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You know someone believes in subjective or relative morals when they say things like �that�s good for you but not for me� or �to each his own�. It makes sense to make these statements if you are talking about what you like on your hot dog but when it comes to deciding what is good and what is bad, or what is true and what is not true, we end up with a lot of nonsense.
For example, let�s say you go down to 31 flavors and order a milk shake that costs $3.00. You give the cashier a $10 bill and he gives $2.00 in change. You say �hey wait a minute. I gave you a $10 bill. Where�s the rest of my change?� But the cashier replies: �To each his own friend. It may be a $10 bill to you but it�s a $5 bill to me. Don�t you know that everything�s relative?�
Let�s say you go a little further with the cashier: �Call it what you want, but you�re stealing some of my money and that�s not right.� The cashier simply repeats his claim about everything being �relative� (a personal opinion), and asks you to prove that he is doing something bad. At this point you have two choices. The first one is to get into a long debate about what is right and what is wrong. Each time you say something like �Everyone knows that it is wrong to �..�, the cashier will say �that�s just some people�s opinion. There�s nothing that requires me to accept their opinion as mine.� Unless you and the cashier believe that God has told us what is right and wrong, you are going to run out of patience long before the cashier agrees that something is truly good or bad.
But I said there was another choice. When someone says that �everything�s relative � or just a personal opinion�, they have already proven that their claim is false. You just need to point this out. It�s just like saying: �No hablo Espanol�. On the one hand you are telling someone that you can�t speak Spanish, but you are telling them in Spanish so your statement is false. You at least know how to say that phrase in Spanish! That�s what the �Relativist� is doing. He or she says: �Everything is relative� (or everything is simply a personal opinion). But that means that this statement is only a personal opinion � so there�s no reason to believe that it is always true, is there? And if they say that it is more than their opinion, that it is an absolutely true statement, they have just contradicted themselves as they make the statement.
So the next time someone tries to use the �everything�s relative� line on you, just ask them if this is their opinion or an absolute truth. Either answer makes their statement nonsense. (Since you�re now used to the terms �relative� and �absolute� - which are opposites, you might want to shorten your reply even further. Cashier: �Everything is relative�. You: �Are you absolutely sure?�
Science - what it can explain and what it can't.
Can we know if God exists or not?
Chance - Can it explain everything?
The Meaning of Life.
Why isn't the world the way I want it to be?
