tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post6553872678577262913..comments2024-02-15T03:32:25.686-05:00Comments on Preludium, Anglican and Episcopal futures: Stephen Bates on becoming an agnosticMark Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871096746243771489noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-30916937697936388692009-08-21T13:23:01.323-04:002009-08-21T13:23:01.323-04:00I understand where Mr. Bates is coming from. I'...I understand where Mr. Bates is coming from. I'm not a journalist, but I followed the discussions on the HOBD listserve for awhile. I found too many of the posts and discussions there profoundly depressing and the online atmosphere toxic. There are occasional graceful posts, but far too many spiteful rants. The fact that the postings were a sampling of thoughts and words from leaders of our denomination was even more depressing. The silver lining, I suppose, was in the occasional graceful comments and also in the fact that the number of posters appeared to be a relatively small sample of the HOBD populaton. <br /><br />Reading the blogs is also depressing, in that there is too much preaching to whichever choir that might be there, and not enough constructive dialogue. But, at least the blogs, in their own partisan way, come with an advertised or understood point of view, and you know what you're in for when you read them, even if you disagree and get flamed if you dare disagree disagreement with the understood majority view of the site. <br /><br />I can understand further that Mr. Bates, whose job it is to cover religious matters, would come away with misgivings about the sausage-making atmosphere brought about by the organizational shortcomings of his journalistic subjects.<br /><br />Paul in DallasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-2447050436150785382009-08-21T12:12:11.572-04:002009-08-21T12:12:11.572-04:00William Lobdell here in the USA has a similar stor...William Lobdell here in the USA has a similar story, although he is now explicitly atheist/non-affiliated. <br /> There is an old saying that nobody should watch sausage being made unless he wants to lose his appetite or watch legislatures behind the scenes unless he wants to lose his respect for democracy. Maybe the same thing applies to watching religious bureaucracies.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07042565574908468276noreply@blogger.com