Articles
Can "The Truth" Be Known by Everyone?
Male observation: “Abortion should be illegal because it is the forcible termination of innocent human life. Pre-born life should be honored and protected.”
Feminist response: “This is a woman’s issue. You are not a woman; therefore, your view of the subject is irrelevant.”
We see this kind of response increasingly in public debate. If you are not African American, your view of racial issues is meaningless. If you are not a homosexual, you have no right to comment on gay issues.
This is more than merely a ploy to shut down debate. It reflects a postmodern outlook that denies the reality of objective truth. Postmodernism says “it is impossible to see any issue objectively because we are limited by our experiences in the world … no one can have unmediated, direct, or immediate access to reality” (Understanding the Times 150-51). Therefore, if you are raised a male, “your truth” is so shaped by your gender that you cannot comprehend “female truth.”
From this perspective, facts don’t matter because there are no facts. Statistical data has been compromised by the perceptions of the statisticians. Historical accounts are skewed by bias. Nothing is objective; all is subjective, and each one of us has the right to his or her subjective reality.
Against all this hogwash Jesus simply said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:31-32). Ironically, those who want to be “free” of objective truth imprison themselves in the uncertainty of subjectivism. There is truth; Jesus revealed it; it can be known; it brings true freedom.
