Found a church

I'm thinking about settling at a Baptist church downtown.

It's funny. I used to feel like I was always more conservative than the churches I attended. Now I feel more liberal. Some of that comes with growing up, I suppose, but there's a tinge of irony there too.

The church is conservative and Calvinist. The worship is blended and I look forward to the hymns (IMHO, praise music can be anemic sometimes). The preaching, though, is in a similar vein to John Piper's: very warm, passionate, intelligent, thought-provoking. He's not likely to drop the names of anyone on my bookshelf any time soon, but I think that's ok with me.

I'm also realising that church isn't first and foremost an intellectually-oriented community. I can worship with these people and share in their hopes and prayers and fears, and that's most important. And I'm sure they will help keep me grounded, as I do tend to wander.

The Dark Side

I just arrived back from Star Wars Episode 3. While my buddy was noting the similarities between Palpatine and George W. Bush, I was taking a decidedly less political approach. (Caution: potential spoilers.)

I couldn't help but think that the movie made a very good case for 2 Corinthians 6:14. Anakin marries Padme when his Jedi practice tells him he cannot; Anakin is subsequently torn by his split allegiances, and consumed by his fear of losing her. In fact, it is this very fear that turns him to the Dark Side -- given a noble but misguided hope that he might save her. Ultimately, it is Padme that holds on to goodness while he becomes disillusioned with his Jedi companions, dissatisfied with their teachings, and distanced from the moral center he once knew. He ends up betraying her and everything he stood for, and is left with only one word fitting him: lost.

Any Christians out there that dated non-Christians and can relate to this sequence of events?