Britannia Radio

PARADIGM LOST

by John Loeffler, Colorado Christian News

      It has become fashionable for people on the left to chirp "extremist" at any viewpoint on the right opposing their belief. Consider however that the great and good of today's moderation movement are the radical leftists of thirty years ago. "Extreme right" today actually describes much of the mainstream culture three decades back when radical left flower children commenced their rabble-rousing change of society and started a love movement by calling the police "pigs". This was the same crowd that spat on U.S. soldiers to oppose an immoral war. Since then academics -- to the cheering of the media -- have pounded the culture with a constant socialist, left-leaning drumbeat. Generations educated by this drumbeat began moving leftward and assumed their view to be the cultural mainstream. Now, they have discovered a whole crowd of people who didn't move left with them -- the new "radical right." "Moderation" has become the left's mantra of choice. What this really means is that the right should take a neutral position, allowing the great and good of the left to pursue their agendas unimpeded. Really now. Was the civil rights movement of the early 1960s a moderate movement?. Absolutely not. It was driven by people standing for a political change they believed was essential. What about the various anti-war and university protests that dotted the 1960s and 1970s? Were they moderate? Hardly.

      Moderation -- taking no strong position on anything -- is a combination of I'm O.K., you're O.K. psychology combined a no-such-thing-as-absolute-truth philosophy. Even Christians -- who should know better -- have gotten sucked up into this bizarre mode of thought and actually think it's biblical.

      Notice there are never condemnations of those who are extreme about their "moderation," which is really a form of militant mediocrity. Since there is no such thing as absolute truth, the reasoning goes, no one should believe anything too much. Therefore all ideas have equal weight, all cultures are equally good and no one should criticize anyone else since all our ideas are wonderful -- insert warm fuzzy group hug here -- and peace on earth is just around the corner.

      The real consequences of such pablum are staggering. The entire culture has been placed on an ocean of floating, contradictory values which are determined by pop fads of the moment rather than solid moral concepts of right and wrong. It is becoming pernicious in the judicial system where legal precedent is thrown to the dogs in favor of political activism.

      Here's moderation in action: Feminists argue strongly in favor of a woman's right to choose? Are they in favor of a woman's right to abort a female foetus because it's a girl? Why that would violate the foetus's right to be a female. A foetus then has a right to be female but doesn't have a right to life. The very same people telling you the public has no right to tell a woman what to do with her body start telling women what to do with their bodies. Ah but that's the fun of making up truth up as you go.

      The contradictions of relative truths flooding the culture, especially the judicial system, are dangerous to future stability. There are no rules except that we have no rules except toleration of all rules except those rules that say we mustn't tolerate something, and we can't tolerate that; that would be intolerant. Did you follow that? Good. I didn't either but that is the nonsense being foisted on us today by the great and good.

      For a Christian, the argument should NEVER be over whether or not there is an absolute truth -- the Bible tells us there is. The argument is over whether or not our ideas, views, theology and philosophies come close to that truth. This provides us with fixed moral references in an ocean of constantly changing public values.

      The next time someone says to you "that's just your truth" or "there is no such thing as absolute truth," ask them to hand over YOUR money which is in THEIR wallet. You'll see quickly what they really believe about absolute truth. I guarantee it -- absolutely!