Podcast Summary: Renewing Your Mind – "Are There Absolutes?"

Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Nathan W. Bingham (Ligonier Ministries)
Speaker: Dr. R.C. Sproul

Overview

This episode of Renewing Your Mind features Dr. R.C. Sproul addressing the pressing philosophical and cultural question: "Are There Absolutes?" Sproul examines the widespread modern denial of absolute truth, value, and ethics, contrasting this worldview with the Christian affirmation of absolutes rooted in the existence and character of God. The message explores the logical inconsistencies of relativism, the implications of a world without absolutes, and the uniqueness of the Christian framework for human dignity and morality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why People Reject God and Absolutes

• Sproul opens by asserting that many reject belief in God to avoid moral responsibility (00:04–00:25).
  • Quote: "…if he affirms the existence of God, he is then immediately thrust into a situation of moral responsibility." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (00:04)
• The modern refrain of "that's your truth" reflects a denial of any universal standards.

2. The Self-Contradiction of Denying Absolutes

• The universal claim "there are no absolutes" is inherently self-defeating (01:31–04:30).
  • Sproul unpacks: If all statements are false, then the statement "all statements are false" must also be false.
  • Cites the Greek skeptic Gorgias, comparing the current mindset to ancient sophism and skepticism.
  • Quote: "If there are no absolutes, then the statement 'there are no absolutes' is not an absolute statement." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (03:45)
• The denial of absolutes ultimately commits a logical fallacy and is "formally and analytically invalid."

3. Eclecticism and Inconsistency in Modern Worldviews

• Most people today are eclectic: borrowing ideas from many systems without consistency (04:50–08:10).
  • Underlying motivation: personal autonomy ("wanting to do your own thing").
  • Quote: "Eclecticism is confusion. In the final analysis, I don't know anyone who's really eclectic who's been able to work in an eclectic framework, in a framework of consistency." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (06:10)

4. The Inevitable Slide Toward Nihilism

• The root of denying absolutes is nihilism (08:11–10:30).
  • Very few are "thoroughgoing nihilists"—most can't live with the implications.
  • Sproul's challenge: Confront people with the logical end of their view: if no absolutes, then no meaning, value, or truth.

5. The Destruction of Absolute Value, Meaning, and Truth

• Without absolutes:
  • No objective value: all values are arbitrary and subjective (10:31–12:00).
  • No absolute meaning to existence—everything "meaningful" is declared so arbitrarily.
  • Quote: "When a person says, 'there are no absolutes,' he is really saying, 'I am the absolute.'" – Dr. R.C. Sproul (11:55)
• The search for meaning and truth quickly becomes meaningless under relativism, collapsing into self-contradiction and subjectivism.

6. The Collapse of Morality Without Absolutes

• No absolute truth leads to no absolute goodness; thus, no binding moral standards (12:01–15:30).
• Sproul refers to Nietzsche, Sartre, and radical existentialists as illustrative:
  • Nietzsche concluded life is "nothingness…meaningless," yet issued moral imperatives himself—showing the inability even for nihilists to consistently live without values.
  • Quote: "If there are no absolutes, the word 'ought' must lose its meaning, and it loses its force. There can be no such thing as a categorical imperative or a particular imperative." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (14:55)
• Humanists "live on borrowed capital," desiring Christian virtues with no objective foundation.

7. Human Dignity: Christianity vs. Humanism

• Humanism affirms "dignity of man," but Sproul argues it lacks a basis for doing so (15:30–19:30).
  • Dignity, under Christianity, is "derived and dependent upon the One who stands alone in the context of intrinsic dignity."
  • Humanism sees man's origin as a "cosmic accident" with no ultimate meaning or destiny—thus, dignity is unsustainable.
  • Memorable Moment: "How can you possibly assign dignity in between?" (18:50)
• Only the Christian worldview provides a consistent origin, meaning, value, and destiny for humanity.

8. Kant and the Moral Argument for God

• Immanuel Kant’s “moral argument”: Even if we cannot know God exists, we must live as if He does, or face ethical anarchy (19:31–22:45).
  • In a world without absolutes: law becomes "positivistic," serving only the interests of the powerful ("jungle rule").
  • Quote: "That's jungle rule. That's the survival of the fittest. That's rule by strength, not by truth." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (22:10)

9. Call to Recover an Absolute Foundation

• Christians must help others see their reliance on "borrowed capital" and reclaim the only consistent basis for meaning, value, and ethics in God (22:46–24:14).
  • Sproul: Without absolutes, society is left with nothing but "morning" (mourning) and despair.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Self-Refuting Logic:
  "If all statements are false, then the statement 'all statements are false' is false. So then not all statements are false, right?" – Dr. R.C. Sproul (03:10)
• On Subjectivism and Arrogance:
  "When a person says, 'there are no absolutes,' he is really saying, 'I am the absolute.'" – Dr. R.C. Sproul (11:55)
• On Human Dignity:
  "That dignity is inseparably related to the question of origin and destiny." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (17:30)
• On Moral Anarchy:
  "Otherwise there can be no basis for ethics other than anarchy. And anarchy inevitably produces tyranny." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (21:40)
• On Borrowed Capital:
  "We have to get our borrowed capital back." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (24:10)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:04] Motivation for denying God and absolutes
• [01:31] The self-contradiction of claiming "there are no absolutes"
• [04:50] The confusion and inconsistency of eclectic worldviews
• [08:11] The link between relativism and nihilism
• [10:31] Value, meaning, and truth under relativism
• [12:01] The moral consequences: the loss of "ought"
• [15:30] Human dignity in Christianity versus humanism
• [19:31] Kant and the logical necessity for God in ethics
• [22:10] Law without absolutes: "jungle rule"
• [24:10] The need to reclaim an absolute framework

Conclusion

Dr. R.C. Sproul’s classic message is a compelling philosophical and theological defense of absolutes, exposing the self-defeating and ultimately unlivable consequences of relativism and secular humanism. He encourages Christians to understand and articulate why a belief in God as the ultimate absolute is foundational not just for faith, but for coherence, meaning, morality, and human dignity.