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Originally Posted by dr wadd
Can`t argue against you there, although I would still claim that a "collective truth" is still just an opinion, but, to get to your next point...
This, of course, is something that we will never agree on. As an aetheist there simply isn`t an external "force" (for want of a better word) that defines right and wrong, for me at least. My model of the universe does not allow for the concept of absolute truths.
A serious question, but one of those ones that has the potential to sound flippant. As a Christian, you believe that God is the ultimate arbiter or right and wrong. I`ll need to question some of my presumptions about Christianity which may render the rest of this somewhat moot. It has always been my assumption that God is the ultimate authority in the universe for a Christian. It has always been my assumption that Christians see God as a sentient being rather than some nebulous "force". If God is the ultimate authority, there can be no higher being to which he can turn, so while God may define universal truths for humans, who defines universal truths for God? Or is this simply one of those questions that doesn`t get looked at due to the risk of making anyone's brain fall out?  |
The answer is, God has no need for anyone to define universal truths for him. The problem with the phrase 'universal truth' is that it implies the existence of some impersonal, universal law to which everything (God included) is subject. However that's not possible in Christian theology, because God is absolute and is subject to nobody, and nothing, except his own nature.
There was a time before anyone or anything else existed, when there was only God. He was the sum total of all that there was. He was perfect and complete in himself, expressing perfect love, hope and compassion within himself, the Thought, the Word and the Deed (Father, Son and Spirit) one to another. After he created the universe he determined that the laws that govern morality in that universe should be derived from his own nature. Prior to that there had been no law as such, just the perfect nature of God. Only in the creation of other beings was the nature of God translated into law and morals.
And now my brains are falling out. I need a cup of tea.
