re the arrogance of christians in article apr athos rutgers edu caralv caralv auto trol com carol alvin writes vbv r d eeap cwru edu virgilio dean b velasco jr writes in article apr athos rutgers edu caralv caralv auto trol com carol alvin writes are all truths also absolutes is all of scripture truths and therefore absolutes if the answer to either of these questions is no then perhaps you can explain to me how you determine which parts of scripture are truths and which truths are absolutes the answer to both questions is yes perhaps we have different definitions of absolute then to me an absolute is something that is constant across time culture situations etc true in every instance possible do you agree with this definition i think you do similarly all truth is absolute indeed a non absolute truth is a contradiction in terms when is something absolute when it is always true obviously if a truth is not always true then we have a contradiction in terms yes i do agree with your definition my use of the term always is rather deceptive i admit a simple example in the new testament sorry i don t have a bible at work and can t provide a reference women are instructed to be silent and cover their heads in church now this is scripture by your definition this is truth and therefore absolute hold it i said that all of scripture is true however discerning exactly what jesus paul and company were trying to say is not always so easy i don t believe that paul was trying to say that all women should behave that way rather he was trying to say that under the circumstances at the time the women he was speaking to would best avoid volubility and cover their heads this has to do with maintaining a proper witness toward others remember that any number of relativistic statements can be derived from absolutes for instance it is absolutely right for christians to strive for peace however this does not rule out trying to maintain world peace by resorting to violence on occasion yes my opinion evangelicals are clearly not taking this particular part of scripture to be absolute truth and there are plenty of other examples can you reconcile this sure the bible preaches absolute truths however exactly what those truths are is sometimes a matter of confusion as i said the bible does preach absolute truths sometimes those fundamental principles are crystal clear at least to evangelicals sometimes they are not so clear to everyone e g should baptism be by full immersion or not etc that is largely because sometimes it is not explicitly spelled out whether the writers are speaking to a particular culture or to christianity as a whole this is where scholarship and the study of biblical contexts comes in it s very difficult to see how you can claim something which is based on your own interpretation is absolute god revealed his truths to the world through his word it is utterly unavoidable however that some people whill come up with alternate interpretations practically anything can be misinterpreted especially when it comes to matters of right and wrong care to deny that virgilio dean velasco jr department of electrical eng g and applied physics cwru graduate student roboticist in training and q wannabee bullwinkle that man s intimidating a referee my boss is a not very well he doesn t look like one at all jewish carpenter
