Relativism doesn’t open the mind, it constricts it
In The Closing of the American Mind, published in 1987, Allan Bloom lamented that virtually all American college students believe that there is no absolute truth for all truth is relative. He goes on to comment that the only virtue left now is tolerance and that relativism has extinguished the real motive of education. With the declared goal of opening up the human mind, relativism has actually succeeded in constricting it. Perhaps we ought to begin with the simple and helpful distinction made by John North and Rob Forsyth. They distinguish between what they call ‘Beetroot truth’ (which you either like…
Misleading ‘Christian’ slogans are dangerous when they are a substitute for solid biblical truth
There is a strong element of disguise and deception in the spiritual battles that we face. In Paul’s day there were false apostles who disguised themselves as apostles of Christ, following Satan who does great evil while appearing to be an angel of light (see 2 Cor.11:13-15). The covenant people of God are thus warned against slogans that appear to be spiritual truths but which turn out to be false or at least misleading in some way. In the dark days of the Babylonian exile, a proverb was repeated: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are…