You are right that it is more difficult to talk about “absolute truth” these days, especially in and to a world that is not Christian. The postmodern context in which most of us live has challenged the notion of any absolute and tends to view claims to truth as mere social constructs. In such a social environment, the certainties upon which many of us have built our thinking and our lives are called into question. That is, in the secular world we are less likely to be able to appeal to foundational ideas (e.g., the existence of God) or absolute truths (e.g., the sanctity of life) in ways that we may have in the past. Instead we find that we live in a world that has relativized the idea of truth.

However, as Christians we are part of communities of faith that hold to what we know and believe to be true for all time and all people. We believe the gospel story is true. We believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died, rose from the dead, and is coming again. We believe that the Scriptures tell us the story of God and are trustworthy to lead us in the way of salvation. The difference these days is that we probably will not be able to convince unbelievers of this truth by persuasive apologetics. Rather, if unbelievers are to come to the Truth, it more likely will be by observing the “reality” of the holy and loving character of our lives, both individually and in Christian community. In effect, the world around us will watch us to see if the love, compassion, mercy, and purity we profess is “in truth” lived out among us. If it is not, they will disregard us or write us off as fakes. But as our lives together evidence the holiness and love of God, the character of our lives will bear witness to the truth that Jesus is Lord.—rb