Congrats - last two books given away!

OK, here's what I did. I decided to go back to the ORIGINAL contest comments, find two non-winners who HAD left their emails or at least were easy to contact, and just give THEM the two remaining copies of Michael Spencer's "Mere Churchianity".

And the lucky winnas - to be contacted as soon as I finish this post - are:

E

and

joederbes

Yayy!! Congrats to both of you! I've sent you emails and as soon as I get your reply & mailing addresses, I'll pack 'em up and ship 'em out.

And if I don't hear from YOU guys in a week - well, let's just say I'm a registered Amazon Power Seller and I KNOW HOW TO SUBMIT USED BOOKS BWAH HAH HAH HAH HAHHHH!!

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!!

One obituary Christians hated; and WIN A FREE BOOK!!

Many bloggers knew (if only by his own blog, Internet Monk) and loved the late, great Michael Spencer.

His obituary was one none of us wanted to read.

And his widow Diane's harrowing blog post today tells us a lot of the reason why.

Yes, it is hard to lose someone you love. And it's hard to see a "bright side".

But if there is a bright side to Michael's death, it is Michael's life. I don't know if anyone this side of heaven is keeping track of how many people his words at "Internet Monk" have helped. But I'm betting the stats number into the thousands, at least. And I'm humbly proud (is that a thing?) to count myself in there somewhere.

So on the bright side of this post (and yes, in a blatant attempt to raise my blog's hit count - hey, that's how you get people to read you, right?), I'm starting a contest:

FOUR BRAND-NEW COPIES of Michael Spencer's newly published book, Mere Churchianity!

How It Works:

1. Post a (non-spamming) comment on this blog post. (Be sure to include your email!)

2. One week from today (June 21st) at, oh, let's say 10 a.m. (Los Angeles, CA time), I will put the names of everyone who's commented (only one entry per person, sorry!) into a Tupperware bowl, and draw out four names.

3. I'll then e-mail the lucky winners for their addresses, and send them their books!

And again, yes, this is partly to see if I can get more people to read my blog.

But you know what? It's also because I read Michael's book when it was released on the Kindle a couple of weeks ago. And I really loved it!

And I think you will, too.

So come on ... what are you waiting for? Post already!!!

(and P.S. - thanks!!)