Comments, Kind and Otherwise

I suppose my blog is controversial enough to attract extra attention. Unlike some blogs, the comments around here aren’t limited to props from my group of online friends. You don’t have to look far to find debates and places where my own friends disagree with me, too. And then there are those occasional zingers.

Recently, I received all 4 kinds of comments I typically receive, and so I thought I’d highlight them in this post.

First, there are on-target comments which agree with my post. The first 3 comments under my recent “Big If” post stand as examples. 2 of the 3 are from blogging friends, the third is from a new commenter.

Second, there are opposing-view comments. These usually are on-target to the post/question at hand. And I welcome them. They can challenge me to defend my views. And the best ones have a humility of spirit which begs me to respond. I try to respond to most of them. I haven’t yet responded to today’s example under my recent “Oxygenating your Spiritual Life” post. Steve, I’ll respond soon.

Third, there are the drive-bys. Zingers. Gotchas. I’m not sure what to call them. Many of them seem to prove my point about fundamentalists. They are an example of harsh, mean spirited, judmentalism. And for some odd reason, these comments almost always display misspellings and blatant grammatical errors. What is it with hyper-fundamentalists and an inability to type?

Anyway, I recently got 3 comments registered under 3 different emails (so I am assuming they represent 3 different people), which perfectly embody this kind of comment. Since this exchange is so interesting, let me share their comments (with no editing) here:

DLM — You were never a true fundamentalis. 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. If you truly embrass to Word of God and Jesus as your Saviour you would want nothing else. Unless you desire to consume it upon your own lust.

Pastor sm — Amen Brother it about time somebody with a spine logged in on the sorry excuse for a christian site.

Reggie — They wont leave the post up very long. They do not desire the truth theywould rather have their lascivious life style. Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

What am I to do with comments like that? How are they even helpful? It almost seems like they are slapping each other on the back and congratulating themselves on how they put me in my place! If you’re interested you can read my response here. I don’t know if I’ll get a follow up response from them or not.

After dealing with comments like that, it’s so nice to read the final kind of comments. These are the general testimonial “Thank-you” comments. They sometime come via email only, but they usually encourage me to keep blogging on fundamentalism. Sometimes they come from those who have left the movement, other times from those within who are reforming.

Today I received a wonderful comment under my About page. It’s comments like these that keep me going. Thankfully, I’ve received scores of responses like this in one form or another over the years. (I need to go back and count, one of these days.)

I forgot to mention the spam comments. With WordPress, it’s rare that one squeaks through. What’s it up to now? Something like 45,000 spam comments on my blog alone! Crazy. You can see the number on my sidebar, down toward the bottom.

Oh, and one more thing. I regret to tell you that sometimes I am not so prompt at responding to comments. I try, but sometimes the opposing position comments require a bit of work to respond. And sometimes I can’t tell if the comment is worth responding to or not. As a general rule I try to respond. Please keep in mind my commenting policy, however. And give another comment if I haven’t responded yet. That will remind me and let me know you do wish to hear a response!

That’s it, I’ve spoken my piece. And whatever comments come, I’ll have to deal with them. Oh the joys of blogging! But hey, its usually lots of fun!