In what sense is the word “breezily” used here? The way you see the world depends on your point of view and context. Everything can change in a snap when you provide context. Is it personal? The answer to this question is surely debatable. We tend to label everything, attach meaning and emotion to things and events and complicate our lives. Good and evil become nothing more than vanilla and chocolate. It thus boils down to this: if mankind is the inventor of good, then neither absolute good nor absolute evil can exist. This is quite obviously false. BUT, it's much smaller than a plane or cargo ship. That is, unless there is an absolute good against which this evil can be contrasted. These things are brute facts of the universe. I sternly tell him, “NO,” but he continues to reach for the burner. Understand evangelism and strategies to help share your faith story. It all boils down to what we would prefer to see happen in the world. If there is no known answer, I'm not afraid to say, "I don't know.". According to his own moral code, it would be perfectly all right for me to do so, since “something is moral, if someone thinks it is.” Yet no person really believes in this point of view, or they wouldn’t object to being beaten with my bat. The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”. And if absolute evil cannot exist, then that means that we are back to a matter of preferences. Leading from values so others will walk passionately with God to grow and bear fruit. Therefore, man must be the source of good. haha. At the heart of this argument is the arrogant assumption that we know what is best for us, as opposed to God. The first option is the universe itself. BUT, Bob is confined to a wheelchair and is in constant pain due to a genetic spine deformity. Quite clearly, this is a statement of one’s own moral code. so that a 15 year old could understand it?? We see it all the time in parenting - who is to say that God doesn’t do that with us? For the Taoist farmer, he had the choice to look at his personal situations in a positive or negative light. Now today, amputation is pretty painless. Get your answers by asking now. Usually it takes no more than a few minutes of good questions to help a person see that. Pick up a newspaper on virtually any day of the year, and you will read stories of people murdering people brutally, merely because they wanted to. A century ago, Albert Einstein taught us: everything is relative. They merely interact according to fundamental laws of physics. You will find sadistic individuals who beat and maim children for pleasure. Pain and suffering, while real and never fun, can actually be a way to prevent greater evil in the future. Relativism is a frustrating viewpoint to deal with, especially vis-à-vis evangelism. he will learn never to touch the hot burner in a way that he never would by simply obeying my command), I might allow him to touch the burner. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. There are two options. Let us evaluate this argument. The following fables have had a profound effect on my life and helped me develop a powerful perspective on life. Without this moral agent, absolute morality simply cannot exist in our universe. Now, let us assume that this is true. Two fables above illustrate the importance of perspective clearly. But in those days, all they did was hold you down on the table and take a saw and, like a 2x4, hack it off. We have three options for this source. So the original statement is refined to: But this is no better. Furthermore, if the non-theist does not accept this outside agent, then he must have a different idea of evil. An Absolute Truth cannot change no matter how a person sees it. He can only create subjective good. In other words, either one or the other exists, but both cannot. In fact, nobody is a pure relativist. It seems to me that most religious people like the fact that their religion can provide an answer to every question. No, and no. Since this absolute good cannot come from the universe or people, we are forced once again to look outside the universe for a good moral agent against whom we oppose (which is evil). Well, nobody -- it is relative. Anything opposed to God is evil. As a father, I don’t want to see my son get hurt. (ii) Without a moral designing agent (God), then morals would not exist in the world. Similarly, some morals are relative, and we must not try to force an absolute standard on things that are not absolute -- that leads to legalism. Must you have one answer to fit all cases, or can you be comfortable with ambiguity? What are morals? Not everything is relative. But, because I know that a greater good might come of it, I allow it to happen. If man invented morality, then how in the world can it be considered absolute? They are statements of what is right and wrong. Explore answers to life's biggest questions. After all, they put you under before severing the limb. But we know there are absolutes. Morals can hardly be compared with atoms and molecules. Find resources for personal or group Bible study. Furthermore, this problem is not resolved even if we argue that some animals do in fact have a moral code. And anything that is relative is a matter of one’s own opinion. So, relative to Bob, Joe doesn't have it so bad. God is defined as an all-good, all-powerful being. Does this disagreement actually mean that the accident did not happen a specific way? Can you take issues on a case-by-case basis? 11 min read, 18 Feb 2020 – Therefore, by (3) and (5) above, an all-good, all-powerful being does not exist. Morality involves choices of the will to do what is believed to be right or wrong. I try to seek the answer that is correct, and supported by evidence, not the answer that is convenient. Are you that uncomfortable saying, "I don't know," or suspending judgment? It's certainly much bigger than a car or a motorcycle. These four things which comprise the natural universe are not moral. Life is like a river, you can’t control it fully, it flows where it wants, it was flowing before you and will flow long after you. You might already be where you want to be and have everything you need. The Way to God is NOT relative. “I prefer this” and “I prefer that.” Without objective morals, no action is actually right or actually wrong. But you’ll never be satisfied with life if you just mindlessly try to control everything. But relativism is wrong, and there is a good way to approach a relativistic worldview. We have already seen that the universe, which is amoral, cannot be the source of good. There are no bad and good things. I reread the Mexican fisherman story from time to time to remind myself that life is really simple unless you make it complex. I mean needless pain, suffering, and anguish brought about by another – this is in contrast to natural events like slipping on a banana peel and hurting your hip. Observers’ disagreement over the facts does not alter the facts themselves. Nor is energy, space, or time. In saying, “Truth is relative,” one states a purported truth. Simply stating the proposition, “All morals are relative,” is to assert the existence of an absolute. We look upon our circumstances and, if they don’t happen to be to our liking, we lash out and claim that God cannot therefore exist. means that the world is in the eye of the beholder; it all depends on how you look at things; all people look at things from a different perspective and have differing opinions or views about someone, something, etc. Everybody has morals, and no two morals seem to be alike completely. Suppose my son is about to touch the hot stove. The argument is valid - its conclusions logically follow from its premises. Stop chasing the next shiny thing and ask yourself what you truly want after it’s all said and done? The MBA man was trying to create his “dream life” through professional and financial achievements, while the fisherman knew that he was already living the dream: working a few hours and spending time with the people he loved the most.