Thursday, February 08, 2007

Integrity and Criticism

Ordinary Time

Many of you have recently become aware of my long standing feud with Paula Deen. I appreciate your concern, but I'm still not going to discuss it on-blog, or in any way respond to public attacks.

You see this is a Certain Kind of blog I have here. I write it because it's fun to share my life in a small way like this with friends and strangers. I write here because it's a way of practicing theology on the ground. I write things about God and the Church and the Church's life with God in a way that I hope will be understandable, and invite people to sort out issues with me that I think matter to that life. Sometimes I do write things that are critical of fads and popular trends, but this is not a "watch blog." You will not find me writing posts on how awful it was that some other blogger wrote something on his or her blog. I've only recently discovered that some theology bloggers out there make a habit of writing about other folks' blogs, and they go back and forth saying rude things about one another and just look like complete asses. That would make my blog a different king of blog, and I don't do that.

I thought about this for awhile after Michael Spencer said something to the effect that if a public leader were to make a public response to criticism made by some guy on a blog, that leader would actually degrade himself in the public eye.

What's the lesson, friends? It's okay if someone doesn't like your buttermilk biscuits. There's nothing wrong with that. It is what it is, and it means what it means. If you think you need to tweak your recipe in response to someone's criticism, do it; however, you're not under any kind of cosmic obligation to do so. When the people you cook for and share the dinner table with say that your recipe is bad, that's a problem. Otherwise, when you know you've got a good recipe, you've got a good recipe, and life's too short to do anything but leave it at that.

4 comments:

+ Alan said...

Now, are you saying you don't like my biscuits??

The Archer of the Forest said...

Well said...If more people took the high road, the internet would be a better place.

On a lighter note, the sillier sniping and blog feuds reminds me of the old SNL skit.

Tom Brokaw: Gerald Ford, dead today after being eaten by wolves...now, wait a minute, Gerald Ford isn't going to be eaten by wolves.

Off camera producer: He's a former President. What are you saying, Tom, that he's not delicious?

Anonymous said...

On a related subject, here is famous tv chef Paula Deen's recipe for butter milk biscuits:

-1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast
-1/2 cup lukewarm water 5
-cups all-purpose flour 1
-teaspoon baking soda 1/2
-teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-2 tablespoons sugar
-3/4 cup solid shortening
-recommended( Crisco)
-2 cups buttermilk

1.Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2.Dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside.
3.Mix dry ingredients together.
4.Cut in shortening.
5.Add yeast and buttermilk and mix well.
6.Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll out to desired thickness.
7.Cut with small biscuit cutter and place on greased baking sheet.
8.Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Kyle said...

Thanks, Ryan. Alan, your biscuits were lovely.

Way to take sides, Roger.