Absolute Truth

"This is not an easy time to be doing evangelism. I was at a public lecture given by Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, in Singapore recently. He reminded us that since September 11, there are those who argue that religious communities should surrender any notion of absolute truth. (And if we no longer hold to absolute truth then why bother with the hard work of evangelism.) These voices argue that it is because the different religions believe in absolute truth, and believe different things to be true, that are a key cause of violence and conflict in the world.

Archbishop Williams did not deny that the different religious communities need to work harder at learning how to live together. But he said that to surrender a commitment to absolute truth would not remove intercommunal conflict. If we surrender a commitment to absolute truth, all we will be left with is raw power and the groups with more power will try to subjugate those with less. There will no longer be the ethical leavening of a commitment to any truth higher than us. Intercommunal conflict will continue and may indeed worsen.

Christians should be at the forefront of any attempt to build bridges of understanding between different communities. Among other things, we believe in the dignities of all peoples because we believe that all bear the image of God. But we will not surrender our commitment to absolute truth because the God of the universe has revealed Himself, first in His dealings with Israel, then through Christ, and then through the Bible that bears testimony to His revelation (Hebrews 1:1-4)." -- Soo Inn