Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Flemming! Sapient! Meet Me in the Battle Arena!

So should I follow up with the Rational Response Squad? After a long chat with a new member of my congregation on Sunday (thanks, Enoch), I'm inclined to at least toss out the gauntlet. To do this, I've got to first deal with several issues.

First, the Blasphemy Challengeteers seem to only respond where it's expedient to do so. They're savvy enough to know that a conversation...a real conversation...isn't going to get them the media exposure that they crave. They need a high profile literalist whipping boy, and I'm just not going to serve that up for them. I'm the pastor of a sweet little church with three dozen members. Who am I to merit their time?

Second, having a "debate" with a progressive Christian just isn't in their best interests. Their whole schtick is trying to wrest people with functioning cerebral cortexes (cortices?) from the faith. Having a discussion with a Christian who could sound themes that might actually resonate with members of their Skwad isn't going to help them. Better to keep the assault on faith simplistic, a Bizzaro-World-Dubya either-yer-with-us-or-against-us approach to belief.

Finally, I'm just not sure any of this matters. Sure, it's got the Liberty University campus in a tizzy. But that's easy to do. Getting a rise out of Pharisees is an old thing, stale and dry. It's been a hundred years...and who remembers Freud's "Future of an Illusion?" Or Feuerbach's "The Essence of Christianity?" The whole thing is silly. Trivial.

Nonetheless, but with that in mind, if either of the Brians are reading this...I'll go on your little podcast gangbang. It'd be fun. Just think...you could debunk the delusional Christian Progressive.