Absolute Moral Truth

It was a thrilling morning as I prepared for my first day of college in the fall of 1999. I was excited but also extremely nervous not only because I didn’t know what to expect but subconsciously I wasn’t quite ready to grow up. The past many months leading up to my new educational journey had been rocky to say the least. I hoped that my newfound path would yield some stability in my tumultuous life. My first class that morning was an introduction to Philosophy class with a man named Bob Sullivan, Ph. D.

 

I quietly walked into the classroom and took my seat in the back to try and keep a low profile. The teacher up front, who I assumed was the “Bob Sullivan” listed on my class schedule, began writing on the board without saying a word. It struck me as strange because he was using chalk and I hadn’t seen a chalk board since early grade school. Before I could finish reading his words on the board he began,

 

“What is moral truth?”

 

The room fell silent as his question resounded. He remained quiet and stared at us as we undoubtedly returned his gaze in confusion.

 

“WHAT IS MORAL TRUTH?!” He shouted.

 

The confusion had now turned into shock and fear for almost all of us as a deafening hush settled over the classroom. I say almost all because for me it reverberated into the depths of my soul; I didn’t know it then, but I would soon fall in love with the study of philosophy and the arts. I felt I knew the answer but out of fear I remained quiet.  

 

One brave soul raised his hand and said boldly, “There is no such thing as truth. Truth is whatever you believe it is.”

 

I can only say that what ensued after his statement was truly remarkable to say the least. I doubt that this young man realized what he was doing when he spoke those words, but it began one of the most incredible, and yet simplistic, feats of human reason I had ever witnessed in my life.

 

Dr. Sullivan began…

 

“Ok. Let’s take your statement and go to work on it shall we? SO let’s assume I am a young man and I grew up in a good home. Alright. I had good parents who REALLY loved me and looked after me. Ok. But I have this damn anger problem that I can’t seem to get rid of and it’s a real problem. Fair enough? Ok. Now mom and dad did their best to raise me right but this woman I see walking down the street…well she is just beauuuuutiful.

 

So because I WANT HER. (Long Pause) I RAPE HER!

 

Silence for what seems like an eternity

 

So if truth is whatever I want it to be. WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME IM WRONG?! I FREELY CHOSE TO RAPE! If truth is whatever I believe, then who are you to tell me what I (long pause) OUGHT to do?”

 

The sound in the classroom was louder than any noise I had ever heard; no one said a thing, no one moved. What was amazing is Dr. Sullivan continued for 40+ minutes with this blatant and provoked attack on the very foundations of modern societies “way of thinking”. From that day forward I had a permanently etched smile on my face in his class as I watched this 70 year old man verbally beat down the very core of modern relativism.

 

That day marked the first day of my real education. It started something in me that is the single most important reason I am even alive today. That day I walked into that room a drug addict, a hiding Christian struggling with my faith, and even worse I was unsure if what I had held on to for so long was even true. It was not necessarily his direct intention, but every time I heard him lecture it began to solidify my faith and gave me a reason for why I believed in God.

 

That day signified the first step in a journey that changed the course of my life forever.

 

I began to write papers in his class feverishly and with great excitement. When my first paper returned from him I read his comments quietly to myself as he handed them back to the class. They read “Very rarely do I get a student of your caliber in my classes. Your understanding of the subject matter is superior. Excellent work. Never let this passion fade from you” Those words were like water to my soul, the seedlings that had been planted in my heart began to take root and dug deep into the very core of who I was becoming.

 

The man I came to know as Bob was more than a teacher; he was a friend, a fighter, a dad and a husband, and to me the most spiritually significant person I never knew I needed to meet. An Irish Catholic from Chicago became a missionary and priest in South America, and eventually had nearly a dozen sons and daughters. He is to this day the single most influential person I have ever encountered or known in my life.

 

Robert Sullivan recently passed away last year, but his life will live on. This blog is a legacy to him, to what he taught, to what he stood for, and to a generation of people who refuse to shut up, sit down, and allow the world to fade into moral decay. In the days and months to come I will be writing on some of the topics he taught on including posting his lectures I was able to record. He spoke on family, life, morality, and some of the most important topics our culture is now facing more than ever. Bob Sullivan believed in absolute moral truth, and I intend to show you why it is something we cannot afford to forget or leave in the past.

 

It is my hope that someday, with this help of his family, there will be a Robert Sullivan Foundation and that many more will share the honor in carrying his torch. Today we honor a man who fought the fight and won. Bob, it was an honor to know you, learn from you, and carry this to many more. You taught me the definition of being a good dad, a loving husband, and a zealot for the truth. The life you lived was an example to everyone around you, you are my hero and I am a better man because of you. We are all going to miss you.