Postmodernism: Relative Truth

Ever Changing World

The popular culture of the world is an ever changing realm which sometimes catches us by surprise. In a grander way, the world of the current younger generations and the way that these people look at the world has changed from even one or two generations ago. There is a term used to describe this arising new outlook known as “Postmodernism”. To examine this outlook, we will look at different aspects of it, beginning with the subject of Relative Truth.

A Different Reaction

The way that younger people react to proclamation of truths differs from earlier generations. In years past, all that may have been necessary to prove a distinct truth from the pages of the Bible would be to quote it, whereas today Bible quotation is left flat on many younger ears. The reason for this may surprise.

Much concerning the dealing with truths is the assumption (as has been the norm for many years) that truths are definitive ideas. This is the basis of absolute truth; the idea that what is true remains so for every person. In the realm of the Biblical, an example would be the Biblical admonition of sin in general, and the specific defining of sins in particular.

However, to the Postmodern mind, it has become more common to view the world in terms of “personal” or “relative” truths. From this outlook, what one person believes to be true for oneself may not be true for someone else.

An Outlook of Nonsense

This outlook is of course nonsensical in any practical terms. It is impossible for relative truth to be truth in any sense. However, sense is not as important as feeling. It is not as important from this perspective to be “right” as it is to not upset the “rightness” of others (and damage their emotional state). In terms of the example of above concerning sin, it is alright to believe that the Bible considers certain things sinful, but one cannot “impose” that belief upon others’ behavior.

This is of course maddening to the serious student of the Bible, and is a great hindrance to Bible study. However, this is much a part of the world we live in and the generations who are growing up around us. The approaches of the past may need to be modified to accommodate for the need to explain the concept of absolute truth as a real idea first, before sharing the truth of God’s Word.