Many conservative evangelicals are like this today; they are right-facing zealots. No one to my knowledge has ever been kicked out of the Evangelical Theological Society for being too conservative, and frankly I don’t think anyone could get kicked out for being too conservative. Why? Because going right is never wrong. Go as far as you want, you’ll never get into trouble. You can believe in dictation theory, in views on the authorship of books that are more miraculous than anyone needs to believe, in snakes talking to Adam and Eve (as a result of a miracle, mind you), in a 10,000 year old earth and in youth earth creationism, in radical views of complementarianism, you can deny women their rightful place in ministry (it’s in the Bible, after all, that women were prophets and apostles and leaders of the whole People of God), you can equate right wing Tea Party libertarianism with what the Bible is teaching, you can be as Calvinistic as you want to be (and more), and I could go on and on … no one ever gets in trouble for espousing these views among conservative evangelicals. Ever.

But if you wonder if science might have a few things to offer us when it comes to Genesis 1-3, if Isaiah didn’t write that whole book, if something in one of the Gospels just might be midrash (did Peter really grab a coin from a fish’s mouth?), if maybe God made a world where there is divine self-limitation (some forms of open theism), if Jesus rides (or will ride) on clouds, if justice is at the heart of God’s mission in this world, especially through the church … well, then, you’re on the slippery slope. Going left is wrong (for the right); going right is never wrong. Even if you can show that your view is justifiable biblically, many think any move away from the right is wrong.

I too think both left and right far too often hold to the notion of  a slippery slope as if it is the one truth – as if any deviation or debate is dangerous.  And I think conservative evangelicals, forgive the gross generalization, are in danger of ideological rigidity that is unhelpful and counter-productive.

This does not mean I think the progressives (or liberals or religious left of whatever) are better. Just noting the danger in my own, so to speak.

And I felt a surge of emotion at the joy that my family has brought to me. How much having kids has changed me as a person; how having children has been the most challenging and fulfilling thing that has ever happened to me. How amazed I am – every single day – at the wonderful wife and children I have. And I wondered about, and wrestled with, the travails and struggles of my extended family and the pain and joy that has brought to my mom, dad, sister, myself, etc. through the years.

And of course, it was then that I began to feel the loss of the family who had lost their husband, their father, their uncle, their friend. And as I had these thoughts, a chorus from a Mumford & Sons song came into my head:

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And when the service was over and we returned to our car I had to listen to the song (over the complaints of my children) and struggled to hide my tears.

You can listen to the song – and read the lyrics – below I know it may seem a dark song to some, but I think it is both powerful and insightful; a reflection of the present and a hope for the future..

12 Mumford And Sons – After the Storm

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After The Storm

And after the storm,
I run and run as the rains come
And I look up, I look up,
on my knees and out of luck,
I look up.

Night has always pushed up day
You must know life to see decay
But I won’t rot, I won’t rot
Not this mind and not this heart,
I won’t rot.

And I took you by the hand
And we stood tall,
And remembered our own land,
What we lived for.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And now I cling to what I knew
I saw exactly what was true
But oh no more.
That’s why I hold,
That’s why I hold with all I have.
That’s why I hold.

I will die alone and be left there.
Well I guess I’ll just go home,
Oh God knows where.
Because death is just so full and man so small.
Well I’m scared of what’s behind and what’s before.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

In the early days it seemed so much easier to feel like you were in touch with what conservatives were writing about online.  There were some more libertarian type bloggers and their was a budding group of more evangelical or traditionalist type bloggers and there were the conservative magazines just getting a handle on how they were going to approach blogs and other less formal and more interactive formats. It felt like you were part of a community and a conversation.

But from the earliest days I was almost always a “reactionary” blogger in the sense that I reacted to what I read. I was almost always a thinker rather than a linker and I almost always needed an article or event to inspire me to think and write.

As the web has become more and more social and as the amount of content has grown – seemingly exponentially – this has created a problem for me; one that I have wrestled with for years and years.

My tendency is to surf the web for hours and not really accomplish all that much. Sure, I read a decent amount of articles and engage in some conversations and even mange to produce some writing of my own.  But too often I feel like I am chasing content across the web looking for something interesting or looking for conversations or issues to engage with and not really digging into any one thing or focusing something for any extended period.

I do think my writing has improved, I have built a network of friends and contacts, and I have read some great content and learned a great deal.  But the single to noise ratio just seems too small.

In some small way I think I have an internet addiction coupled with a short attention span.  I see the internet as my connection to the outside world and so don’t want to disconnect. What if I miss some great link or debate on Twitter? What if I miss what my friends and family are up to on Facebook? What if I don’t read that email right away?

And if I am honest with myself, a part of me seeks engagement and feedback and interaction online as a reflection of my self-worth; as proof that I am talented and interesting and worth knowing.  Not all the time or in every situation but this is an aspect of my chasing my tail on social media.

These type of thoughts drive me to constantly be checking my computer.  And when I am reading online I have a hard time not cycling through my tabs; as if in the time it takes to read an article I might miss something happening in social media.

So.  I am once again trying to commit myself to read more deeply and surf less; to make a conscious effort to slow down and read and think and focus rather than flit from one tab to the next never really digesting or grasping the content my eyeballs pass over on the way to checking email or Facebook or Twitter.

I want, once again, to try to focus on a few things and do that well. I want to write longer more thoughtful pieces rather than simply seeking to get more RTs or comments.  I want to discipline myself so that I can focus on what I am doing and reading and not give into the siren call of open tabs and streaming social media content.

I want to try, as I have so many times in the past, to focus on quality not quantity; and to use this as a tool to improve my writing and my thinking. I want to cut back on the amount of time that is essentially wasted online (time spent mindlessly surfing not because I have a task or am engaged in a subject but because my mind is drifting and I am seeking something to capture my interest).

To give this process a little order, and to make it easier for any of you who would like to follow along, here is handy list for where I will be doing my writing and posting;

• Collected Miscellany is for books and culture writing. Mostly book reviews and author interviews but the occasional links to reviews and discussions as well.
• I am once again posting to Redstate. This is politics but with a cultural and philosophical bent as well.
• For photos, videos, and pithy quotes visit my Tumblr blog Sifting through the debris.

This blog will be used for longer essays and be  more focused on my life; my intellectual and spiritual exploration and growth.

The plan is to try this out for a month of so and see if it is working.  January will be  great time to evaluate and set some goals for 2012.

As always, thoughts and feedback welcome.

We used to have skate-a-thons with Campus Life and it brought memories of high school guys racing and trying to look cool, the loud bad music, and the sore legs and feet.

Today, however, I mostly felt bad for my children who had never skated before and struggled to get the hang of it.  That brought back memories of trying to learn to skate and the bumps and bruises that involved.

So no races or impressing the ladies – I am not sure I even impressed my daughter all that much – my skills on the rink will remain unappreciated I am afraid. But it allowed to remember some childhood.memories where I was cool (at least in my own mind).

There is something about the idea or utility of a nice pen that I seem to covet them. Like I need to hoard pens in order to never be without a handy, elegant or well constructed pen.

Now to be clear, I don’t want to collect cheap bic pens but rather pens that write well and are comfortable to use. Not necessarily “fancy” pens just well made that write clear and well.

I am not sure if this is some natural instinct to collect things or it reflects materialism or just the fact that I am cheap. I think it has something to do with this belief that if I just had the right “things” around me life would be better and easier.

Weird, anyways, do any of you share this urge to hoard and collect pens fancy or not?

I was struck by Luke 15:7 (and it is rumbling around in my head still):

I say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance.

The standard way to think about the story of the lost sheep – the story that opens Luke 15 - is to think about how much God cares about us.  And that is certainly worth thinking about.

But what hit me was how rarely do we share this way of looking at the world – the counter-intuitive perspective of the above verse.

God cares about sinners.  He longs for their return to him. And as the verse above points out, heaven rejoices more over repentence – over the lsot being found – that it does over those righteous day in day out.

Think about that. How often do we act as if sinners are this important; as if repentence is that important to God?

Let’s be honest, there is a tendency amongst a certain set of Christians to go through life complacently – and arrognantly – as one of the 99 righteous.  God loves us because we are good Christians who go to church and know our theology and maybe dress the right way and pray the right way and quote scripture. Being part of the “righteous” feels good most of the time, doesn’t it?

Or maybe we denounce the world – the vulgar, ugly, debauched world – with condescencion in a way that makes us feel just a little superior (not that it isn’t all those things) because we are not that way (at least as far as anyone can tell).

Maybe we even get angry with the world – the way it so frustratingly refuses to think the right way and do the right things. This anger is couched in righteous terms – and is frequently based on the right reasonings, morals and ideals – but this anger is all too often motivated not by faith or piety but by the emotional high we get from righteous anger directed at our political, cultural, theological [insert your choice here] enemies.

If we were one of those 99 sheep wouldn’t we feel a little put out that God would leave all of us righteous folks to go a search for that one lost sheep? I mean, didn’t that sheep have it coming? How many times does a sheep need to be told before the consequences of their actions come home to roost? Are God’s priorities out of wack we might wonder.

How might those lost sheep feel differently about coming back to God if the 99 didn’t carry around this attitude? How might we relate to God differently if we shared his view of the 1? If we rejoieced more in repentence than in the righteous being righteous?

I will stop with the endless questions.  I include myself in all of the above – and it is of course an over-generalization with all the weakness that implies. Bt it struck me reading the passage this morning and I thought I would share in the hopes of making more sense of it myself.

It wasn’t too long before I began to know she was “the one”  – more than just an incredibly attractive girl but an incredible person who I couldn’t live without.

Too my amazement she agreed to marry me. Together we have made a family – which has brought me more joy than I thought was even possible. Through all the Ups  and downs – through some pretty high “highs” & some pretty rough “lows” – she has been my friend and companion.

How blessed I am to have you in my life, Lisa.  I just wanted to take a moment today to say this “publicly” in case I haven’t made clear day in day out.

Happy Valentines Day, Lisa!  I love you.

@RandyLudlow: After midnight, naked man knocks at your door, asks for help. What do you do? Let him in? GIve him blanket? Call cops? http://shar.es/XM4R0

The link is to a Columbus Dispatch story about a startling story:

It’s not a choice anyone wants to make, especially not in the middle of the night.

Allow a naked stranger who is begging for help into your home or leave him out in the cold?

You don’t know who he is or what he intends to do once inside. Is this a trick? Is someone chasing him?

You do know the 17-degree temperature is dangerously low for someone without clothes. He also happens to be scratched and bleeding, although you probably can’t tell that from inside the house.

What to do?

What to do indeed. It may be hard to say but I think the only acceptable answer for a Christian is to let him in.  I don’t think there is any way to get around the fact that a naked man in 17-degree weather means help or death.

And this interesting moral dilemma had a tragic ending in real life:

People living on Covina Drive on the West Side were confronted with that dilemma just after midnight on Monday morning. A naked man yelled to be let in to at least two houses, leaving bloody smudges on the buildings.

No one let him in, but one man called 911. Police responded but couldn’t find the naked man. Neighbors found the man’s body about 12 hours later in a nearby shed. He likely died of hypothermia, the coroner has said.

I will fully admit that I would be nervous and worried as all get out was I to be put in that situation.  But I just don’t see how turning away a desperate man with the risk of his death is a viable moral option.  The pastors in the Dispatch article hem and haw about protecting your family and safety but it just strikes me as moral cowardice. A man is in danger of freezing to death and no one could find a way to help him?

Helping others doesn’t mean doing it when it is safe or comfortable. Loving your neighbor when it is safe and convenient is easy, and while good, of dubious moral value – who doesn’t love nice, enjoyable safe neighbors?  But true love helps when risk is involved when a a sacrifice has to be made – when real faith is required.

Reading this article really made me think about just how willing I am to help others and just how watered down our faith has become. It haunted me for much of the day – why did this person have to die? I am in no place to judge the people on that street but the larger question should not be allowed to be ignored. Do we really believe in what our faith calls us to do?

Excuse the potentially hokey nature of this question but is there any question Jesus lets that man in?

What do you think? Am I being to harsh?

However, I use Panodora and through this have stumbled on a number of artists.  One of the favorites I found this way is The Weepies. I enjoyed their music so much that I created a channel just for them.

Fast forward to today. I found a link on Facebook to a music video which then led to a bunch of other videos. And in this process I started watch videos from The Weepies.

I am not sure why but I had never really trolled YouTube for music videos prior to this. And I don’t believe I had ever watched The Weepies on YouTube.

Today I did and learned for the first time that the video to perhaps my favorite Weepies song, Can’t Go Back Now, features muppets/puppets. As the kids these days text WTH? Muppets? Really?

In the grand scheme of things this is really not a big deal. I still love the song and will continue to enjoy it. But man sometimes the internet can be cruel.

Such a cool song deserved better than this.

Grocery shopping has come a long way.

Giant Eagle opened a new grocery store in Upper Arlington recently and it was no ordinary store. It is called Market District.

Here is a blurb from the website:

The first time we went we just kind of wandered around and tried to keep our mouths closed.

The most recent time we decided to make it a mini-date night. We dropped the kids off at the Eagles Nest (a fun place for kids to hang out while you shop) and did some shopping.

Then we stopped at the creperie and bought a crepe with nutella, strawberries and bananas, and whipped cream. Grabbed a cup of coffee and sat in the cafe area talking and enjoying the amazing desert.

It was a great little break: no kids, a great treat and we didn’t even have to leave the store. They have suishi, a pizza bar, an breathtaking salad/antipasti type bar and a couple of other food places I can’t recall plus a massive wine and beer section.

If you are a foodie this is heaven. But if you aren’t it makes for shopping as entertainment. You go and gawk and buy a few special things are try something new. It makes shopping fun.

Obviously, this is a store aimed at the wealthy and upper middle class but no one says you have to spend a fortune. You can get the regular Giant Eagle good deals and just enjoy the atmosphere the Market District provides.

Be interesting to see if other stores attempt to copy this concept.