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.

Joel 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.

Plus: 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.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome — adventures, new creation and Tim's AI-generated book cover
05:00 Tony Abbott's history of Australia and the history wars
09:30 Black armband vs celebratory history, why we can't hold both at once
16:30 Steel-manning both sides with Claude and the danger of always complexifying
22:00 Christian Smith's critical realist personalism: objective truth, subjective engagement
28:00 Michael Jensen on how not to be weird to newcomers at church
34:00 The regulars and irregulars problem: when community becomes a closed circle
43:00 Hobby vs practice: Brad Stulberg on getting 1% better at welcoming
51:00 God's sovereignty and our practice: the both/and of sanctification
56:30 Tim's takeaway: be genuinely curious about others

Discussed on this episode

Tony Abbott - Australia: A History
Christian Smith - What is a Person?
Sean Nolan - The Way He Walked
Michael Jensen - How Not to Be Weird to Newcomers at Church
Michael Jensen - How to Be Normal to Newcomers at Church
Brad Stulberg
Cal Newport - How To Build Discipline in a Distracted World
The Antilibrary: The Hidden Value of Unread Books

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