Authority in modern America: How do Christians know truth?

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the state of moral and legal authority in America, why God is our ultimate spiritual and moral authority, different ways of knowing God’s truth by interpreting the Bible, where Baptists and Catholics disagree, and how Christians should view authority. 

 

Show notes: 

 

Dr. Jim Denison begins by discussing how Americans view authority and why we regard the rule of law as higher than even the president’s power and the difference between legal, moral, and spiritual authority (0:59). 

They cover why religion was important to America’s founders and how Americans are sorting our views on morality through the judicial courts and legislation at a state, and even city, level (12:07). 

They comment on the conflict between religious liberty and the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community (16:01). Dr. Denison considers the differences of spirituality and morality from an “epistemological” perspective for Christians: the intuitive, rational and practical (28:09). This is relevant for Christians to how we pray, read the Bible, and ultimately our view of authority (34:14). 

They close by tying everything together, discussing the priesthood of all believers, community, church leadership, and the Bible’s grounding authority for our lives (42:43).

 

Resources and further reading:

 

• “The power of living biblically” Sermon by Dr. Jim Denison

• “The rise of a post-truth culture” Podcast with Dr. Turman and Dr. Denison

• “How we should think”  Podcast with Dr. Turman and Dr. Denison

 

About the hosts 

 

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

 

Mark Turman, DMin, is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.