The Dialog
Truth, certainty and changing your mind
How do you know what's true, and what do you do when you might be wrong? Truth, certainty, conviction, principles vs. preferences and changing your mind, drawing on Socrates, the Stoics and Scripture.
Nine episodes from my podcast, The Dialog. Each one is a search for truth where ancient philosophy, history and theology meet modern life.
- Why you should want to be proved wrong 1.1
Because if someone proves you wrong, you're the one that conversation served. Now you can fix it and get better.
- Is there truth in other religions? 1.5
Yes. All truth is God's truth, and whatever is actually true anywhere points to a greater truth: Jesus, who said He is the way, the truth and the life.
- What's your standard for truth? Socrates vs. the sophists 1.16
Something outside yourself that is always true, right and good. For us it's God's word, and the harder question is how well you actually know it.
- What are you really certain of? 1.17
Less than you think. Certainty comes looking back, and looking forward you have faith. What you can be certain of is who God is, and that the truth can handle questions.
- Have we confused our preferences with principles? 1.20
A lot of the time, yes. A principle is something that's always right, always good and always true. A preference is how you do something, and most of what divides us is preferences.
- What did your opinion cost you? 1.21
For most of us, not much. Your opinion is only as valuable as the price paid to form it, and a conviction is something you would die for.
- How do you hold conviction without losing compassion? 1.22
With grace and truth together. Jesus came with both, and love is the balance between them. Live by your principles, and love the people who don't share them.
- Do you want the truth, or just to feel right? 1.29
We should want the truth over anything else, even when it costs us the comfort of feeling right. That means arguing about the position, not the person, and learning to live with complexity.
- How do you live with uncertainty? 1.30
Start with what's true. Life will always be complex, but you can be certain about your search for truth and the principles you make decisions by.
Watch the playlist on YouTube · Every episode