Friday, July 16, 2010

Internet Forums, and why I'm not writing about them today

Sigh. I know.

I KNOW.

I promised (both you and myself!) that I was going to write a nice, long, juicy review of various Internet religious forums that I participate in regularly, such as Catholic Answers, OrthodoxChristianity.net, and Ship of Fools.

I was going to tell you how these forums, and so many others, are so attractive in many ways, luring you in with the promise of intelligent, rational dialogue with others who are interested in the same issues you are.

And how, if you spend too much time on any of them (doesn't matter which, they're ALL the same), you will either become the bully or the bullied. And either way, your faith will waver.

I was going to back all this up with specific examples of threads I've seen or even participated in, to show how all this stuff plays out.

Yes, I was GOING to do all that.

Then the temperature went up to 107 degrees Fahrenheit.


So I went to the beach instead.


And you should too, if you can. 'Cause it's WAY too hot to even be in front of this computer!

See ya next week - and don't forget, any new comments on ANY of my blog posts, between now and Monday, qualify for the "Mere Churchianity" contest!!

Monday, July 12, 2010

"Mere Churchianity" - Second Chance for Free Copy!


Win a Free Copy of "Mere Churchanity"!


Hey, guys and gals! Since AG and IndieRoadie never got in touch with me, I'm just going to assume they no longer want their free copies of "Mere Churchianity" by the late great Michael Spencer (aka "The Internet Monk").

So if you've been pinin' away for one - here's your (second) chance!

The rules: Just post a comment to this post between now and next Monday, July 19, 2010. On that date, around 8 or 9 a.m.-ish (depending on what time my cat Princess wakes me up to feed her -


"talk to the paw" if you want me to be more specific) -


I'll put your names in a hat, or perhaps a Tupperware bowl, depending on what's clean/available, and pick out two lucky winners!

Rule #2 - based on the problem with the first time I did this contest, I'm going to
ask that you post your email address directly in the BODY of your comment, so I can easily contact you when you win.

That's all it is!

Yup, it's so easy! So go for it! Those copies are just sitting on my kitchen table, waiting for some happy reader to enjoy!

Meanwhile, just to whet your appetite and keep you reading: later this week I'll be doing an in-depth review of various religious forums on the Net, why 99.9% of them are hazardous to your faith - and why, in spite of that, we still keep going back to them!