Monthly Archives: September 2005

Banning Gays From Priesthood

8 Replies

There are some very reasonable, fair, open-minded, intelligent, and compassionate orthodox responses to the announcement of the new policy against the admission of gays to the priesthood, and the related inspection of American seminaries, to be found in St. Blog’s Parish. Examples are those of Mark Shea and Amy Welborn. If only we could get that side of St. Blog’s to talk peacefully to the other side, for whom I’ll use Nathan Nelson as an example.

I don’t know whether the discourse thus far has been civil because I thus far haven’t noticed any discourse (outside of echo chambers) whatsoever.

Update 09/23/05: Here are three more good responses to the policy (which I’m now hearing isn’t so new, just not enforced).

Kevin Miller
Gregory Popcak
David Morrison

The post by David Morrison is of particular interest. From David’s "About Me" page:

"David Morrison is the author of this web log and the book Beyond Gay, which Our Sunday Visitor press published in 1999 and which is still in print."

"He is also the found and moderator of Courage Online, an online support community for men and women living with some degree of same sex attraction who wish to do so chastely."

"Throughout his career so far David has written on human rights issues, population issues, pro-life issues and chastity issues. In addition to this web log and the writing for his day job, David speaks and writes on chastity and identity issues."

Repeat After Me: Correlation Does Not Necessarily Imply Causation (Katrina and Global Warming)

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More people need to read this.

"In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, some commentators are jumping to the conclusion that global warming is responsible for its destructiveness. While there is a theoretical possibility that higher ocean temperatures could lead to more powerful hurricanes, no individual hurricane can be shown to be so affected. Moreover, most scientists who study hurricanes believe that we are moving from a period of low hurricane activity to one of greater activity – change not caused by global warming. So, arguing that Katrina’s ravages are the result of climate change commits a causal fallacy."

….

"1. There is no way of telling how much, if any, of Katrina’s destructiveness was caused by global warming. There were equally, and even more, destructive hurricanes prior to global warming, and it is impossible to differentiate between a hurricane that is destructive due to global warming and one that is just plain destructive."

"2. Most scientists who study hurricanes believe that they are becoming more severe due to cyclical changes which have nothing to do with global warming, so it may be that all of Katrina’s destructiveness was due to these other causes. If this were not the case, there would be a plausible argument that global warming was responsible for Katrina’s excessive destructiveness for lack of an alternative explanation. However, there is an alternative. Now, I am not a scientist who studies hurricanes myself, so I’m relying upon press reports for the expert opinions of those who do (see the Resources below). Of course, press reports are not always reliable, so caveat lector."

Blogging Advice

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Recently Joe Carter of the Evangelical Outpost gave some great blogging advice I’d like to share with fellow bloggers who might not read EO.

"Unfortunately, we bloggers rarely appreciate the power we possess. Instead of being constantly amazed at the potential influence we wield, we carp and whine (if only to ourselves) that we don’t have the links of Glenn Reynolds or the site hits of Daily Kos. We believe that since thousands of people could be reading our blogs that we should have thousands of readers. If we don’t then we judge ourselves to be inadequate."

….

"If you have a blog that is read by more than a few dozen readers then you are making a bigger impact than you probably realize. If you have 50 people reading your blog then you have more people in your ‘classroom’ than most professors at Harvard. If you have 90 readers then you have more people in your ‘pews’ than most pastors have in their churches every Sunday. And if you have more than 1000 readers a month you have a larger ‘circulation’ than most poetry and short story magazines."

"But having a larger audience doesn’t necessarily translate into having more influence. As Malcolm Gladwell argues in his book The Tipping Point, the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship is about 150….Now consider what would happen if each of these 150 readers read and thought about what you wrote on your blog for five minutes every day. Five minutes may seem insignificant but it has an exponential effect: with only 5 minutes every day, six days a week, every month, you will have the reader’s attention for more than one entire day ‘ 26 hours ‘ every year. With only 150 consistent readers you will have gained the equivalent ‘mindspace’ of one person for one entire day for almost five straight months. This is what I call the ‘5/150 Principle’: capturing the mindspace of 150 people for 5 minutes can create an astounding opportunity for influence."

I don’t know if I have 150 readers, but appreciate the ones I have. If you’ve been reading my blog and just lurking, please consider delurking and saying hi. You don’t have to offer any controversial opinions on anything. Just say hi and be friendly. 🙂

Blog Recommendation: Overheard in Pittsburgh

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I don’t often highlight a single blog for particular attention. That way, it might mean a little more when I do. Today, I’d like to promote a local favorite of mine, Overheard in Pittsburgh.

In Pittsburgh, this city of college students and work-a-day joes, of arts and beer and unreliable public transportation, it’s hard not to overhear little bits of other people’s lives.

In line at a fast food restaurant, a man yells into his cell phone.

He’s yelling for you.

On the bus, two girls gossiping about a celebrity couple.

They’re gossiping for you.

In class, a professor says something he really oughtn’t.

He’s saying it for you.

Welcome to Overheard in Pittsburgh, a collection of impromptu little public performances, reported and displayed for your enjoyment.

Overheard in Pittsburgh:
We’re not eavesdroppers; we’re attentive listeners.

I’m a big fan of people watching and I see this as a logical extension of that. Sometimes fascinating, always entertaining, it’s worth taking a peek. Whenever I need a giggle, I head to OiP. There’s always some bit of street “wisdom” to brighten my day. 🙂

Update: OiP has moved.