{"id":42435,"date":"2014-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/skydiving-needs-absolute-rules-not-relativism\/"},"modified":"2014-02-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-24T00:00:00","slug":"skydiving-needs-absolute-rules-not-relativism","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/skydiving-needs-absolute-rules-not-relativism\/","title":{"rendered":"Skydiving Needs Absolute Rules, not Relativism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you go skydiving at the Southwest Florida Skydiving Club in Punta Gorda, Florida, you can count on two things: (1) an exciting experience and (2) the need to follow some basic rules. For instance, before you participate in a dive, your &quot;Jump Master&quot; will give you the following instructions:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\t<li>Don&#39;t curl up into the fetal position. (You can slip out of your harness.)<\/li>\n\n\t<li>Arch your back and hold your arms out in front of you. (To keep you from slipping out of your harness and to get you flying in the correct position.)<\/li>\n\n\t<li>Stick your legs out in front when landing. (No explanation necessary.)<\/li>\n\n\t<li>Do everything your jump master tells you to do. (Immediately.)<\/li>\n\n\t<li>No pets allowed on your jump.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>These are not negotiable, especially if you want to live. They are absolutes.<\/p>\n\n<p>Now let&#39;s imagine another skydiving experience. When you arrive a smiling instructor begins strapping a parachute to your back while walking you toward a plane idling just outside. Over the plane&#39;s engine noise the instructor yells, &quot;We here at the Relativist Skydiving School believe there are many ways to get from the plane to the ground. We respect everyone&#39;s desire to skydive and we don&#39;t believe in absolute rules. Just listen to your inner voice, respond honestly to your feelings, and have a memorable experience. We&#39;ll see you when you get down!&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>If that was your experience, would you go skydiving? Most people who go skydiving are glad that there are strict, nonnegotiable rules. You can&#39;t be a relativist at skydiving. The rules are there for good reason. When we know why the rules are there it helps us embrace them.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3363,3638,3690,3726,3889,4343,4491,4658,4707,4794,4887,5135,5168,5303],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-42435","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-absolutes","tax_ctp_tags-commandments","tax_ctp_tags-conviction","tax_ctp_tags-culture","tax_ctp_tags-ethics","tax_ctp_tags-lawlessness","tax_ctp_tags-morality","tax_ctp_tags-pluralism","tax_ctp_tags-principles","tax_ctp_tags-relativism","tax_ctp_tags-savior-christ-only","tax_ctp_tags-ten-commandments","tax_ctp_tags-tolerance","tax_ctp_tags-worldview"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Skydiving Needs Absolute Rules, not Relativism - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/skydiving-needs-absolute-rules-not-relativism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skydiving Needs Absolute Rules, not Relativism - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you go skydiving at the Southwest Florida Skydiving Club in Punta Gorda, Florida, you can count on two things: (1) an exciting experience and (2) the need to follow some basic rules. 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