From the Email Bag (I)

Posted by Kendall Harmon

I was mortified when, last week or so, I posted a comment on Titus One Nine that had to be edited by the elves. That has never happened to me, and I pray it will never happen again, but in my haste to post something and in my anger and revulsion at a story I made a comparison that I should not have made.

Why does it appear that the vituperation index here and on other orthodox blogs is on the rise? I'll posit that fear is a prolific generator of venom. And, certainly, there is much for us to fear right now. The economic news gets worse almost daily. Our nation may be poised to elect the most liberal president we have ever had. The Episcopal Church House of Bishops and the Presiding Bishop are actively opposing orthodox bishops and dioceses, and do not seem to be constrained by plain canon language.

How may this cycle of fear and anger be broken? The Scriptures teach us. Perfect love casts out fear. We are forbidden to judge. Worry is sinful, and betrays a lack of faith.

In practical terms, what does that mean for blog stewards and those of us who comment on blogs? I think it means we must encourage and build up one another. We must exhort one another to pray, and to pray particularly for those we perceive as enemies-- I would argue strenuously that those we tend to think of as enemies are actually victims of our enemy. And we must pray for ourselves, for mercy and forgiveness for thinking of ourselves as less sinful than our opponents, and for the gifts of faith, hope, and charity. In short, the answer is to turn to God, the only source of true peace, true wisdom, and unconditional love.

Kendall, yours has been a voice of reason, love, and faith. You have an exemplary gentle spirit that provides the rest of us with a great witness. May our Lord richly bless you, and bring you peace.



Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Blogging & the Internet

5 Comments
Posted October 27, 2008 at 11:06 pm [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. parishioner wrote:

“I’ll posit that fear is a prolific generator of venom.”

Scripture posits something different.  “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  “He who says he loves God and hates his brother is a liar.”

Venom proceeds out of arrogance.  One can be afraid, very afraid, and not resort to venom.  It is the absence of humility that births the kind of vitriol which frequently appears in comments in this blog.
Luke 18:9 is something which should be in the forefront of our minds as Christians, but many think they are saved because of some inherent goodness they do not now and will not ever possess apart from Christ. 

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself . . .’”

The great apologists never engaged in the kind of hatefulness that is evident in the “persuasion tactics” (I’m being generous) of some of the commenters here . . .

Persuasion is your motive, is it not?

October 28, 12:46 pm | [comment link]
2. Albany* wrote:

To the disturbed emailer, Amen to all that you have said. certainly, I know myself to be among the guilty.

October 28, 3:15 pm | [comment link]
3. parishioner wrote:

To add to your “practical terms,” I suggest commenters consider the satanically seductive allure of ostensible anonymity.

Under God’s omnipresence and omniscience, no one is ever anonymous.  Yet the impression of anonymity while using the Internet can give people the false sense that their actions are without accountability or consequence.  Their consciences are either seared in deceit, or they labor under the delusion they will have time to persuade God of their worthiness before their life is required of them and they are held answerable.

It reminds me of the NYer cartoon where the Fido in front of the computer tells his buddy, “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog.”  We might think we can get away with acting like a pompous ass clown, spewing invective and insults in “anonymous” comments like there’s no tomorrow, but there IS a tomorrow.  And for all we know, it’s Judgment Day.  We are all answerable for the things we say and do in God’s sight.  He sees you in front of your computer, dude.

October 28, 3:27 pm | [comment link]
4. Albany* wrote:

I agree fully.

October 28, 3:47 pm | [comment link]
5. Bob Lee wrote:

I too, agree. But can not help to make the connection is something you mentioned. It was that we are about to elect ( although I think
the conservative will win ) the most liberal president of all time… and then you mentioned our beloved Episcopal Church. I note that the downfall of the church and the nation are related. In one, the constituants chose to vear from historical Christian beliefs, including Biblical threads; and in the other, the candidate has decided that our Constitution was incorrectly put together, and he plans to change it.

Maybe when America goes the way of the Episcopal Church, we will get on our knees and they will become bloody.

bl

October 28, 5:14 pm | [comment link]
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