In my hometown "I am one of the religious right, and I don't like us"

Your Turn
A taste for granola
by Kevin Feldotto

A taste for granola I live in Colorado Springs, home of God. There are more Christian ministries in this town than you can shake a Harry Potter book at. Apparently, this makes us some sort of Christian Mecca. I'm not buying it.

The ugly truth is that we are a town divided by hate. It's the granola-eating, pacifist, pro-homosexual tree-huggers versus the holier-than-thou, flag-waving, pro-life, Bible-thumpers, and we have been divided for a decade. We don't have time to stand in the park and yell at each other, so we wage war with our bumper stickers. "FOCUS ON YOUR OWN DAMN FAMILY" is a popular bumper sticker that reveals more about our community than about any organization.

Being a Christian conservative, I am keenly aware of this battle. Recently I saw a bumper sticker that made me spew my latte. It read, "DOING MY PART TO PISS OFF THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT." While that would make some wish they had a shoulder-mounted grenade launcher, it made me laugh out loud. Personally, I love controversy — not for the sake of confrontation, but because it makes people think.

I wanted to kidnap the owners of the bumper sticker (with my grenade launcher) and buy them a beer. I would ask them how they feel about the religious; how they feel about the right. Then I would ask them how they feel about Christians. I would then do something so radical, it would completely freak them out. I would listen; no arguing, no defending, just listening. In fact, I might just be nodding my head in agreement.

You see, I am one of the religious right, and I don't like us. Our ranks are filled with arrogant know-it-alls who wear the label "evangelical" like some kind of medal; people who think "right" refers not to their political stance but to their level of correctness. If you are not a member of the club, you probably know what I mean. As soon as they figure out your label, you get the distinct impression that you have dog doo on your shoes.

I was still laughing about the "religious right" sticker when it hit me: If Jesus had a car, he might have had that bumper sticker on it, right next to the one that said "WHAT WOULD I DO?"

Hear me out on this. Whenever Jesus went on the attack, who did he launch against? It wasn't the liberals; it was the religious right, the conservatives. It was the religious leaders who knew the Scriptures like they were written on their underwear. The pious people who were convinced that they had the corner on being right.

Instead of giving them a good ol' boy slap on the back, he got in their faces at every opportunity. Time and again, Jesus said, "Have you not read?" He knew darn well they had not only read it, they had memorized it. When he repeatedly remarked, "You have heard it said this, but I say to you that," he purposefully challenged their authority. When Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, he was not ignorant of rabbinical law. He did it to force the issue.

I find it very interesting that he never seemed to hang with the religious right. He ended up at parties with the wild crowd, while the conservatives hovered outside and talked about what he was doing wrong. He intentionally spent time with those whom the conservatives looked down on.

What does this say about us as evangelicals? Perhaps we don't have the corner on being right. (Be still my heart.) Possibly, we have been unwilling to see our weaknesses because of our own arrogance. Could it be that the bumper sticker, "THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT IS NEITHER" is more than just wordplay? We need to be willing to honestly ask ourselves if we have been wrong. No, I take that back. The question should not be "Am I wrong?" but "Where am I wrong?"

Now that I have voiced these heresies, I may get thrown out of the club. That may be OK. If you're a pro-homosexual, tree-hugging pacifist, let's talk. I actually like granola.

Kevin Feldotto has lived in Colorado Springs for 17 years. He can be contacted at ColoradoWriter@earthlink.net.
http://csindy.com/csindy/2006-09-14/yourturn.html

Blueprinting the Mojo

Perfect timing! Brian (in the photo) just got 3 new facing tools and we put them to use on the BB shell, stearer tube and fork crown. It was the perfect complement to the sweet paint job. Emailed Chuck at ibis bikes and he says the decals should be here within a day or two. Now all that needs to be done is take it down the yellow brick road to Sety the "wizard" and let him dial it in. When finished the Mojo will look better than new. I'll post photo's as they become available. Can't wait to ride on Sat with Brian, Sety, Eugena, Ivy and Cathy, Kiowa and Haley.

Like everything American - I supersized

Luminous flux is often used as an objective measure of the useful power emitted by a light source. Energy conscious consumers (Use LED's) commonly compare the luminous flux of different light bulbs, since it provides an estimate of the apparent amount of light the bulb will produce, and is useful even when comparing different technologies.
It is wrong or at least imprecise to refer to luminous flux as a measure of "brightness" since, for example, a nearby source of light may appear much brighter than a faraway source with much higher luminous flux. This is because not all of the emitted flux is received by your eye, and you receive less flux from sources that are farther away. In general, brightness has no unambiguous scientific meaning, and should be used only for nonquantitative references to physiological sensations and perceptions of light. luminous flux is the measure of the perceived power of light. It differs from radiant flux, which is the measure of the total power of light emitted, in that luminous flux is adjusted to represent the sensitivity of the human eye.
Brightness may be ambiguous scientifically but luminous flux thankfully is not. [Power of light /surface are] means I can run and bike faster. oh oh oh

Borrowed and adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_flux

Ultracentric 48/24 hr Run y PTSD

On Friday I finnished my last final for Q5:) For everyone who was praying and fasting, good news I did well in all my classes. I covet your prayers-thank-you. Please don't let up. In my academic weakness he truly made me strong. Right now I am relishing eveything the Lord is teaching me. In truth though I can't wait to get back into a clinical setting next fall. Hopefully in Denver or back in CS- should know Dec 8 where I will be assigned.

For my respite from a hard quarter I flew to Fort Worth helped Dr Lovy crew him and his friends who were trying to make the US National Team and go to the World Championship 24 hr race. I also spent time with him as he helped veterans evaluate whether or not they have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD. Needless to say the trip was an invaluable experience.

a Nabel indwelling in me- A Saviour gently restoring me

My flesh is weak and my mind even weaker. Oh how I want to live more fully with delight instead of living in duty. How great is it that our/my saviour saves me from myself. How amazing that we have a Saviour who frustrates the intelect and the proud, my pride included, and outstretches his calloused, cut, pierced, and yet gentle hand to restore me into a right relationship with Him.

Finals et all

Busy Studying after spending hours holding my Snowpeak chopsticks between my 2nd and 4th knuckles so I could learn to pick up a m&m and roll in back and forth without dropping it. I see a possible application for a foray into General Surgery. If only I had the inattentive form of ADHD.

www.mixedclimbing.com has changed to "www.hg-productions.com"

Trying to remember what climbing is like. The Wealth of medical information is pushing my memories out to make room for the new imaterial. Thankfully a picture can tell a 1000 words!

Can't wait to climb at Christmas:)

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