James Duff June 12th 2016 ~ Objective vs Subjective

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved - Acts 4:12.Last week I focused much of my sermon on the above text.  I spoke about how this sort of bold proclamation by Peter was dangerous then and it remains so today.  What I didn't touch on was why this exclusive statement is often perceived by people in the western world as narrow, shortsighted and arrogant.  I have been encouraged to unpack this a little more.Although I am far from a world expert on this subject, I have done much reading and thinking theologically and philosophically around this subject, so I hope in the following few words to share some of my thoughts and findings as succinctly as I can with you.We live in a culture where relativism is king and the idea of absolute truth is rejected.  Sociologists argue that this is part of the age we live in, which has been labeled ‘post modernity’. One of the marks of post modern thinking is that truth is seen as a choice (subjective) rather than independent of human opinion (objective).  So for Peter to claim that salvation is to be found only in Jesus - that this is independent of human opinion - grates the ears and hearts of many post modern thinkers.  Ironically, the idea that there is no objective truth,  is an objective truth claim in and of itself.  My point is that we cannot get away from objective truth claims and when push comes to shove we all rely on them.  Once you hold consistently to a subjective truth claim, all religions become equal.  People holding to this view place themselves above all religious founders by stating that they, not the founders of the religion, hold the objective truth.There have only been a handful of people in history who have made objective truth claims and have changed the world and history by them.  These are all religious figures that were attempting to answer why humans are here and what is their purpose.  Out of that handful there is only Jesus who has said that it is by worshipping Him that the answers to those questions and other meaning of life questions are found.  This sets Jesus apart from the leaders of other great world religions because of his unique claim. Muslims do not like being described as Muhammadans because they do not worship Muhammad.  Noone in the Islamic world has ever dreamed of worshipping Muhammad; this would be blasphemy.  It is not clear if Buddha believed in the existence of God as such.  Early or classical Buddhism, however, has no God.I am not saying that there is no truth at all in other religions but it is sheer nonsense to assert that all religions are equally true and that all religions lead to God, as this is not what the religions teach.  Ravi Zacharias says, about the idea that all religions are the same: They are fundamentally different and at best superficially similar.  People often think that all religions are fundamentally the same and superficially different.All religious leaders point away from themselves to find ultimate reality, while Jesus points to himself.  Jesus was either God, a fool or the greatest con man ever.  C.S. Lewis logically argues that we cannot entertain any patronising nonsense that Jesus was just a good man, for he never intended that to be the case.Ravi Zacharias and William Lane Craig are two of the world leading Christian apologists and philosophers and are worth reading or listening to on this subject.  I also recommend Nicky Gumbel’s Searching Issues as a great start.I hope that helps a little.  Please catch up with me personally if you would like more clarification or have further questions.James