Sydney Smith 
Denysha Taylor Protagoras believed that “Man is the measure of all things.” As a Sophist, he believed that truth is relative. He believed that nothing could be false and that all men have their own distinct truth embedded in them. There is no such thing as a code of ethics or universal truth. Protagoras did not discount the belief that there may be a higher power controlling the universe, but he did not rely on truth coming from that entity.
If man is really the “measure of all things,” that does not leave much space for God. This makes me place Protagoras’s ideas and philosophy into the category of the Fall. The reason why we believe in relative truth is because we have chosen to turn our backs on the real truth that God has given us. Even though we have advanced in so many different areas, the fact that the most important questions cannot be answered by science and reason is a reason to believe that we are not wise. We still are unsure about where we go after death, or why we have a higher level of intelligence than all other living beings in this world.
Our inability to answer life’s most difficult questions reminds me of an Oscar Wilde quote, “Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” I think this quote can be applied to our most difficult questions about truth in life and how we cannot solve them ourselves. We can only gain truth through God.
Irene Anderson
10:02 pm, 09.09.13
I really like the Oscar Wilde quote that you integrated in your blog. I think it could apply to the arts and being smart. One can not teach another to be talented or to work hard. They must do it themselves. They must make a choice to invest and to practice and to keep going even when they have no strength or motivation to. I also think it means that if you discover truth on your own and it’s not spoon fed to you, you are more likely to stick to it. Is that also what you mean? However, I don’t completely understand how it applies to questions about the truth in life. Can you clarify that more? Thanks so much!!!!
Nicole Nelson
10:13 pm, 09.09.13
Anna,
Very interesting take this! I like how you state that if the ideology is “Man is the measure of all things” than there is no room for God. It is so true! I would have to agree and say that the main reason the “Fall” occurred was because humans began to have to much faith, and almost cockiness in themselves and started to turn away from the creator. And as soon as we as humans make that mistake and start believing that we are able to control our own lives better than God! I also agree when you said that we can’t explain everything through science and reason, so that should probably be a good indication that we obviously don’t know everything and we definitely need a higher power to keep us in check. Great post with a lot of interesting ideas!