Here at Reading in Babylon we are dedicated to bringing understanding in an age of confusion by summarizing interesting ideas from books, articles, and podcasts through a biblical lens. To that end, we’re guided by the following core values. These values intentionally run counter to our present media culture.
We value dialogue over demonization. Media culture plays to our loyalties by dividing our world into us/them dichotomies. These loyalties prevent us from understanding and listening to people outside our bubble. We value listening to a wide range of perspectives, not uncritically, but to learn and understand. We believe this dialog is more likely to lead us to truth and allow us to overcome blind spots and biases.
We value truth over speed. In an effort to be the first, too many publish without fact-checking or waiting for more relevant information. We’re willing to give up being early, if it means being truthful.
We value thoughtful over simplistic arguments. Memes and click-bait articles boil down complex arguments into simple, shareable arguments, too often in a way that compromises truth. We believe that nuanced argument, while less easily sharable, does a better job at leading us to effective solutions.
Integration over compartmentalization. Many want to, and believe they must, keep their spiritual life separate from their secular life, their private beliefs from their public engagement. We believe that the gospel can and should be integrated with every other aspect of life. We believe we can integrate what we learn from Scripture and books with day-to-day lives in wholistic ways.
We value prophetic witness over partisan loyalty. The partisan (political or otherwise) uncritically accepts the righteousness of their tribe and the wrongness of rivals. The biblical prophets, while not mincing words in their warnings to the nations, level their harshest criticisms against their own people. They were reformers, calling the people back to faithful obedience. While we believe that sin (and goodness) can be found anywhere, we’re more concerned about speaking to our own “tribe” than making villains out of others.
Reading in Babylon 