Why Everything Feels Like Outrage Now

It feels like everything is offensive now, and outrage is everywhere.

Disagreement feels dangerous.
Conversations feel tense.
And outrage feels like the default response to almost everything.

Most people sense something has changed—but they struggle to explain why.

In this episode of Behind the Mike, we step back and look at what’s happening beneath the surface. Not from a political angle. Not from an outrage-driven angle. But from a biblical and human one.

This is a thoughtful conversation with Mike Stone about what happens when a culture slowly loses moral grounding, how outrage fills the vacuum, and why disagreement now feels personal and threatening. We’ll explore human nature, cultural shifts, and Scripture—not to scold, but to understand.

In this video, we talk about:
• Why outrage thrives in fragile belief systems
• What replaces God when He’s removed from the center
• Why identity and desire became sacred
• Why disagreement feels like hatred today
• How outrage replaces grace
• What Scripture says about truth, worship, and confusion
• Why God’s Word must be something bigger than ourselves
• A calmer, rooted, Christ-centered way forward

This isn’t about winning arguments.
It’s about being grounded in a world that feels increasingly fragile.

👉 If you’ve felt exhausted by constant anger or tension, this conversation is for you.

#faith #outrage #ice #mytruth #christian

⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 Why everything feels offensive now
02:00 What changed beneath the surface
05:00 Why outrage thrives in fragile systems
09:00 Removing God didn’t remove worship
13:30 When identity and desire become sacred
18:00 The biblical pattern we’ve seen before
22:30 When sin becomes identity
26:00 How outrage replaces grace
28:30 Why God’s Word must be our foundation
31:00 A better way forward

Transcript

0:00

You know, it feels like everything is offensive now, regardless of when you watch this. I can say pretty safely that this past week has been full of outrage. Conversations feel tense before they even start. Disagreements feel dangerous, and outrage feels like the default setting to respond to anything. You can feel it on. You can feel it in our families. You can feel it at work, in our churches and schools everywhere. And most people sense that something is off, but they can't quite put their finger on why. What's interesting is this didn't happen overnight, and it didn't start with politics, and it didn't start with social media. It started with something much deeper, because when something foundational is removed, something else always rushes in to take its place. And today, I want to talk about why everything feels like outrage now, what's actually underneath it, and how Scripture tells us to understand what we're living through without adding more anger to an already angry world. To stick around and see if you agree with me. You. Welcome to Behind the Mike Podcast, I'm Mike Stone. Hey, before we go any further, I want to be very clear about what this is and what it's not. This is not a rant. This is not a political take. And this is not about us versus them. I kind of want this to be a diagnostic conversation. So my goal today isn't to put down culture. It's to understand it. Because when we understand what's happening beneath the surface, we're far less likely to respond with fear or outrage or despair, and we're far more likely to respond with wisdom and clarity and with grace. So here's the first thing that we need to understand. Outrage. It thrives in fragile environments, fragile systems. When people share a common understanding of truth, disagreement doesn't feel personal. But when truth becomes subjective, when truth becomes individualized, then disagreement feels like an attack. I think that's what we're seeing today. Think about how conversations used to work. People disagree, sometimes passionately, but disagreement wasn't automatically treated as violence. Everybody had an opinion. Right. Well, today, disagreement is often interpreted as harm. Why? Because when truth is no longer something that we discover. But it's something we declare. Then challenging an idea feels like challenging a person. And that's when fragility sets in. Fragile beliefs. They don't tolerate questions. Fragile identities can't withstand disagreements. Fragile worldviews. They respond with outrage because outrage feels protective. And that's why I think everything feels so tense right now in our world. So here's a mistake that our culture keeps making. We assume that by removing God that that leads to neutrality. That if God is pushed to the margins, we somehow become more objective. We become more balanced and more free. The problem is keep seeking truth neutral. We were created as worshiping beings by nature. That's just who we are. And if we stop worshiping God, we don't stop worshiping. We just redirect our worship. Something always has to move into the center. Something always has to be here. And what sits at the center of our lives eventually becomes sacred to us. So when God is removed from the center, what often moves in is identity. Not identity is something that we discover, but identity as something that we must defend. In the past, identity was shaped by things outside of us. It was we were. We were identified by our family, by our community, by our faith, by responsibility, by truth. Today, identity is treated as self constructed and self-defined. Here's why that matters. When identity becomes sacred, it has to be protected. And once it has to be protected, disagreement starts to feel dangerous. Because if who I am is ultimate, then questioning and idea feels like questioning my existence. That's why disagreement now feels like violence. Not because people are weaker than they used to be, but because beliefs now are so much thinner. There's just no substance. And here's here's another shift. We used to say to a new idea, is this right? Maybe the Bible says this, right? Well, now we ask, does this feel authentic? Desire has become a moral authority in our lives. If I feel it strongly, it must be true. And if it comes from within me, it must be good. And once desire becomes truth, then discipline feels cruel. Boundaries feel hateful and restraint feels oppressive. Because anything that challenges our desire is seen as challenging. The self that's not rebellion, that's replacement worship. And this helps explain something else that we see everywhere. Outrage has become a way to signal virtue in a fragile belief system. Anger. Kind of becomes the proof that you care. Calmness starts to become suspicious. And if you're listening, it looks like compromise. Outrage feels powerful because it defends what is sacred. When people feel morally uncertain, outrage gives them a sense of certainty. That's why outrage spreads faster than wisdom. That's why pile on feels righteous and why silence gets punished in a fragile system. Outrage replaces moral confidence. Now here's the connecting thread. When beliefs are rooted in something bigger than us, then disagreement doesn't destroy us. When beliefs are rooted in us, disagreements threaten us. If I'm the source of my truth, then I have to defend myself constantly. And that's exhausting. And eventually, exhaustion turns into anger. And this leads us to one of the most overlooked losses in our culture. And that is grace. Grace only makes sense when we believe that we're not enough on our own. But if I'm already complete, if I'm already right, and if I'm already whole just as I am, then repentance feels unnecessary. There's no need for it. Correction feels like an insult and grace feels completely irrelevant. Grace disappears when no one thinks they need it, and when grace disappears, then outrage fills the gap. Now, none of this means that people are worse than they used to be. What it means is worship didn't disappear. It shifted. And Scripture has been warning us about that pattern for a very long time. The Bible is not surprised at all by this. We look at the the book of judges. We're told, and I quote, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Sounds pretty relevant, right? Well, that wasn't freedom. It was chaos. We turn to Romans, chapter one. Paul describes a culture that suppresses truth, not because it lacks information, but because it rejects authority. And notice something important. God doesn't immediately strike them down. Says that he gives them over to the consequences of their thinking. What are those consequences? Confusion. Disorder. Loss of clarity. And here's the truth. God doesn't need to punish a culture that removes him. Confusion is the consequence. Remember the Tower of Babel? Human unity without God doesn't produce peace. It produces fragmentation. That's exactly what we're living in today. So this is where outrage accelerates. There was a time when sin was something that we did. Now it's something we are. And when behavior becomes our identity, then correction feels like I'm being erased. Grace disappears because no one thinks they need it. And repentance disappears because change feel like it feels like self betrayal. And outrage steps in to defend the sacred self. That's what conversations feel impossible today. That's why nuance is gone. And why disagreement feels so hateful now. Because people are worse just because of our belief system. It's so much thinner. And here's where we've got to be honest. Sometimes the church, not the building, but the people respond to outrage with more outrage. We get louder, we get sharper. We're more reactive. And in doing so, we lose contrast in our world. The church was never meant to mirror cultural fear. We were meant to model rootedness and stability in God's Word. So truth without love becomes cruel and love without truth just becomes sentimental. But truth with grace is powerful. We're not called to win arguments. We're called to bear witness of the truth. You know, a grounded faith doesn't need outrage to survive. It doesn't panic. It doesn't shout. It doesn't need to dominate every conversation because it's rooted and rooted. People don't need fragile gods. They know who they belong to. They know where the truth comes from. And they know that disagreement is not a threat to eternity. And that kind of faith is so desperately needed right now. You know, if everything feels fragile to you right now, it's not because truth has disappeared. It's because we've been trying to carry truth by ourselves. And that weight was never meant to rest on human shoulders. When truth is self-made, it has to be defended constantly. But when truth is rooted. When truth is self-made, it has to be defended constantly. When truth is rooted in us, it's always at risk. And when truth changes with feelings, then outrage becomes a guardrail. But God never intended for truth to be something that we invent. He gave us something far bigger than ourselves. God's word doesn't rise and fall with emotion, doesn't shift with our culture or our times. And it doesn't panic when challenged. It stands firm. And when God's Word becomes our ultimate authority, not our feelings, not our identity, not in our outrage, then something changes. We don't have to protect truth anymore. In fact, truth protects us. We don't have to shout to be heard. We don't have to panic when we're challenged. We don't have to respond to every disagreement with fear. Because we're anchored to something deeper, something older, something stronger and something truer. That's why Scripture describes God's word as a foundation, not a weapon. It's a lamp for our feet. It's an anchor for our soul. It's a rock that doesn't move when everything else does. And when our lives are rooted, there, outrage loses its power. Not because the world gets quieter, but because our hearts get steadier. So maybe the answer to all of this anger, all this fragility, all this constant offense, maybe it's not louder arguments or stronger reactions. Maybe it's just deeper roots. Roots and something eternal. Something unchanging roots in a truth that doesn't need defending, only trusting. Because truth doesn't need outrage to stand. It just needs the depth. Well, thanks for spending this time with me. I know that it's a busy world. Schedules are full, so I appreciate you taking the time to listen. And would you do me a favor and hit subscribe the subscribe button below. And by doing so, it helps us to reach more people with the truth and point people to Jesus. Thanks so much and keep seeking truth.