9.6 - Truth: Affirmation or Love?

Biblically, truth comes from God, and intermingling truth with perversion or distortion—no matter how sincere—removes us from God's truth. Yikes. What is the difference between affirmation and love, and how do they fit within God's kingdom? How do we ensure we are not mixing them inappropriately while still upholding truth and speaking it in love? What does truth have to do with how we treat others and the way we live? Tune in to today's episode of the After Class Podcast to find out!

Truth defined by God stands in contrast to truth claims grounded primarily in experience.
In this episode, Ron rides confidently through his home terrain in the New Testament, while John drifts into theological questions that reveal just how complex "truth" becomes in the biblical writings. As we move through the New Testament, the guys explore the tension: the closer we get to the truth, are we more likely to disagree? And if truth is something we are called to walk in, how do we remain united in faithful action rather than fractured by interpretation?  Bundle up and tune in to today's episode of the After Class Podcast.

Truth and justice. Is there truth apart from justice? What are the implications of knowing the truth without acting justly? This week on After Class, the guys turn to the prophets. Can God's people claim truth while walking unjustly? Do we hide our thoughts and motives in the dark, or do we expose ourselves in the light no matter the consequence? As resident aliens in kingdoms that don't always share the same vision of truth and justice, how are we called to live? What does faithfulness look like when truth costs something?

If you are not committed to the truth, your witness is compromised. If truth has an agenda, how does the Bible weigh in on truth in a world where it may be twisted? We need a revelation from God, lest we spiral into despair as we sift through the conflicting worldviews of subjective truth. So what is God's truth agenda? Definitions, hot takes, and a call to truth all await you in this episode. Unpack biblical truth with us today on the After Class Podcast as we prepare to walk—and stand—firm in truth in our towns, cities, and nations.

In today's episode of After Class, the guys step into the world of philosophical and biblical truth, tracing how the Western tradition once held philosophy and Christianity together, and how Scripture itself speaks about truth in ways that don't always match our modern assumptions. This conversation leans into a key distinction: facts and truth are not the same thing.  As believers, can we unite around the facts of Scripture while allowing room for disagreement about the truths we draw from them?  This episode lays essential groundwork for the series ahead, unpacking history, terminology, and method as the guys begin their study of truth—and what the Bible actually says about it.  Ahem... ok, let's begin. 

AI is changing how people think about truth and how they fact-check information. While AI has immense access to information and processing power, someone with a bias had to train it—and someone with a bias uses it. Grok, ChatGPT, and others may not be as reliable as one might think, but of course, you were thinking that already. But is scholarly consensus any more reliable? In today's episode, Sam, John, and Ron begin a new series on truth—its ability to be defined, discovered, and known—and how AI enters into that conversation. So welcome to 2026 and the quest for truth on the After Class Podcast. Can you handle the truth, eh?!

Get ready for some holy hilarity! The guys are dishing out their hot take on The Promised Land, a new show that's basically a biblical mockumentary. Tune in to hear their review and try not to LOL too hard. https://afterclass.libsyn.com/849-the-promised-land. And if you haven't checked it out yet, what's taking you so long? https://thepromisedlandseries.tv/

"Jesus wasn't born on December 25th!" Are you mad? Faith shattered? Christmas ruined? May it never be! With the actual birth date of Jesus a mystery, why did Christians gravitate toward December 25th? Did we rob and reface a Roman holiday? Are we coopting the winter solstice? Is it just a borrowed holiday from some other pagan religion? And what about... the tree? Are the critics right? And does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? What are we actually celebrating as Christians at Christmas? Tune in to today's episode as we dig into the reason for the season—and maybe embolden your faith for the holidays. Merry Christmas! 🎄

Empty worship, copies of temples, and priests in rooms full of… nothing. Have you ever felt like you were going through the motions, but God wasn't there? In today's episode, Sam, John, and Ron welcome Frank Viola and pepper him with questions about his Restoration Appreciation presentation at Great Lakes Christian College. Hear why Frank claims, 'The old work of God usually attacks or dismisses the new work of God,' and how we can be careful not to be part of that old work which attacks the new. How can we discern God's movements so that we are not left going through the motions in empty rooms?  We encourage you to check out more from Frank on YouTube  

Is an elder always an Elder, or are they simply an elder—and how does that change what Peter says about them in chapter five? Tune in to today's episode to make sense of that sentence and to dive into the closing remarks of 1 Peter, with a view of leadership that resists the worldly temptation to wield authority over others. Instead, see how submitting to one another out of obedience to the Lord elevates our life together and amplifies our witness to the watching world. In this episode, the guys tie all the verses together to show how these concepts are lived out today, and challenge some translation choices along the way. Join us for the conclusion of our series on the book of 1 Peter, and feel free to drop any unanswered questions about the series on Facebook!