May
11
Truth, Lies, and the Dangers of Relativism
“Nobody can ‘live their truth’ for long. Everyone knows this.” — Melissa Dougherty, Happy Lies
I have addressed the issue of relativism in the past. But, it’s always good to have a reminder of the causes and consequences of this faulty mindset. The citation below comes from the new book, Happy Lies, by Melissa Dougherty. The book is about the infiltration of New Thought (as opposed to New Age) ideas into Western society — the history/causes, symptoms, and its incompatibility with a biblical mindset. The matter of objective vs. subjective truth — especially in the realm of morals and ethics — is part of that “battle of ideas”, and I thought Dougherty did a good job in her discussion of it.
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New Thought’s relativism fits hand in glove with the cultural status quo and popular opinions about Jesus and the Bible. “You do you” is a great way to win friends and influence people. It’s also a great way to deceive them. We’re not living in a post-truth era. We’re living in an anti-truth era.
Once you see the difference between objectivism — truth based on what’s outside of us– and subjectivism — “truth” based on what’s inside of us — you’ll see how it affects nearly every aspect of culture. You’ll also become more familiar with its dangerous consequences. If truth can’t be known, then moral truth can’t be known. Ethics become subjective. We lose a reliable measuring rod for what is right and wrong, good or evil, or even loving or unloving. When we abandon the idea that a higher law of moral truth applies to everyone, all that remains are feelings. [What is good becomes what feels good, and pleasures define morality.] …
If truth is fluid and based on opinions, there are no divine imperatives. Meaning if there are no objective moral laws binding on all people everywhere, then morality is relative to how someone feels. If objective moral truth doesn’t exist, though, and pleasure becomes the ultimate action guide, then whose standard of pleasure do we follow? The one with the most power.
Clearly, the people in power don’t always have our best interests in mind. Our fallen human nature, though, loves this idea because it appeals to our darkest impulse to lord over people. We tend to do what pleases us, not what is good or right for others — the opposite of the Bible’s teaching.
When power is used to exploit the ignorant, people are prone to deny what’s objectively true because of the influence of those in power. They aren’t convinced by what’s actually true. They are convinced because of who is saying it. The value of truth claims depends on who’s making them. Relativism is like a symphony with no composer or sheet music. It’s just noise.
The idea of relativism raises an interesting question. If there’s no objective truth, can anything be false? Can anything be a lie? I asked a New Thought cleric this question. He said, “Truth progresses. Truth is never settled. We can’t know for sure what’s moral or true because our definitions of it change.”
This seemed like a self-defeating statement, so I asked him, “Is that truth settled? Or is it still progressing?”
“That’s a good question. I don’t know.”
“Okay, do you believe lies exist?”
“Of course I do.”
“How would you define a lie, then?”
“I would say that a lie is when someone’s not being truthful.”
“But you said truth progresses. By that same standard, doesn’t that mean lies progress too?”
He didn’t know what to say to this. Notice he wasn’t doing backflips, saying, “This means I can never lie? Sweet!”
Here’s the irony. Lies prove truth exists. Something evil or bad can only make sense against the backdrop of good. In the same way, there can be no lies without truth. Think of the theological implications. Jesus said Satan is the father of lies. But if there is no truth, there can be no lies. If there are no lies, then Jesus was wrong and Satan is off the hook. Checkmate!
There’s a reason people deny truth on a massive scale. There’s a spiritual payoff. If we do away with truth, especially moral truth, no one has to hold others accountable. The most we can do is disagree with them, which isn’t appealing to most New Thought believers either. Most people I talked with while doing research for this book were hesitant to make any definitive claims about what they believed. I suspect this has a lot to do with their aversion to conflict. They don’t want to upset what “resonates” with someone else.
One person I talked with said, “My feeling will always trump facts. If something contradicts my Truth, I quit thinking. I put it out there in the Universe and let it go. I do not wrestle with it to find truth. I wait for God to deliver a message, then I ask if it feels right to me.” I couldn’t help wondering if her claim that her feelings always trump facts was itself a fact. Notice how she had to abandon critical thinking to follow her “truth.”
The point is that a person claiming there’s no objective truth doesn’t typically play the movie forward. They don’t contemplate the ramifications of their relativism. A world where everyone is his own authority becomes a breeding ground for chaos and evil. Besides a toddler, who can live in a world where yes is the same as no? …
The problem is that relativism speaks out of both sides of its mouth. One side demands we shouldn’t judge and should coexist, while the other side demands justice, makes judgment calls, and loudly disagrees with what they don’t tolerate. It’s madness.
Truth can’t speak out of both sides of its mouth. Truth can’t contradict itself. You can’t say all truth is relative and then say it’s true that you ought not judge.
Nobody can be a consistent relativist. Nobody can “live their truth” for long. Everyone knows this. Some people choose to suppress or deny it.
Second Timothy 4:3 is one of the best Scripture passages to explain why this happens. “The time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (NIV).
Relativism is humanity’s broken attempt to justify their sin and live as their own god. It’s self-idolatry. This has a strong appeal because it makes us feel important and powerful. But it leaves us bound and broken. Truth, by contrast, corrects, informs, instructs, rebukes, and challenges. Without truth, we are in bondage to our depraved nature that, if followed without moral restraint, will eventually lead to addiction, brokenness, and death — both physical and spiritual.
God exists and, therefore, truth exists. This is foundational to everything in our lives. Our standards are set by the truth of who God is and what he says about reality, and therefore, we seek to know him and to obey him. He is the ultimate standard of what’s true and good.
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I am only half-way through Happy Lies as of this writing, but I highly recommend it. Very important information that people, including God’s church, need to “hear”. It is written in a very lay-friendly and relatable style, and I like the humor, too. (You might remember that I recommended Dougherty’s YouTube channel in a previous post.)
