Relativism and the Death of Truth

"That may be true for you, but it's not true for me." It sounds humble and generous — a way to keep the peace. But examined gently, the idea that truth is merely personal cannot hold its own weight.

The claim that undoes itself

Consider the sentence "There is no objective truth." Is that statement objectively true? If it is, then objective truth exists and the claim is false. If it is not, then it is only one person's opinion and we are free to set it aside. Relativism asks to be believed as a universal truth while denying that universal truths exist. The position quietly cancels itself.

We live as if truth is real

No one is a relativist at the pharmacy counter or the bank. We want the medicine label, the bridge engineering, and the account balance to be true for everyone, not merely true for the person who prefers it. We treat truth as something we discover about reality, not something we manufacture by feeling. The way we actually live testifies against the slogan.

Why the idea is appealing

Relativism often grows from a good instinct: a desire not to be arrogant or domineering. That instinct is worth honoring. But humility is not the belief that nothing is true; it is the willingness to submit to what is true even when it costs us. Real humility kneels before reality rather than rewriting it.

Truth that is personal without being private

Scripture presents truth not as a cold abstraction but as a Person. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), and He prayed to the Father, "Your word is truth" (John 17:17). This is striking: truth is objective, yet it meets us as someone who loves us. We are not asked to bow to a proposition but to trust a Savior who is faithful and good.

So the question is not whether truth exists, but whether we will seek it honestly. Jesus promised, "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). That is not the loss of freedom but its beginning.