Relativism and totalitarianism

Jun 3, 2017 by

By Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

Ideas have consequences. And bad ideas have bad consequences. One bad idea is that of moral relativism: the idea that there are no objective moral absolutes, and morality is ultimately a matter of personal preference. If there are no objective moral standards which we all can appeal to, then those with the most power end up being the ones who are the most “right”.

The weakest and most powerless end up being the ones who are “wrong”. Thus might makes right, and we have seen this far too often in history. One longstanding moral absolute which has been renounced to our own peril is that of the sanctity of life and the dignity of each human being.

When this moral absolute is denied and trashed, then the powerful exploit and crush the weak…

…And all dictators can tyrannise the masses this way as well, believing that they are somehow above the law while the hoi polloi must be subject to it. Only objective transcendent laws which all must be subject to – including the rulers – are sufficient to help guard against tyranny and oppression.

The Christian religion of course fully is based on the notion of transcendent universal truths and transcendent moral absolutes. We are not left to float in a sea of relativism, but we are all to be subject to objective truth and objective morality.

And that will certainly have a bearing on our political life. For example the Christian-based Magna Carta of 1215 sought to put limits on the power of the king by appealing to a higher law, the law of God. Temporal human laws must be subject to eternal divine laws.

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