On the urgent need to recognize and reject religious relativism

[Michie]

Within various forms of religious relativism, there is a not-so-hidden soft totalitarianism that is swiftly moving into “harder” versions with devastating real-life consequences for anyone who dares to openly resist it.

Way back in olden times, when I was still a professor of theology, one of the most ubiquitous attitudes amongst the students was that it does not matter which religion one practiced since “all religions are really saying the same thing in their essence”.

Indeed, in this view, it does not even matter if one practices a religion at all since it is possible to be a “good person” and to be “spiritual” without any religious affiliation. Furthermore, such views are expressed with extreme confidence, as if there is no need to offer arguments for them since their reasonableness is beyond dispute.

I will forgo a lengthy critique of these views since their many flaws defy easy encapsulation. Suffice it to say that ignored in all of this is the fact that the notion that “all religions are essentially the same” is itself, as we see in a variety of new ersatz spiritualities, a highly particular and disputable, theological claim about the alleged reality of a universally shared “inner religious experience” that is pre-linguistic and ineffable.

The pervasive fog of religious relativism

Continued below.
How Soft Religious Relativism Is Hardening Into Open Persecution...

 

[stevevw]

Its not just religion. It is the worldview of society. Well western societies that have been allowed to cultivate such ideas. A natural progression from modernisim and critical theories. We are either deep into a Postmodernist world or maybe even coming out. But what that will be who knows.

But definitely todays thinking is relative and plural. There are no objective truths or facts or canons of western knowledge. Knowledge is relative to culture and experiences. In fact experiences and narratives are the new truth and reality.

So this has spilt into the church. Which really is another way of saying the church has conformed to secular thinking. All is contextual and needs to be adjusted to todays thinking and modernised. Changed with the times.

In fact in some ways theres a general adversion to rules, laws, disicpline and punishment as they are cruel and harsh and Christ was soft and loving. A sort of watering down things so as to not come across unloving.

But this seems a general idea of how society softened. The cotton wooling of upbringing. As though feelings were the measure of right and wrong and not Gods unchanging law and truth.

That there are so many denominations who are increasingly becoming divided and even conflicted. But certainly not united in mind and spirit is another sign of how relativisim has blurred the lines of Gods word and truth.

Another sign is that even other religions are regarded as equal. Even promoted as an equal right by a growing number of churches. Like trying to build a DEI utopia on earth rather than Gods Kingdom.

It seems people generally hate there being a single truth or God.

But I think by the very nature of Gods truth in Christ that it cannot be sustained that there is so much ambiguity of faith. I think just like in the wider society where these divisions end up creating clear lines of either standing with the truth or with hate and evil. The nature of Gods truth is that it will divide people either for or against Christ. So people will have to choose whether they are for or against Christ.