But first a funny clip… 22/evangelism-linebacker--no-excuses

 Appetizer:  Truth…does it exist?….  Main Course:  What is Truth?  Aristotle’s Cave  Dessert:  P.E.C. Questions

What is Truth? is-absolute-truth

 Need a volunteer….  Absolute Truths: unchanging truths  “stealing is wrong”  Relativism -= always comparing two situations  “stealing is wrong, but if don’t hurt anyone its okay”…which in essence is still absolute

1. Isn’t that, in itself, a statement that’s being made absolutely?  it applies some rule or standard to everyone across the board...which is exactly what they are arguing against

2. Let`s apply this “relative” thinking? do you think that child pornography is right or wrong?  Isn’t it wrong? A relativist cannot think so.....  Wait..wait “As long as you’re not hurting others, you’re free to do and believe what you like  Who says I can’t hurt anyone?...its a universal dignity....where does universal dignity come from

One day a student approached me after class. He reminded me that I had mentioned moral law during the lecture, then said “Last semester I learned that there isn’t any moral law. Every society makes up its own right and wrong, its own good and bad, its own fair and unfair — and each one makes up something different.” I answered, “It’s a relief to hear you say that, because I’m lazy and I hate grading papers. At the end of the semester I’ll be able to save myself some work by giving you an F without looking at your papers at all. Since you don’t believe in moral standards like fairness that are true for everyone, I know you won’t object. “ He shot me a startled glance — then admitted that there are true moral standards after all.

 How do we reach truth?  Through reason  Becoming more aware of the absolute truth  Does non-material truth exist?  Love?  Human dignity?  Protection of children?

 Plato’s Allegory of the Cave  3gb8 3gb8

 A student may challenge me in saying “All scientific truths are facts, material facts but you cannot have knowable truths when it comes to religion and faith.”  Response: Yes opinions exist, and one can have faith in such things that aren’t connected to a knowable truth. Take a look at the Christian faith and talk about absolutes for example…

 - Josephus  A Godman came to earth, ministered, died and three days later rose again  - Historical truths (you may use this as a means to defend the Resurrection based on the women’s testimonies and the death of believers…if necessary)

 - The faith aspect of it comes into play when one chooses to follow Christ  - The strength of the Christian story lies in the historical event= a knowable truth  St. Paul tells Christians that if the historical truths did not happen to go and find something else to follow because the Christian story will not survive otherwise

BREAK

 “ Art, like morality consists of drawing a line somewhere.” G. K. Chesterton 1. What does Chesterton convey to be the definition of morality? 2. In your own words, how would you describe morality?

 GOD is…  Love  Justice  TRUTH  If morality is based on truth then morality is objective/absolute NOT subjective  Truth comes from God therefore it cannot be changed

 Ethics like understanding musical theory and knowing how to read the music.  Morality is like playing music and hitting the right notes.  Morality refers to the stands by which we judge our actions to be good or evil

 Christian morality is unique  For example... Humanism is a moral system that denies belief in God and views humanity as the highest form of existence  Christian morality understands that by worshipping God Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we discover the correct moral approach

 Pharisees and Jesus  Promote a new way of living- an invitation  Morality is not man made  Its origins are in the God’s revelation

 What is a good life?  What is authentic happiness? How do you achieve it?

 Why should we study ethics and morality?  Since 1960(stats from USA not able to find Canadian stats)  500% increase in violent crimes 400% increase in out-of-wedlock births Tripled number of children living in single-parent homes Tripled number of teenage suicide Doubled divorce rates  But why else??

 It allows us to have direction, meaning and coherence in our lives. Without principles we are unable to fully enjoy happiness.  As teens, you are in the process of making the moral decisions for yourselves  There are knowable truths of where to draw the line, of what is right and what is wrong.  Our actions speak to who we are…we are Christians…our actions should reflect Christ

 Metaphysical relativism= no absolutes in reality – means  Metaphysical deals with time, truth, existence  Assuming God means a Being  Therefore this view = atheism (a-without, theism=God) because God cannot Be if nothing is absolute  Epistemological Relativism= perhaps there is a metaphysical absolute but there are no absolutes in human knowledge  Epistemology [ih-pis-tuh-mol-uh-jee]- human knowledge  Means agnosticism

 Moral relativism- there maybe absolutes in nonmoral knowledge like 2+2=5

 Ex. 500 years ago I could I said the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. But you say the sun isn’t moving but the earth is moving and the sun is fixed. Based on my experience and knowledge what you say is difficult to understand yet you may be right.  Now we know that the sun being fixed is indeed correct but my theory appeared to be correct based on my experience (subjective reality)  Therefore, the truth (objective reality) did not change but our perspective (validity) changed.