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I think that there are principles of behavior or morality that are absolute -- but that there is no single good way to apply any of those principles, and many gray areas. For example, suppose you believe that is it is absolutely wrong to kill, and are in a situation where you could kill a man before he killed three other people? Priests face this dilemma when someone confesses a hideous crime, one for which they've not been caught and which they may repeat.
Life is full of situations in which sticking to certain principles would seem to do more harm than compromising them -- usually, much less dire situations than the hypotheticals I gave above. The great responsibility of human beings is to apply good will and whatever wisdom we can develop to apply perfect principles in an imperfect world, as best we can. To compromise when it seems best, and to be unyielding when that is required.
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