Close.
Post modernism suggests that truth is fluid, changing, and different for each person, depending on his or her personal experience.
Fundamentalism recognizes that God is unchanging and His truth is simply His truth. It is not dependant on man's experience or interpretation to simply be truth. Are we somehow instantly perfect and fully able to understand every detail of the nature of God? Of course not. But He has given us the tools to seek and explore His nature through Scripture. Personal interpretation does not negate or change the truth. It is our responsibility to seek to understand that truth as fully as possible, so that we can truly glorify Him in our lives. And what a wonderful, joyful, exciting journey! We are truly blessed to get to know Him more and more in our lives, aren't we?
It's not about arrogance in claiming to know everything. It is about recognizing the Gospel truth exists, and seeking to know it (and share it) as fully as possible.
Not sure if I've expressed that very well. Am I making sense?
Truth may not necessarily be changing, but it
is different for each individual. For instance, it is true that, at this moment in time, I am not paralyzed from the waist down. Now, just because that is true for me doesn't mean that it is true for everyone, and just because it is true right now doesn't mean that it will be in the future.
Of course, in matters dealing with God, some things are indeed absolute and universal. The universe was created by God. Not everyone believes this, but if it is true, then it is true for everyone and everything, and at any point in time, regardless of belief or disbelief. However, the fact that some aspects of truth are absolute doesn't mean that all truth
must be absolute.
Let us say that God has a plan for each of us. For the purposes of this discussion, this is an absolute truth that applies to all of us without exception or variation. Now, would you not agree that his plan for each individual person is unique, different from everyone else's? He presents us with different challenges, gives us different gifts, and speaks to us through different personal experiences. The truth that God has a plan for each of us is absolute, but how it
applies to us differs from person to person. So you see, the post-modern view and the absolutist view aren't mutually exclusive. With religious matters, as with everything else, it really depends on what you're talking about specifically.
As for interpretation, you are right that our belief or disbelief in an absolute truth does not change the fact that it is true, and you are also right that the study of scripture is (or at least should be) a journey that one takes, with the goal being to come to a better understanding of God. What you do not seem to realize (and I certainly mean no disrespect or personal attack by that), however, is that that journey
is interpretation. By reading the scripture, determining what you believe their true meaning is, and then applying that understanding to your relationship with God and with other people, you are interpreting it. Even if one were to take everything that scripture says at face value, and then decide that every single word is literal, absolute truth regardless of context, that is still an interpretation.
It simply isn't possible to attempt to understand the meaning of scripture (or of anything, for that matter) without interpreting it. That's just how the human mind works. It's an absolute truth.
