de annotatibus

I have no idea why the question of whether or not there ought to be comments allowed on Christian blogs is even a question. I have no idea why anyone would bother to even have a blog if they planned to keep the comments section closed.

However, Ergun Caner has said this about the topic of blog comments (I'll bet: because he doesn't allow them), and I got a good laugh out of his remarks. However, because he doesn't allow comments (apparently for the sake of following Christ -- if someone who reads that post can explain it to me I'd be much obliged; I'm a little puzzled at his omission of the "like ministry" punchline), I really don't have an opportunity to share the joy with him.

For those of you who are curious, here are my top reasons for keeping comments open on this blog:

[5] Because it's possible I might be wrong. If you don't think about this topic any further than "comments are a vital method of self-correction", you will have done well. You know: when someone has the audacity to call people who reject Santa "jerks", he ought to keep the door open to some level of criticism which is at about the same altitude as the comment he originally made.

[4] Because it's possible that somebody might learn something. There is at least one baptist reading this blog today who, after reading my various elaborations on the differences between Presbyterian paedobaptism and other forms of paedobaptism and the credobaptist position of all God-fearing men since John (the Baptist) (that's a joke, folks: laugh and move on), he learned something. It's also possible that I have learned one or two things by interacting with the people who have a strong enough constitution to read this blog from time to time and leave a comment.

[3] Because it builds community. Notice -- not "church" but "community". My wife thinks it's a little weird to make friends over the internet, but that's because she likes to talk and not to write. I like to write and to read. Nice to meet you, too.

[2] Because it foils those who want to call names. The proof, of course, is in the pudding. The meta is a fine record of whatever it is that I am, and while I have made my share of mistakes I don't pretend that I'm not that person by means of historically revisionistic anathemas.

[1] Stats. If you leave a comment, you'll probably come back. It's like potato chips.

And my other opinion for the day is that people who do not turn on comments fall into two categories:

Those who have an ardent following of torch-and-pitchfork wielding villagers who will stop at nothing to start a lynching

Those who cannot defend themselves and perceive everyone who criticizes them as torch-and-pitchfork wielding villagers who will stop at nothing to start a lynching

We will not include a list for either of those categories. You apply the paradigm as far as it is useful to you in your daily life.
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As a side note, I really love the Google toolbar spell-checker. If you install it, you will, too.