Are You Absolutely Sure There Are No Absolutes?
By James N. Watkins
Every so often an angry reader fires off a “flaming” email accusing me of being a “right-wing, conservative, hate-filled, intolerant idiot.” So, I’d like to address
| some of those issues.
First,
“idiot” is an obsolete term referring to someone with a mental capacity
of a two-year-old. I’m more of a “moron” which ages ago referred
to
“There is no such thing as absolute truth.”
Help me understand this. You’re saying it’s absolutely
true that there’s no absolute truth. And if that’s true, how can
you be sure your statement is truth?
“I only believe what I can perceive with my five senses.”
Hmmm? Can you prove that statement by sight, smell, hearing,
touch, or taste? I don’t think so.
“What is right and wrong are for the individual to decide.” Okay, so rapper R. Kelly, who allegedly had child pornography on his computer, shouldn’t be harassed by intolerant authorities because pictures of naked 12-year-olds are “right” for him? And that wacky Iraqi, Saddam Hussein, is simply expressing his individuality by using chemical weapons on his own people and taking his sons out for a night of torturing political prisoners. Aren't |
 |
“no,” I’m assuming
it’sthere some things that are always wrong
for everyone? And if you say “yes,” aren’t you admitting
“Well,
right and wrong is what a society decides it is.”
Hmmm? So slavery was right for thousands of years
until society recently decided it wasn’t? How about segregation?
Was that just fine until a majority in Congress decided it wasn’t in
1964? And why are we hassling societies of China, North Korea, and Sudan
for the torture and murder of religious minorities?
“No,
something is wrong if it hurts other people.”
Wait
a minute. I thought you said there were no moral absolutes? Is that
always true for all cultures? Aren’t suicide bombers in the Middle East
idolized as moral heroes by a part of society? And how ‘bout the person in a
mask who comes up to you, knocks you unconscious,
slashes open your chest, and takes all your money? Of course I’m talking
about open-heart surgery. So, isn’t some pain good for us?
Isn’t “hurt” an absolute concept? And what about sado-masochism?
“Well,
you shouldn’t try to change other people’s beliefs.”
But
what if I disagree with that statement? Aren’t you trying to change my beliefs?
Let me get this straight, it’s “right” for you to try to convince me of your
ideas about “no absolute truth” and “individual morality,” but it’s “wrong” for
me to try to take my beliefs out into the arena of public debate?
“You’re
just intolerant!”
So,
you’re saying I’m “intolerant” for voicing my beliefs, but you’re “tolerant”
for rejecting my views as “intolerant”?
Hmmm? Are you absolutely sure about that?!
James N. Watkins, a journalist saved by
grace, writes weekly columns for three secular newspapers and an occasional
column for a fourth. His writings have won an Amy Award for Christian
writing in a secular newspaper as well as four Evangelical Press Association
awards. His website (http://www.jameswatkins.com) has been recognized by
the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Gospel Communications for its
effectiveness in “taking the Word to the world.”