When It's Hard to Know What's True

We need spiritual companions today more than ever

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”—attributed to Helen Keller

We were a small, tight-knit group. Most afternoons found us together in the sixth-floor conference room of Woodruff Library at Emory University. Following our three-hour-long philosophy seminars, we would often drift across the street and continue our friendly arguments in a now defunct bar called Jaggers. In an important way, I grew into a philosopher through those friendships.

During the first few class sessions, I felt intimidated by the other grad students. They were already in their second or third year of the program, and they were four or five years my senior. Having completed my undergraduate studies in three years, I was sort of a kid. Besides, nobody in my family had even graduated from college, much less enrolled in a PhD program.

Noticing that I had said nothing at all in class for the first three weeks, P- reached out to me during a break. She said, “So, what are you working on?”

grad students sitting around a table discussing philosophy

At the time, I wasn’t at all sure. So, I mumbled something about studying free will to avoid looking even dumber than I felt. P- said, “Hmmm. That’s interesting. You know, it seems to me that we put our heart into studying the thing that we long for. Want to join the rest us at Jagger’s and talk about it?”

What P- said that day resonated with me. It still does. Whether it’s a field of study or a career goal, a relationship, an artistic expression or a social cause, the thing we desire is what focuses our life’s energies. We pursue this, that, or the other object of desire because it holds for us the promise of a meaningful life.

Plenty of us will spend time on the technical questions about how to get the thing we long for. What steps and which strategies will get us there most efficiently and most effectively. But there is a more fundamental existential question. We can pose it in different ways. Are we devoting ourselves to the right thing? Will the path we’re on actually lead to the full-hearted life we imagine? Should I stay on this path or take another?

This is a question about truth. Existential truth. And it’s an especially difficult question to answer these days, because we live in an era of truth decay.

Photo by Strange Happenings on Unsplash

You might have heard the phrase truth decay before. It’s generally used to talk about how suspicious we’ve become of news reports and political statements. Truth decay has resulted from the partisanship of the mainstream media, the spin coming from politicians and their spokespersons, and the blurring of fact, opinion, and downright falsehood in social media feeds. The impact of truth decay is that we’re always wondering: what should I believe?

I’m borrowing and reframing the phrase truth decay to talk about a pervasive spiritual phenomenon. And here’s what I mean.

Each of us is on a spiritual pathway. As Ronald Rolheiser put it, we’re all spiritual. Spirituality is “what we do with our longings.” (The Holy Longing) And we humans are by nature desiring creatures. Our challenge is that there is more than one pathway for seeking the full-hearted life we all desire. In fact, there are so many pathways we can scarcely keep track of them.

Each of these pathways offers the promise of a full-hearted life. And because there is no consensus about which of these pathways is best or genuinely reliable, we’re faced with choosing a path for ourselves. But even when we’ve chosen a pathway, we cannot escape the gravitational pull of the others. That pull—what Charles Taylor calls the cross pressure—weakens our confidence in the very path we’re walking. We experience truth decay (Taylor calls that fragilization).

None of us can keep walking a pathway relying upon our own sense of unassailable certainty. Alone, we may grow weary and abandon the path. We need walking companions. The Spirit of Truth is that companion. The Spirit of Truth doesn’t provide us with undeniable facts or irrefutable doctrines. Instead, when we open ourselves to the inbreaking of the Spirit into our lives, the Spirit braids us together with the risen Christ. Jesus abides in us.

Photo by Henry Ravenscroft on Unsplash

Simultaneously, the Spirit weaves the friends of Jesus together as companions on the way of Christ. Into the Church. Jesus used the image of the True Vine: “Abide in me as I abide in you…. I am the vine, you are the branches.” (John 15:4, 5)

The way of Jesus is wildly countercultural and paradoxical. He taught us that power is found in weakness. The first will be last and the last will be first. God takes up residence with those on the margins. Submission is freedom. Surrender is victory. Glory is found in humble service.

In a world that rewards success, achievement, and self-promotion, the way of compassion and sacrifice can sometimes feel like the loser’s path. We can grow weary and doubtful. It can be easy to quit. That’s why the Spirit of Truth walks along with us. And that’s why, perhaps now more than ever, we need each other to fight the effects of truth decay.

Speaking Events

My 2025 calendar is almost full. Requests are coming in for 2026. Here are some of the themes I’m covering these days:

• Preaching in a Secular Age

• Congregations in a Secular Age

• The Gospel and Secular Spiritualities

• Spiritual Practices for a Full-Hearted Life

• Christian Discipleship in an Age of Secular Spiritualities

As always, contact Holly Davis to schedule an event with me:

Grabbing One of My Books

Click the image to explore some of my books:

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Sabbatical

Friends, I’ll be on sabbatical starting June 15 and returning mid-September. I’ll continue posting on Fridays (some will be best-of posts). Wednesday podcasts will slow down to one or two a month. I’m considering making this the regular pattern for podcasting when I return. Would love to hear your feedback on that.