{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Shock Absorber","title":"Jesus is the synthesiser","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3544,"description":"Tony Abbott wrote a history of Australia called, wait for it, Australia. Tim has been reading it, which sent him down a rabbit hole about celebratory versus critical history, cognitive dissonance, steel-manning both sides, and why we're so terrified of changing our minds.\nJoel and Tim work through black armband versus three cheers versions of Australian identity, and what Christian Smith's critical realist personalism has to do with welcoming newcomers at church. Then they land somewhere that ties it all together: Jesus is the synthesiser. Not a middle ground between two political tribes, not a careful hedge, but the total truth above and beyond all of it, which is exactly what a generation exhausted by polarisation is starving for.\nPlus: two Michael Jensen articles on how not to be weird to newcomers, the difference between a hobby and a practice, and Tim's takeaway on being genuinely curious about other people.\nTimestamps\n\n00:00 Welcome — adventures, new creation and Tim's AI-generated book cover\n05:00 Tony Abbott's history of Australia and the history wars\n09:30 Black armband vs celebratory history, why we can't hold both at once\n16:30 Steel-manning both sides with Claude and the danger of always complexifying\n22:00 Christian Smith's critical realist personalism: objective truth, subjective engagement\n28:00 Michael Jensen on how not to be weird to newcomers at church\n34:00 The regulars and irregulars problem: when community becomes a closed circle\n43:00 Hobby vs practice: Brad Stulberg on getting 1% better at welcoming\n51:00 God's sovereignty and our practice: the both/and of sanctification\n56:30 Tim's takeaway: be genuinely curious about others\nDiscussed on this episode\n\nTony Abbott - Australia: A History\nChristian Smith - What is a Person?\nSean Nolan - The Way He Walked\nMichael Jensen - How Not to Be Weird to Newcomers at Church\nMichael Jensen - How to Be Normal to Newcomers at Church\nBrad Stulberg\nCal Newport - How To Build Discipline in a Distracted World...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Xefvzfzzrkbs1GjU01qCch0kUaJzwBthG2qO_sgqCm8/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/Lzg4NjYvMTU4NTEz/OTEyOS1hcnR3b3Jr/LmpwZw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}