Deacon Andrew Trapp
Summer Faith Formation                                                                           
Class 4 of 5                                   
                                                          

Scriptural Introduction:

Matthew 19:16-21 : The young man comes to Jesus and asks,

“Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”

 

 * OBJECTIVE TRUTH: To say that something is “objectively true” means that it is true and that it is true for people of all cultures, times, etc., even if they do not recognize it to be true.

 
Examples:         * “People need water and air to live.”

                        * “Water freezes at zero degrees.”

 
* SUBJECTIVE TRUTH: To say that something is “subjectively true” means that it is true for that person, even though it may not be true for others.

 
            Examples:         * “It is freezing cold in here!”

                                    * “I am so happy!”

 
* Christianity has always recognized that religious and moral truth belongs to the first category: it is objective and not subjective / relative.

            Examples:         * “Jesus Christ is God.”

                        * “Marriage is between a man and a woman.”

Christianity also recognizes that there are some acts that are intrinsically evil—meaning that “by their very nature” they are always and everywhere wrong, regardless of the circumstances. These sins are usually connected to human life and to human sexuality, such as murder, abortion, euthanasia, fornication, masturbation, contraception, adultery, etc. No matter what the circumstances or motives, such acts are always wrong and will always damage a person, just as putting your hand on a burning stove will always do damage to your hand.

 

 * In our own spiritual lives, we need to integrate both the objective and subjective elements of our faith in order to be the best Christians we can be:

OBJECTIVE                                                                   SUBJECTIVE

Head                                                                              Heart

Doctrine / Content                                                          Personal Relationship

Understanding the faith                                                  Living the faith

 
- On the one hand, you can know a lot about the faith and yet not be living it.

          - On the other hand, we need to know our faith in order to fully live it.

 

* Likewise, in our teaching and presentation of the faith to our children, friends, family, co-workers, and everyone else we meet, we will be most effective if we present the objective truth of our faith in a way that appeals to their subjective experiences.

- We don’t want to simply give them doctrine and make Christianity seem like nothing more than a bunch of rules and formulas disconnected from their everyday life. (overemphasis on the objective)

- Neither do we want to make light of the content of our faith and focus exclusively on their feelings, experiences, etc. (overemphasis on the subjective)