Pearl Jam, Wings, and the Death of Relativism
Eddie Vedder, the front man for Pearl Jam, sang, “I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good” (Wishlist). There is this strange conflict running through our culture these days (and has been for quite some time) where we are all desperate for some good news – just ask John Krasinski and his Some Good News (SGN) network from last year, which was so successful he was able to sell it to CBS (helps to have star power and a lot of famous friends) - and at the same time, we are selective about what that good news is. If it is of the religious flavor we get a bit squeamish and nervous. We are afraid to be too vocal or to have too strong of a stance on things…especially when it comes to issues of belief because we don’t want to offend, and we don’t want to be offended.
Even in our post-postmodern world relativism continues to be a default setting. What’s good for you is good for you, and what’s good for me is good for me. Right? Or the more contemporary way of saying it is to talk about our different “truths.” “I’m just living my truth.” We don’t want anyone imposing their views upon us. Keep your truth to yourself. Underneath it all lies this belief that there is no absolute truth, which is itself an absolute truth statement, but don’t bother me with the details. We just want to be free to live the way we want and let others live the way they want. You know the Wings song written by Paul and Linda McCartney, “When you were young and your heart was an open book you used to say live and let live. You know you did; you know you did; you know you did.” People say it’s about tolerance - that noble ideal - but relativism and tolerance are not the same thing. What is there to tolerate if nothing is wrong, if there is no truth, if nobody is ever wrong?
What we really want is to be the ones that determine what is good and bad, what is right and wrong for ourselves. We want to be autonomous (a law unto ourselves), and let others do the same. That’s relativism. But it begins to break down when your truth conflicts with my truth, then we are not okay. Then we feel the conflict between two beings trying to be autonomous and living in the same neighborhood. Peace flies out the window. It’s like two Alpha male lions trying to live in the same territory (I was raised on the Discovery Channel watching nature shows with my dad). It doesn’t work. They end up at war until one comes out on top and the other is either dead or gives up and leaves. That’s actually where that famous McCartney song goes (and is its title), “But when this ever-changing world in which we live in makes you give in and cry…say live and let die!” What a far cry from “all you need is love,” but live and let die is always where we end up.
Just think of this past election and the cold war of yard signs. Each neighbor propagating their views passive aggressively, silently yelling at each other with their political signs and/or flags littering their properties. SO, who’s right? Relativism has no answer because there is no such thing as right or wrong. It’s all relative. Both parties have to be able to have the freedom to do what they want. Which is fine and dandy until someone gets hurt, and relativism always results with someone getting hurt. The storming of the Capitol was our most recent political boiling point. As the McCartneys sang, “You gotta give the other fella hell!” But we still like to apply relativism to situations as a matter of convenience when we don’t want to deal with what might be conflicting with or confronting our views. You hear it all the time now…people just dismiss things as fake news when they don’t want to have to engage with it…that’s not my truth.
These all seem like new developments in society, but they’re not new at all. Many want to trace relativism back to the enlightenment 300 years ago and Renee Descartes who famously said, “Cogito ergo sum” – “I think therefore I am.” I am the starting point. I am going to determine what is true. But it goes back even further. It is the original sin. Our ancient ancestors in Genesis 3 did not want to need God or be dependent on God…they wanted to have the knowledge of good and evil for themselves…they wanted to be the ones calling the shots, determining truth. And nothing has changed. The author of Ecclesiastes was right in saying, “There is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). We just repeat the same old rebellion over and over and over.
Hello elephant, hello room
The crazy thing about the Bible is that it loves to go to that uncomfortable place, it always wants to address the elephant in the room because it is only interested in giving us truly good news. And to really be able to hear good news we need to hear the bad news first. (Read about the pattern of grace here) Our denial must be exposed and broken. We are instantly confronted by the Bible. For example, in 2 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul does not adhere to relativism. He writes, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Paul tells us that we are not the ultimate authority. We do not get to choose what is right and wrong, what is good and bad. Only God has that authority, and we will all be judged accordingly. I know you’re all reaching for your holster thinking, “Oh boy, here we go…I knew it was gonna be all hellfire and brimstone with these Christian types.” I hear you, but bear with me.
Paul actually gives the reality of judgment as a motivator for sharing with others… “therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.” Whether they believe it or not everyone is going to have to stand before the Lord some day and give account for their lives. And as Paul says, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.” C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked with a mere mortal.” Everyone we meet may not think it about themselves, but it’s true just the same…they are eternal beings. All of us are. and Paul is telling us that we will one day face our Maker and we will either recognize him as our Lord and Savior and be welcomed into his glory or we will not see him as that. We may try to stand there on our own two feet defending ourselves and saying, “I did what I decided was right and good for me. I lived my truth.” (but I bet if we’re honest we don’t even succeed at living to our standards most of the time) …and he will say, “I never knew you.” And we will be cast out. We don’t get to judge…he does.
Here’s the good news in this Easter season. Jesus Christ saves us from judgment. All of it. He actually took it upon himself. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He did the impossible by crossing the great chasm that exists between us and our Creator…the result of us wanting to determine our own truth and reject his. He became like us, a human being, and yet at the same time fully divine. It is the miracle of the Incarnation that we celebrate every Christmas…he came our way…because we could not go his way. Jesus gave up everything about himself, poured himself out to stand in our place. He became sin itself so that he could bring it to an end by dying on the cross. (You can watch that story here) He put sin to death in his own body. He did this for you and me. The result then is that we get to become the righteousness of God in Jesus. We get all of his goodness, all of his perfection. It’s credited to us, you and me. We are reconciled. There is no longer anything that separates us from God in all of his glory. This is the truth that saves. It’s what Eddie Vedder wished for, “I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good.” Because of Jesus it is.
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