Gov. Shutdown?

[ncpenn]

I have been pondering this idea of absolute truth, and I find it a bit puzzling. You see, in my 30s I made a major change in my religious beliefs and became a Mennonite. Most of my protestant friends accused me of taking the Bible too literally. Here are just a few examples of the lack of absolutes in the beliefs of most Christians....

Good point. I could have been clearer in my post. While I believe that there is absolute truth, I do not believe that all Biblical directives are absolute. Many are not, and the Bible makes this clear. In this vein, many Christians want to make the Bible seem more absolute than it is in some points. For example, the Bible never says do not lie.

The Bible does speak against lying as a a common practice (e.g. Revelation 21:8). And it forbids lying under oath to tell the truth (e.g. the ninth commandment). But at the same time, the Bible praises Rahab for lying to protect the two spies James 2:25.

Also, another point that the Bible makes very clear isn't unversal. Joel 3:10 vs. Isaiah 2:3-4. And how do those two verses make sense in context of each other? Well, read Ecclesiastes 3, and there's the answer.

Do not resist an evil person - Unless they are going to rob or harm you or your family
Don't get divorced - Unless you just can't get along
Feed the hungry - Unless they are that way because of bad decisions
Don't lie - Unless the consequences of telling the truth are worse than not. (Nazi asks if you are hiding Jews)
The love of money is evil, but rich people deserve what they have

Again, just because a Christian isn't consistent or totally inline with Biblical teaching doesn't invalidate Christianity or the Bible. That is a common rebuttal, but it's illogical. Becoming a Christian doesn't transform you into some kind of non-human perfect being.

You are still the same person with all the same human feelings, emotions, etc. Granted, you (as a Christian) are to be becoming more Christ-like over time due to sanctification. However, this doesn't always happen as it should. Hebrews 5:12

Is it ever right to kill someone out of spite, anger, (insert other selfish, negative emotion here)? Is what Cain did to Abel ever okay? I believe you'd have to answer that it is always wrong. If that is the case, then you have an absolute truth.

No absolute truth can ever come from any human or collection of humans. This is due to the fact that a particular entity cannot yield anything universal. (Look at the list of valid syllogisms. Try to find one that has a particular premise and universal conclusion. It simply doesn't exist because it cannot be done. Syllogism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

To say that you do not believe in any form of absolute truth is to deny logic. To deny logic is to deny science, language, reason, and ultimately humanity.

To say that there is an absolute truth (no matter what it is), if you say there is an absolute truth, then there must be an absolute (universal) being. In other words, there must be a deity.

Logic cannot prove that the deity is the God of the Judeo-Christian faith, but it can show that there must be a supreme being. Once you come to that point, it does become a matter of choice/faith in whichever supreme being, but history does give credence to the Judeo-Christian God (and I'm already too long in this post so that will have to be another time).