Relativism:
Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air by Francis J. Beckwith
and Gregory Koukl
Book
Review
by Steve Cowan
Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air by Francis
J. Beckwith and Gregory Koukl. Zondervan, 1998; 188 pages
It is widely held today
that there are no objective moral norms; that morality
is a matter of personal opinion. Frank Beckwith and Greg
Koukl have done our society a great service by providing
us with a thorough but accessible critique of this moral
relativism.
The book is divided
into five parts. In Part 1, Beckwith and Koukl explain
what moral
relativism is, and the variety
of forms that it can take. First, there is what they call "Society
Does Relativism" which simply describes the diversity
that exists in people's moral beliefs and behaviors. Second,
there is "Society Says Relativism" which is the
idea, usually invalidly inferred from Society Does Relativism,
that one's culture decides what one ought and ought not do.
Finally, the most extreme form of relativism is "I Say
Relativism," or ethical subjectivism, which asserts
that morality is defined by each individual.
Part 2 provides a critique
of these three forms of relativism. With regard to Society
Does Relativism, the authors challenge
the notion that different cultures really have different
moral codes. Most cultures in the world actually have the
same underlying moral values. Moreover, they show that the
mere fact of disagreement on a moral issue is no argument
for moral relativism. "The fact that there is disagreement," they
point out, "does not mean that no view can be correct" (p.46).
In their critique of Society Says Relativism, they show that
such cultural relativism implies that we can never criticize
another culture no matter how bizarre or heinous their actions
(e.g., we could not say that Hitler did anything immoral).
Further, if Society Says Relativism were true, there can
be no such thing as an immoral law---a highly counterintuitive
result. Nor could there be any such thing as moral reformation,
and moral reformers like Martin Luther King would be immoral
by definition.
After outlining how everyone can and does know basic moral
principles through intuition, the authors point out the fatal
flaws of I Say Relativism. Among these are the inability
of ever accusing anyone of wrongdoing, and not being able
to defend the highly touted principle of tolerance (i.e.,
if morality is a matter of personal preference, why would
it be wrong for me to be intolerant?).
In Parts 3 and 4, the
authors discuss the influence of relativism in education,
law,
abortion politics, and other spheres of
culture, concluding that relativism left unchecked will lead
to barbarism and social chaos. In Part 5, they offer practical
suggestions for refuting relativism when we encounter it
on the streets. They also provide a very helpful critique
of the theory that morality developed among human beings
through the process of evolution. The last chapter offers
a poignant argument for basing objective morality in the
existence of God. Since we know that moral relativism is
false and that there are objective moral standards, Beckwith
and Koukl ask, "What best explains the existence of
morality?" Answer: "A personal God whose character
provides an absolute standard of goodness" (p.168).
For any Christian who is concerned to understand and respond
to the pervasive relativism in our society today, Relativism
is must reading.
Reviewed by Steven B. Cowan
Associate Director of the Apologetics Resource Center
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