On March 14, 1879, a man named Albert Einstein was born.  His theories of relativity drastically changed man’s view of the universe, and his work in particle and energy theory ultimately made possible the atomic bomb.  He showed that time and space are connected in ways that scientists had never previously realized.  For example, if a person riding in a rocket ship passed another person riding in a slower rocket ship, the watch of the second person ticked more slowly.  Also, the second rocket would appear shorter, and the faster the rocket travels, the more the rocket resists efforts to make it go faster.

        In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the concept of relativity began to be applied also to morality, and has been called moral relativism.  The idea is that there is no universal or absolute set of moral principles, and no concept of guiding principles of right or wrong.  Individuals can decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong for them.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that there is a standard of truth which is meant to serve as a guide for our lives.  That standard comes from God Himself, and is not subject to individual interpretation.  There was a time in the history of the people of Israel which is described in the Book Judges.  In Judges 21:25 it says, “In those days, there was no king in Israel.  Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”  This was very much in direct contradiction to what God expected of His people, and in contradiction to how they had agreed to conduct their lives.

        God had given Moses the Ten Commandments, along with many other rules and regulations, to serve as a guide for their lives. The apostle Peter made it very clear in II Peter 1:21, that “prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.  This is speaking about the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the apostle Paul says in II Timothy 3:16, 17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be both perfectly and completely equipped unto all good works.”

        Jesus warned of false teachers who would seek to deceive believers by teaching a gospel that was their own version of the truth.  Paul also warned in Ephesians 4:14, 15, to not be “tossed about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to bring about deceit.”