Conviction but not certainty

Tony Jones is one of the leading spokesperson for the emergent church. In his book The New Christians he says, "Humility about what human beings can know, about the limits of human knowledge and our ability to accurately articulate that knowledge--what philosophers call epistemic humility--is a common trait among emergents.

"This stems, in part, from the acute awareness among emergents that our ancestors were dead wrong about some things in the past. Ask an emergent, 'Why so humble about making strong truth claims?' and you're likely to hear a response like this: 'One hundred years ago, my great-grandfather thought that women shouldn't vote. He was absolutely certain about that, and I'm absolutely certain that he was wrong. Two hundred years ago, my great-great-great-great-grandfather believed that white men should own black men. He was absolutely certain about that, and I am quite certain that he was wrong.

"'I'm humble,' an emergent might tell you, 'because I don't know what I'm wrong about today. I'll speak with confidence, and I'll speak with passion, but I won't speak with certainty.'" (p. 140)

Does that mean there are no things we can be certain about? That there are no absolutes? How do we decide what is cultural and what is eternal? At one time Adventists taught the shut door, that after 1844 no one could be saved who was not part of the original Miller group. Now we no longer believe that. How do you decide what is truth?

Are Some Lies OK?

Does the ninth commandment "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor" speak to the subject of lies? Is it always wrong to lie? When Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all new born boys they refused. When Pharaoh asked why? They said the Hebrew women are more vigorous than the Egyptians and give birth before they get there. This of course begs the questions of why have mid wives in the first place if the babies come too soon. Then the Bible says that God blessed the mid wives and gave them children of their own. So it would seem that lying under certain circumstances is OK. What do you think?