Absolute Truth

The other night I was discussing with my father the idea of absolute truth versus relative truth and how one knows something is absolute truth. What is the measure by which we judge if something we believe is true or false? Our sincerity of belief cannot be the measure. It has to be something objective, something outside our own perception.

Many will argue that if God says it, that’s it, period. I do understand, but they are speaking within the worldview of Christian faith and belief that the Bible is the Word of God. So to a Christian the Bible may contain absolute truth, but it is because we have chosen to see truth through that worldview.

Premise for Argument:

Absolute truth must be recognized as logical and conclusive ubiquitously among all cultures and times regardless of personal beliefs. Generally, there would be a sense of guilt or disorder among anyone who would break them unless one was mentally dysfunctional. In a sense, absolute truth must be self-evident. (Just like gravity, a teacher explains why an object falls but no one needs to be taught that objects does indeed fall.)

Yet my father insisted\ that the Ten Commandments are absolute truth.

I have been pondering that statement. Are the Ten undeniably self-evident outside the context of scripture?

We can immediately see the problem with the Ten Commandments among non-theists. God was presenting Himself to Israel, so saying that it is natural state to worship Him above all other gods would be to make the command meaningless. No, God was introducing Himself and placing Himself above the other gods they were worshipping. Worshipping other gods, making images and bowing to them in worship, taking His name in vain was NOT a logical, natural or assumed state. It had to be taught. There was no guilt involved in NOT keeping these up until this point because they did not know who He was.

There was no natural state of guilt when one did not rest on the seventh day. So that again, could not be an absolute truth in the sense that it is not arguable and obvious to humans.

Though in most communities throughout history there have been general morality and taboos that would create a sense of guilt if one disrespected parents or would steal or tell lies, there is nothing in coveting that would cause guilt unless one were told it was wrong. There have been cultures that allowed for adultery and would even consider it an insult if you did not offer your wife to a male visitor. Randomly murdering innocent people is generally recognized as wrong, but in war when defending your home and country, killing anyone labeled “enemy” no matter how innocent they are, makes one a hero instead of a murderer. The Vikings were especially proud of killing innocent people. So even murder is not ubiquitously seen as a wrong. Therefore to submit the Ten Commandments as proof of absolute truth is still open to debate and interpretation taking it into the realm of relativism.

God was teaching Israel commandments that were not self evident.

Now having taken you through those steps I want to actually disagree with what I just wrote. The above premise that absolute truth is self-evident is incorrect.

I actually believe that ALL truths according to human perception are relative, in that, all can be argued with and none are self evident (even though they seem oh so self-evident to each of us individually). What I actually believe is that absolute truth (as opposed to something that can be found to be correct or true--such as gravity) must be taught and not found within human perception. Absolute truth is absolute ONLY because God said it. That is what makes it absolute.

Why take the time to argue the opposite at first?

Because it is extremely important that we analyze our own cultural assumptions first. We live in a rational, scientific and empirical culture that always premises truth upon what we can perceive. We rationally evaluate truth based on the assumption we can identify truth. I no longer believe that. Though absolute truth is recognizable by God’s grace, it must first be taught by God. The human mind was never designed with innate absolute (or complete, perfect, incontrovertible, infallible) truth. It may have the capacity to perceive facts, but because man’s mind has been clouded by sin, absolute truth must be revealed.

Though we see in part, as behind a veil, truth is clouded to the natural man. God alone reveals absolute truth.

So, in the end, though I still disagree that the sabbatarianism described in the Ten Commandments is required by Christians today, my father’s premise was indeed correct. Absolute truth is only that which proceeds from the mouth of God and revealed to man.

Traditions

Sadly, Traditions have been getting a bad rap through the years because people have misunderstood the words of Jesus in Matthew 15 (Mark 7) where the Pharisees nullify the word of God because of the elder’s traditions. As well as Col 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” But what we don’t often speak about is that there are scriptures that back up traditions.

I Corinthians 11:2, “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” 2 Thessalonians 3:6, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.”

Traditions must not nullify the word of God, but traditions in themselves can be very good. To say that Christians must reject tradition would not be honest, because Protestants have plenty of traditions they keep that cannot be back up with a proof text in scripture.

Traditions Protestants accept:

• Moses is the author of Torah
• The use of the Cross as a symbol
• Today’s religious wedding ceremonies
• Christmas
• Conversion experience
• Anti-slavery
• Sola Scriptura
• Sola Fida
• Individual interpretation of scripture
• Trinity
• Full Divinity of Christ
• Guardian Angels

Traditions Fundamentalists accept:

• Re-baptism
• Church leadership term of office
• Ordination service
• Church board
• Church records
• Sunday school
• Youth groups,
• Church schools
• Distributing tithe Open communion
• Sermons in today’s form
• Abstaining from all forms of alcohol
• No smoking (If it was about health why isn’t there a there is no being overweight doctrine?)

Traditions Adventists accept:

• Eve was not with Adam when she ate the fruit (Ellen got it from Milton’s Paradise Lost. The Bible says that Eve was with Adam when she ate.

• Representative form of church government with General Conference as highest
• Nominating committees and their surrounding protocol
• The election of pastors/minister by conference
• Separation of sexes during foot washing
• ingathering
• Healthy living practices like exercise, diet--including vegetarianism, dress, ventilation. Also traditions like no jewelry, no attending the theater as well as, Sabbath keeping traditions including--no TV or radio, no sports events, no swimming, etc

• Divorce:

Under the “Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage” in the Church Manual p. 205, SDA church: “Scripture recognizes adultery and/or fornication as well as abandonment by an unbelieving partner as grounds for divorce.” At the same time the church takes authority to establish its own traditions and laws surrounding divorce and remarriage: “Acknowledging the teachings of the Bible on marriage, the church is aware that marriage relationships are less than ideal in many cases.” The official position of the SDA church is that incest, child sexual abuse, homosexual practices and physical violence are just cause for divorce. Also when the custody of the children, the adjustment of property rights, or even personal protection “may make necessary a change in marital status.”

• Baptism Traditions (p. 30-33 Church Manual):

1. Age/maturity requirements for baptism
2. Mode of baptism
3. A church vote is required for membership subject to baptism
4. Public examination of candidate for commitment to all fundamental beliefs
5. Baptismal Vow:

to observe “the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath of the Lord and the memorial of Creation, to believe that Ellen White’s prophecy is “one of the identifying marks of the remnant church,” to abstain from pork, shellfish (Levitically unclean foods), alcoholic beverages and the use, manufacture, or sale of tobacco. Finally number 13 asks, “Do you accept and believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the remnant church of Bible prophecy and that people of every nation, race, and language are invited and accepted into its fellowship?”

• Order of Worship Service Tradition (p. 96 Church Manual) include the following order in all SDA worship services:

Musical Prelude, Announcements, Choir and Ministers Enter, Doxology, Invocation, Scripture Reading, Hymn of Praise, Prayer, Anthem or Special Music, Offering, Hymn of Consecration, Sermon, Hymn, Benediction, Moments of Silent, Prayer, Musical Postlude

These are their TRADITIONS! They may be very good, but they are not found in scripture.

9-11 and Adventism

I had just left the Adventist church when 9-11 happened, but I still had an Adventist worldview.

Sin.

It was because of sin that the World Trade Centers were targeted. They probably did very wicked things there. They were standing there as a symbol of Babylon’s chaos and greed. It was God’s justice. (Now I thought these things with a very sorrowful heart, not with any malice at all!) Then I figured this was just part of the Last Days events. Even if not specifically, these types of moments were foretold as part of the weary struggle towards a better place. Now I am not saying every Adventist thought these things, but I bet EVERY Adventist connected it somehow with the Last Days!

I still read and hear Adventists who see everything that happens as a dreadful sign of the Apocalypse. Every papal encyclical, especially this last one called “Caritas et Veritate,” as proof that the Catholics are about to mount a world-wide takeover! Every catastrophe, every new announcement that the sky is falling from the environmentalists, every new president is just fodder for Adventist paranoid prophecy tabloids.

Living on the edge like that can be thrilling, like a spiritual daredevil defiance of Satan! “WE STILL PRESS ON SATAN, you cannot get us Adventists!” I don’t mean to sound critical, I just remember what it was like to be one of their ranks for almost forty years. I thought those things like all other Adventists. I thought those things because I believed God had given Adventists a special end-time message and I was passionate about loving God, so I loved Him in the way I was taught to love Him, the ADVENTIST way.

Now, I realize that not every tragedy is God’s proof of Adventist prophecy. There is kind of a sickness about getting an unspoken thrill at catastrophes because they seem to affirm our beliefs.

I love Adventists. I really, sincerely do. They are my sisters, my brothers, my parents and in-laws. They are my dearest friends. I never, even for a second, let my feelings about the errors in their doctrines cloud my opinion of them as people. I know too well how much it took out of me to purge myself of the Adventist worldview. Judging anyone who cannot let go of Adventist doctrine would be the height of arrogance.

Adventists, in a strange way, are victims like those of 9-11. They are lovely people who are just busy doing what they believe is right. Each Adventist may at one point of their lives see the plane truth coming at them and it will be terrifying. The structure of their worldview will collapse and they may very well experience a trauma and aftershock every bit as catastrophic as the Twin Towers falling. They will experience what their forefathers felt at the Great Disappointment. I have seen it happen more than once.

Then amongst the ruins, a new light will shine and hope does return. The scars will always remain, but as all tragedies, time will heal the wounds.

Then one day you realize that no longer do black helicopters and tsunamis have anything to do with you or Revelation. All of a sudden, you begin to see that tragedies call you towards acts of compassion and relief, rather than towards judgement. You begin to live in a world where the pat you feel on your back after a 9-11 isn’t God’s affirmation, but His gentle pushing you towards charity.