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True Oxymorons

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I love oxymorons...maybe because sometimes I'm a little bit of a moron myself? Anyway, oxymorons are such great examples of words that shouldn't go together but in some strange way they almost seem to work. For example:

Alone together

Silent scream

Anarchy rules!

Big sip

Or one of my favorites: a little pregnant

See what I mean? At face value, they contradict each other, but with enough imagination you can make sense out of them.

There's another oxymoron floating around that falls into this category as well, and it deserves our special attention because if you can make it work, it changes the way we should view the Christian life.

The oxymoron is this:

Relative truth

Relative meaning something subject to change under different conditions or circumstances, and truth meaning, well, like true. Call me crazy, but it seems to me that if something is called true but becomes untrue during different circumstances, it was never truth in the first place!

And so you put these two words together and it becomes an apparent oxymoron, but if you spend some time thinking through it, it works out. I say that because people's views of truth are developed from different religions (or non-religions), backgrounds, circumstances, and even what 'works' for them. So-truth that is born out of relative conditions becomes relative truth! For example, it is a 'truth' of mine that blue is the best color on earth and Tom from myspace.com is slowly plotting to take over the world...one 'friend' at a time...muhahaha!!!

But that's just me-and that's probably not true for you...

So can we all just get along and agree that some truth is relative? Good...now to the most important part. While it is true that some truth is relative, it is impossible and even a bit dangerous for a Christian to believe that all truth is relative. In other words, while relative truth exists, it is an absolute truth that absolute truth exists as well.

Can I say that absolutely? Absolutely! Mainly because I didn't say it-I'm quoting from the best source in the universe: Jesus Christ. You know, the One who is "the way, the truth, and the life" and also the One who made the absolute statement that He is the ONLY way to heaven. (John 14:6). In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He makes references to the truth over 100 times! And I guarantee you He wasn't referring to anything relative. Here is one of the best examples:

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17 )

Jesus is praying to God in this verse and He calls God's word 'truth'-in a 'true for everyone everywhere' kind of way. This means that the Bible, as God's word, is our only source of absolute truth because it didn't come from different backgrounds and circumstances. In fact, the truth of God's word didn't even come from this world, which is why it isn't relative.

Yes of course anyone could write a book and call it 'absolute truth', but to my knowledge only one book in history has backed up that statement with hard evidence that it is inspired by God. That's why the Bible is the only source of absolute truth, because it is the only book authored by truth Himself!

Be warned, though, there are religious extremists and nut jobs who distort the truth of God's word to fit their wacky agenda. God's word is absolute truth when it is properly interpreted in its context. Sure, there are differences of opinions on minor matters, but most Christians certainly don't disagree on murder, rape, theft, or even the golden rule. These are moral truths that apply to everyone, everywhere, for all time.

Which brings me to an absolute oxymoron that can never be worked out:

Truth tolerant Christian...avoid this kind of thinking absolutely!

Head: What you need to know about this truth

God's word is absolute truth because it was authored by the Author of truth.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

Click here to check out a glimpse into a world where all truth is relative.

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

Jesus said to the people who believed in him,

"You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free..." (John 8:31-32).

We have been given an amazing gift in the form of absolute truth in the Bible. It has the power to set you free, but you first have to 'know it'. This week, try taking 5-10 minutes out of your relative schedule to dig into some absolute truth that will set you free!