IS THERE ABSOLUTE MORAL TRUTH?
Key Facts
Among Christians, just half (54%) identify God as the basis of truth. [1]
The American Worldview Inventory 2020 concluded that "belief in absolute moral truth rooted in God's word is rapidly eroding among all American adults, whether churched or unchurched, within every political segment, and within every age group." [2]
58% of Americans surveyed say it's up to the individual to decide what is true or moral. [3]
Key Scriptures
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Proverbs 26:4-5 “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.”
Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Ephesians 4:24 “and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Proverbs 17:15 “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.””
Application
The western culture often promotes the idea of moral relativism: that morality is relative and that it is up to the individual to decide what is right and wrong for them. According to the statistics, many Christians have begun to adopt this ideology as well. Is this a correct view of morality or are moral truths transcendent of culture and individual belief?
What does the Bible Say?
Moral relativism is not mentioned by name in the Bible, but a major theme of the Scripture is that morality is based on God and His truths, not one’s own thoughts or feelings (Romans 12:2). This is revealed in many places throughout the text. One of the overarching themes of the Bible is righteousness and what that does and does not look like (Micah 6:8; 2 Tim. 3:16; Titus 2:12). This concept of righteousness transcends contemporary culture and reveals truth for all generations.
Morality, according to the Bible, reflects the idea that certain actions are inherently right and wrong. As situations change, these truths may be applied differently, but they are still true, nonetheless. For example, we may affirm that modesty can be applied differently in a modern context than in the 1800s. Modesty is still an absolute moral principle, but is applied differently in differing contexts and situations. However, rape is an action which is condemned in all situations by the Scriptures. Both modesty and the proper expressions of sexuality are meant to show respect for the image of God in all people. Their applications may differ, but the truth which these prohibitions and actions are grounded in is transcendent. Because it is shown that there are moral absolutes, we can see that the Bible condemns moral relativism and teaches that God’s Word is the standard for correct morality.
The character of God revealed through the biblical commands provides a clear guide to navigating morality as a universal truth rather than a subjective opinion. The Scriptures reveal that certain behaviors are to be condemned not only because they may affect others negatively, but also because they are in opposition to the character of God (Mark 7:20-23).
Is Anyone a True Relativist?
Moral relativism is not only condemned in the Bible, but is also rejected by logic and practical application. It is an incoherent worldview that cannot be applied. Those who hold to this worldview do not act in accordance with it. Someone may say that there is no objective standard of right and wrong, but when they are confronted with an injustice, they speak out against it. They inherently know that these injustices are not good and should not be carried out--not only in one’s own life, but in the lives of all people.
If there are no moral absolutes, then we may not condemn any one person for their actions as they could be right in one’s own eyes. However, we inherently know that it is not right in any culture to kill babies for the fun of it. To withhold condemnation of this action reveals the practical problem of attempting to live out moral relativism. A true moral relativist could only go so far as to say that they did not like when babies are murdered for fun, but never to say that it's truly wrong. This gives a moral relativist no leg to stand on when they object to injustices. The logical outworking of moral relativism implies that certain behaviors (racism, sexism, violence) may not be wrong for an individual who holds to them.
We intuitively know that there is right and wrong. Whether we can agree is a different question, but we all know that right and wrong exist. If right and wrong exist, then there must be some standard by which we call one thing right and another wrong. If we know that certain actions are objectively right and wrong, then the question arises, “what is the basis for that knowledge?” Someone may assert that decisions of what is right and wrong are up to the individual unless they are hurting someone else. However, what is the basis of this claim? Without an objective standard of morality like the Bible, we cannot make logically coherent claims about morality at all--it ceases to exist. Everything becomes what we like and what we don't like.
Conclusion
Christians are likely to find themselves making relativistic claims, especially as we live in a culture that so often promotes a relative approach to morality. However, relativism should be questioned both in the Christian life and in the culture around us. For Christians, the biblical understanding of morality is not relative. Certain behaviors are wrong according to the Scriptures and it is by this standard that we may judge moral and immoral behaviors.