Reason or Loyalty: Which Comes First? | Doug Wilson

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]Doug, somebody writes to say, "At my most cynical, I think that what someone believes about a given topic has less to do with rational clarity, but instead everything to do with who you know and where your loyalties are. What what do you think of that?" First, I think it's true.

[00:00:15]All right?

[00:00:16]>> Okay. I think it's true that that is a very pronounced human tendency.

[00:00:22]And I think you can embrace that without being cynical.

[00:00:26]Because it appears to me that that's a feature, not a bug.

[00:00:30]>> Uh-huh. So, this person seems to be fear that they're being too cynical at this point?

[00:00:35]>> Right. I um they think that if I if I think that that person is holding their position because that's what their mom and dad taught, and that's what their grandfather taught, and that's, you know, they're just doing it out of loyalty. I'd say, "Well, yeah."

[00:00:50]Well, yeah.

[00:00:51]>> And that's not a bad thing? Well, that's not a bad thing. Now, it's it's a bad it becomes a bad thing when you absolutize it.

[00:00:58]Right? Where you follow in the ways your customs of your people and your family traditions, and you won't brook any kind of question or you know, Uh-huh. you won't budge an inch as though your family or your people or your your inheritance was perfect in every way.

[00:01:16]Uh-huh. But there it's um substantial enough that it ought to your inherited traditions ought to have a head start in your life, right? The the burden of proof should be on the one who wants you to change. So, I can't I cannot go into every situation neutral.

[00:01:38]Um if if if I did, I would be a disloyal son, a disloyal American, a disloyal churchman. I'd be um I I should be objective and open to reason Uh-huh. and not be blindly bigoted. But you're you're objective and open to reason because that's kind of what your people do, right?

[00:01:59]>> that's right. It's our tradition.

[00:02:01]>> [laughter] >> Well, it does seem like it does seem like you if you try to achieve that like that transcendent um completely um um object objectivity trying to climb to that point leads to just madness cuz you can never actually get there. Correct. I I remember when this um thinking down these grooves, there's a great book by Theodore Dalrymple called In Praise of Prejudice. Okay. Okay, In Praise of Prejudice, which is just it's a wonderful book. Um one time many years ago my youngest daughter was probably about two. She was old enough to talk.

[00:02:38]Um and I was sitting in the chair in the living room and she was sitting on my lap and for some reason she launched into a gospel presentation.

[00:02:48]>> [laughter] >> And she was telling me all about Jesus and God and Jesus died on the cross and she did a was doing a very credible job, very good job. But she was pronouncing on these things Mhm. confidently. And and it dawned on me there wasn't a thought in her head that we hadn't put there.

[00:03:08]Um we'd put it there and she was telling me all about it with supreme confidence and then it struck me that that was not wrong. That's how it's supposed to work.

[00:03:19]>> Uh-huh. What we try to do for sake of this pretended objectivity is we'll have people say things, well, I just want my kids to grow up and let them decide for themselves when they're 18. Uh-huh. No, no, right? You have to teach your kids that this is we are your people.

[00:03:37]Uh we want you to live up to first to your baptism, you're a Christian. We want you to live up to your family name.

[00:03:44]We don't want you to disgrace the family. We want you to fulfill your responsibilities and this is the way we do. This is what we do. Um and one of the things you should teach them is a willingness to change if scripture demands it.

[00:03:59]But you don't change change at the drop of a hat.

[00:04:03]>> [clears throat] >> You're not flighty.