The Dialog

Can politics fix what's wrong with America? We don't think so. The problems we keep arguing about are problems of the human heart, and a policy change can't reach that far.

There's a meme we passed back and forth: a grizzly bear goes looking for the source of his problems, walks up to a mirror and starts attacking it. That's most of us. It's a lot easier to see the threat of somebody else than the threat of our own actions.

My co-host Nick Surface and I look underneath the culture wars and ask the question that's actually ours to answer: what does God hold me responsible for?

Can politics fix the country?
I disagree on the fix being a political fix. When individual families, men and women decide to live virtuously, the country goes in that direction.

What is God holding me responsible for?
Fixing what's happening in the world is ultimately God's responsibility. My responsibility is me: my marriage, my children, living the truth I claim to believe. Nick calls it the enemy within.

How do you change someone's mind?
The goodness of God leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4). The Greek word is μετάνοια (metanoia). It means to change your thinking. You can't argue people into transformation. You can love them into it.

So what's the cure?
God loves us in spite of ourselves, and He invites us into a life of transformation. What we have in culture now is a product of what we've sown for generations. If we want the future to look better, we have to start sowing different.

Scriptures
Jeremiah 17:9 · Romans 2:4 · Mark 10:45 · Matthew 22:39 · Genesis 3:6 · Deuteronomy 6:7 · Luke 6:27-28 · Matthew 9:36

Chapters
0:00 Cold open and show intro
0:52 Rural luxury living and why we need each other
2:26 Echo chambers and tribalism
4:05 Far left, far right and nobody in the middle
5:24 Would you say it that way to someone you love?
6:52 The goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4)
7:53 It's easier to see someone else's threat than your own
9:59 The grizzly bear and the mirror
10:27 What does God actually make us responsible for?
11:52 Do you live up to the standard you set for others?
13:37 Do the people in your life exist to serve you?
15:34 Comfort, convenience and the algorithm we asked for
18:21 Original sin: thinking we know better than God
19:02 Hookup culture and what nobody says about divorce
20:20 Eve and the fruit: why we miss cause and effect
21:10 Virtue starts with individual families
22:47 Is the fix political?
24:47 Treating the symptoms instead of the cause
25:44 My responsibility is me
26:37 Grace and truth between friends
27:17 The enemy within
28:16 The breakdown of the family
29:59 Is everything really getting worse?
31:33 The problem is the human heart (Jeremiah 17)
32:41 Jesus had compassion on the crowds
34:37 Outro

Previous: 1.14 / Who is my neighbor? What Jesus meant by the Good Samaritan
Next: 1.16 / What's your standard for truth? Socrates vs. the sophists

New episodes most weeks.
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Go to my website / https://jkc.is

What is The Dialog?

Ancient philosophers used the dialog to find answers to life’s greatest questions. The Dialog is a search for truth in modern life through the lens of ancient philosophy, history, and theology. This podcast will challenge your assumptions, change your thinking and show you how to master modern living.