And Jesus said unto his disciples, "Go into all the world, teaching all men to live any way they want, and urging each to find his or her own path to God. Let not any one of you make someone feel inferior or victimized because of their beliefs. Above all, be tolerant. Verily, verily, I say unto you that what you believe and how you live do not matter, so long as you are sincere. Leaving that place, Jesus led His disciples to Jerusalem where they broke bread at Club Upper Room. Then He addressed them again, saying, "I am one of the ways, one of the truths, and just one possible life. If you are basically a good person, you're okay in my book. And if you choose to come to the Father (or Mother, if you prefer) through Me, that's cool. Now go forth to live according to whatever feels good to you." And there was much rejoicing.

So opens this small book which caught my eye. Dobson's observations would be amusing if it wasn't so tragic and if life and death issues weren't at stake. I certainly recognised several of the phrases and stock words in this introduction and I expect you do as well. The message is one that all people claiming to be Christians need to hear and take seriously. Unfortunately, the delivery in this book may end up irritating people.

Dobson argues that we are living in a society in which moral relativism rules and where tolerance is the order of the day. Truth is unfashionable and absolute truth unheard of. He points out that sadly Christians are going with the flow rather than bucking the trend. He encourages us to stand up for what we believe and to tell people that they are blindly walking towards a cliff and that they will die if they don't listen. He suggests that accountability in Christian circles is non-existent as people don't want to offend their friends--but which is more loving, to confront or to allow them to reap the consequence later?

Dobson's arguments are sound and I agree with him. I have previously blogged about the issue of absolute truth (http://christianmissionaryuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/what-is-truth.html)

However, Dobson's frustration with society's apathy is only thinly veiled and that kind-of cuts across his message. What he says is true and necessary but the way he has said it could be improved. He needs to remember that we should be speaking the truth in love and to give a reason for the hope that we have with gentleness and respect. I have no doubt that he displays these characteristics in person but unfortunately the narrative comes across as a bit of a rant. I'm not arguing here that he should have been more tolerant or that his message is wrong, just the way he has expressed himself.

Having said all that, I would recommend this book to all Christians. It is not especially well written but the message that Jesus is the only way and that truth is found in the Bible and is not relative is so important that I have to rate this highly. More so because not many are willing to even enter into this area, we are all busy hoping someone else will do it! ( )

"Whatever" is now the password into civilized youth culture. Alarming numbers of Christians eighteen to twenty-five years old believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Yet, Ryan Dobson proclaims, we can't even function if we believe that everything is relative. In his first book, the impassioned youth speaker explains God's establishment of absolutes, using relevant examples to awaken Christians to the world's desperate hunger for absolute truth -- and the church's duty to proclaim it.

A good discussion of the Christians approach to moral relativity and tolerance. Two priorities, to stand firm on the truth of what the Bible teaches, and to love others enough to confront the inconsistencies of their philosophy. ( )