John 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
As a Bible-believing Christian, I not only believe that verse is absolutely true, but I also therefore obviously believe that there is such a thing as absolute truth. But I am mindful of the fact that, in our day, some people no longer believe that there even is such a thing as absolute truth.
Unbeknownst to most, the World Conference of Relativism and Living Your Own Truth was recently held in a top-secret location. Thanks to my world-class inside sources, though, I have been given a firsthand recounting of all of the fun that took place.
As the masses arrived in the large open field, there were smiles all around to begin the day. A platform could be seen in the distance with a podium for the lofty exalted authorities of the doctrine of relativism to speak from. Banners adorned the stage bearing messages that said, "Live Your Own Truth," "All Truth Is Relative," "All Beliefs Are Equally Valid" and "There Is No Absolute Truth."
Jumbotrons and speakers would make sure that everyone could see and hear the wisdom that would doubtless be pouring forth.
It did not take long, though, for the problems to begin.
As a group of truly pasty people from Georgia arrived, they began to push their way through the crowd to get as near to the front as they could. That did not sit very well with a group from Boston who got very upset with what they immediately perceived as white privilege.
"Well, if that isn't typical! A bunch of privileged whites thinking they own the world and can go to the front of whatever line there happens to be," one of the participants from Boston said snarkily. The crowd from Georgia, though, took great umbrage with that characterization.
"I will have you know, sir," replied one of the ladies from Georgia, "that all of us are Black. It may not look like it to you, but that is how each and every one of us identify, and we are just living our truth."
"Sir?!" The participant from Boston snapped, "Did you just call me 'sir'? How dare you misgender me based solely on my 6-foot-6, 290-pound frame, my anatomy, my long beard and my deep bass voice!"
As the argument escalated, other groups moved to intervene, and that only served to worsen the entire brawl. A group of people there to protest fat-shaming were accosted by another group wanting to battle epidemic obesity. "Healthy at any size!" screamed the first group, which was met by shouts of "Obesity is a silent killer!" from the other. Twinkies and granola bars quickly began to be hurled like missiles back and forth across the battle lines.
A group of folks carrying "Back the Blue" banners rushed in to break things up before they got out of hand. But they were immediately surrounded by others screaming, "Defund the police!"
A women's rights contingent ran into even greater problems. They were railed on by proponents of Sharia law and told that they should not be seen in public without a male family member. Some were even beaten. When the women began to protest, they were met with shouts of "Islamophobia!" Some of them ran for security shouting, "We have been assaulted! Believe all women!" while others shouted, "Have any biologists actually confirmed that they are women?"
That, though, caused even other fights. "Some of those biologists are males," a tiny woman with a high soprano voice shouted, "No uterus, no right to speak on women's issues! Just think about abortion!"
"How dare you!" came the deep voice from Boston again, "Are you anatomy-shaming me?" Within seconds, those two were in a huge catfight, which for some unclear reason, the Bostonite was winning overwhelmingly.
"Stop! Stop!" a voice suddenly boomed over the loudspeakers. "We will have no violence or hatred in this place! All of your beliefs are equally valid, and we are here for something too important for any of us to be distracted from. What is our theme for this meeting? 'There is no such thing as absolute truth.' Everyone must be free to live out their own truth, right?"
"And who are you to judge?" a voice from the crowd shouted back. "How dare you accuse us of violence or hatred!"
"But, but, you people are hitting each other, cursing and swearing at each other, throwing things and pulling each other's hair!" the voice over the speaker retorted.
"Says who?" the voice from the crowd shot back. "I say this has been nothing but a mostly peaceful protest. That is my truth, and I have every right to it."
There was a moment of silence, then the voice from the loudspeaker spoke one last time. "Yes, I suppose you are correct, as am I, and as is everyone else here, depending upon their perspective. By all means, carry on with your own individual truth. I am going to cash my speaker's check and go home. After all, wisdom like mine is worth every penny of it."
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and at www.wordofhismouth.com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.
Pastor Bo Wagner