Good points from John which I think conclusively answer beliefs some (not myself) Christians may have that moral ideas and equality were absent pre 30-33AD.I've appreciate both standpoints in this Blog! I think the source of Jesus' & Paul's beliefs has to be founded in OT theology due to their context which was most certainly Jewish?

(James Thompson, on "Atheism and the Good Life")

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Relativism and tolerance

Probably the most attractive thing about relativism for the average person on the street is the seeming connection between relativism and tolerance. If I insist that moral, cultural and religious ‘truths’ are simply relative—that no one is right or wrong—then this is likely to inspire tolerance toward other people’s views. And there is no question we need more tolerance today! 

This longing for tolerance is one thing the Christian worldview shares with the relativist. But two things have to be kept in mind before we decide that tolerance is best won through relativism. Firstly, the relativist position is no more friendly toward Christians, Muslims, pro-lifers, the Sudanese and so on than the absolutist position is. In the end, the relativist is still saying that Christians are wrong to think of Jesus as True and Real and that Muslims are likewise wrong to think that their (contrary) views of Jesus are True and Real.
  tolerance is the ability to treat with grace those with whom you disagree
  
 

Again, the relativist is really saying that pro-lifers are mistaken when they say abortion is truly murder and that the pro-choicers are also mistaken when they say that terminating a foetus is truly a matter of choice. Sudanese are wrong to affirm female circumcision as a truly valid human behaviour, and Westerners are wrong to think the practice is, in reality, abominable. In short, while relativists would rarely put it like this, relativism insists that the ‘truths’ held by different people are, in a larger sense, false. I cannot see how this is any more respectful or tolerant than the person who says plainly to the Christian, Muslim, pro-lifer, Sudanese or Westerner, ‘I believe you are mistaken; the truth of the matter is …’

Secondly, what many relativists think of as ‘tolerance’ turns out to be an inferior version of the virtue. For many today, tolerance means little more than a willingness to accept every viewpoint as true and valid. But I want to suggest this is not tolerance at all. It is simply a strategy for avoiding arguments.

True tolerance does not involve accepting every viewpoint as true and valid; it involves treating with love and humility someone whose opinions you believe to be untrue and invalid. A tolerant pro-lifer, for example, is not one who accepts as true and valid the pro-choice idea that it is okay to kill unwanted foetuses. No: the tolerant pro-lifer is one who, while rejecting abortionist arguments, nonetheless treats pro-choicers with kindness and respect.

In the same way, being a tolerant Westerner does not involve accepting as valid the traditional Sudanese practice of circumcising young girls. It involves laying out my opposing arguments while always honouring the Sudanese people as fellow members of the human family. True tolerance is the noble ability to treat with grace those with whom you disagree. For Christians this ought to be second nature, since the Lord proclaimed in the Christian gospel is the epitome of humility, love and gentleness.  Sadly, it is often not the case.

The basis of social reform

Not only does relativism have no monopoly on tolerance, just as importantly, it loses the any basis for social reform and development. From time to time throughout history, certain individuals and groups have perceived deep moral faults within their society and worked for reform. This was not part of a natural evolution from one social ethic to another; it was usually a moment of crisis and confrontation.

Obvious examples include the anti-slavery movement of William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the women’s rights movement of Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King (1929-1968) and the movement to end apartheid championed by Nelson Mandela (born 1918). These individuals (and their armies of supporters) needed more than careful moral insight; they needed enormous moral courage often in the face of forceful and violent opposition. And, yet, with persistence, such reform movements were able to improve society in substantial ways.

Relativism, however, cuts the nerve of all such moral reform. If things are only ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ relative to society, movements calling for moral change are, almost by definition, misguided and illegitimate. As the Encyclopaedia Britannica entry on ‘Relativism’ says: ‘the relativist has no grounds by which to evaluate the social criticism arising within a free or open society … [and] appears in fact to undercut the very idea of social reform.’  In other words, a relativist can hardly call for the reform of society at the same time as arguing that there are no moral truths beyond society.

The situation is worse for relativism when in comes to the question of moral reform across societies. If there is no moral truth external to cultural frameworks, there can be no basis upon which one society may urge a different society to change its ways. This was exactly the point made by the American Anthropological Association in 1947 as the United Nations discussed the pressing issue of universal human rights. Fortunately for the world, the U.N. rejected such relativism and the following year established the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a wonderful document that insists there are moral absolutes transcending time and culture. The document begins:

  Now, therefore The General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of the Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
 
  Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. 
 

I would love to quote all 30 Articles of this inspiring document but the above is enough to illustrate something that thoroughgoing relativism denies: that some moral truths are absolute, and binding on all societies regardless of culture.

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