It was in this state that I started a blog, under another name. I only ever wrote a few posts. But a year ago I decided to put that obsession aside, for the sake of my spiritual life and my joy. I refocused on creating things, attending to the inspiring depths of God\u2019s creation, and looking for neighbors to love (Luke 10:36).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I still want to write, so I\u2019ve decided to start this blog anew, hopefully more well-rounded this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Truth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Let me share with you how I got there in the first place. In 2020 I met an intelligent woman who had come to a few conspiracy theories on the basis of evidence and logic. My evidence and logic had led me to disbelieve, but the reasonableness of her approach shook me. I suppose this was a tiny piece of what people experience when they convert religions or deconvert\u2014in my case, this wasn\u2019t about my faith as a whole, although she did follow a niche theology based on an unusual but apparently consistent reading of the New Testament. It took me a while to re-embrace the idea that objective truth can<\/em> be found. But I walked away from the experience with a new appreciation for the reasonableness of the beliefs of those who disagree with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 2019 I described myself as an \u201cextreme moderate,\u201d but that doesn\u2019t quite describe myself, as I often do pick a side. I think I\u2019ve found a more accurate way of describing myself. I\u2019m very much bothered when there is a point of view not being considered in a conversation. Most conversations should not have every view considered; but the question is whether opposing views have been considered<\/em> or, when referenced, are referenced<\/em> in their most faithful form. I dislike echo chambers<\/em>, and usually try to be the one to bring in a point of view I don\u2019t see represented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I\u2019m not out here just to become less wrong, like scoring points in some game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the paucity of focusing on truth alone, I don\u2019t have much profound to say except to repeat what many others have said before. We must not forget the whole of our humanity: we are embodied creatures, dependent creatures<\/a>, desiring creatures<\/a>. Facts make no sense outside the context of a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The character of a man is measured by what he does, not by what he says\u2014which is why I hesitate to write for strangers on the internet in the first place. You don\u2019t know my private life. (I\u2019m not going to even attempt to put it on display, lest I be tempted to make it an act or make a name for myself IRL\u2014I\u2019m here under a pseudonym.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n I feel<\/em> the difference between reading topics that are factually interesting, and the effect that C.S. Lewis\u2019s \u201cThe Weight of Glory\u201d had on me when I first read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the pursuit of goodness and beauty also suffer apart from truth. To make good art one must know what is beautiful; to love others one must know what is good. Writing is a good discipline for my own sake to sort these things out. You\u2019re welcome to join me for the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Above, I wrote that I dislike echo chambers, but that\u2019s not so much about truth alone either. If you’re in some echo chamber that says Uranus and Neptune don\u2019t exist, I don\u2019t care a whole lot. But I think a lot about the fact that IBM built technology for the Nazis. Not to hyperfocus on the details of that fact\u2014other companies did too, and other governments carried out plenty of horrors in World War II as well, including my own. But it makes a poignant example. What would I do if I were working for IBM then? What would you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would like everyone to ask themselves a little more, have I really considered what is the Best way to live out this or that area of life?<\/em> Breadth of perspectives is important to to that end, and I\u2019ve had the blessing of experiencing a number of different subcultures that usually don\u2019t talk to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since college, I\u2019ve been blessed with the influence of a couple of subcultures in particular. I\u2019ve found myself caught up in an intellectual Christian strain in the tradition of Pascal, Kuyper, and Chesterton\u2014we use the label Christian humanist<\/em>\u2014to think seriously about how God\u2019s glory displays in all creation. \u201cThe ethical question \u2018What is permissible?\u2019 faded in relation to the question \u2018What is the main thing, the essential thing<\/a>?\u2019\u201d<\/em> At the same time, I\u2019ve had the benefit of participating in a practical ministry with a philosophy that emphasizes being doers of the Word<\/em> and every member a minister<\/em> which leaves me never content to settle either for talk without action nor excusing ordinary people from being used by God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m going to do my best not to write about Uranus and Neptune, nor to write about goodness that I don\u2019t practice. Hopefully, if God allows, this can be a journal of my fleshing out the virtuous, just, beautiful, whole way to live, and be a springboard to living it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGoodness and Beauty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sunlit](\"http:\/\/attentiontothesky.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/bierstadt-sunlitskies.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n