that salvation is found solely though Christ and no other.

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