Are We Preparing the Way for Tyranny?

An excerpt from The Ever-Loving Truth: Can Faith Thrive in a Post-Christian Culture? by Voddie Baucham.

Truth is under attack in modern American culture. Rare is the person who believes that there are facts that correspond with reality (truths) and that those facts are true for all people in all places and at all times. Common, however, is the man or woman who believes that all religions are the same (religious relativism), that tolerance is the ultimate virtue, and that there is no absolute truth (philosophical pluralism).

Innocuous as these beliefs may seem, they are dangerous. They lead down a path filled with peril. If all religions are the same, then no religion is true. Moreover, if we believe there are no absolute truths, and all truths are equally valid, this will ultimately lead us to nihilism wherein all ideas lose their value. Ultimately, the only thing that will matter is who has sufficient power to exercise his or her will…

No longer does the value or validity of one’s ideas matter. All ideas are declared equal, or at least equally valid… Those who question are labeled intolerant, for the act of discerning truth undermines the very core of relativism…

Many people are not aware of the presuppositions underlying their belief systems. These ideas have become so ingrained in today’s thinking that they simply persist without being questioned. Many people regard relativism, tolerance, and pluralism as basic courtesy.