Re: TheologyWeb

                                                                                                                                        
                      "George Murphy"
                      <gmurphy@raex.com To: "Howard J. Van Till" <hvantill@sbcglobal.net>, "Glenn Morton"
> <glennmorton@entouch.net>, "'wallyshoes'" <wallyshoes@mindspring.com>
                      Sent by: cc: <asa@calvin.edu>
                      asa-owner@lists.c Subject: Re: TheologyWeb
                      alvin.edu
                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                        
                      06/11/04 07:55 AM
                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                        

----- Original Message -----
From: "Howard J. Van Till" <hvantill@sbcglobal.net>
To: "Glenn Morton" <glennmorton@entouch.net>; "'wallyshoes'"
<wallyshoes@mindspring.com>
Cc: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 8:20 AM
Subject: Re: TheologyWeb

> On 6/11/04 7:18 AM, "Glenn Morton" <glennmorton@entouch.net> wrote:
>
> > Most people aren't out there TRYING DESPARATELY to figure out your
> > pseudonym. I don't give a rats rear end what you call yourself on TW.
> > And don't expect me to guess who is who publically. That is one of the
> > biggest taboos on TW. Maybe you should read the rules.
>
> Glenn, Wally, or anyone else who participates in TheologyWeb:
>
> Help me understand this kind of forum. Why would Christians use
pseudonyms
> in discussion? Do they not want others to know what they really believe?
Do
> they want to avoid taking responsibility for the way they speak to one
> another? Why the anonymity?
>
> Guess who.

        I was just about to ask the same thing. I've been considering
giving TW a try but it sounds as if there's a lot of game playing involved.
Why?

Mysterious Stranger

Doug's comments:

Perhaps the list was constructed for pseudonymity so that one can
complement him/herself at will (e.g., "Gosh, that Doug Hayworth fellow
hasn't written very much about theology, but the few things he has said in
print are brilliant!). Likewise, you could play the straw man: construct
flawed arguments for the view you want to be discredited. Heck, you could
sign-up as two different people and argue with yourself!

Maybe the original thinking was that people would feel more free to
brainstorm/entertain and express possibly unconventional, even heretical
ideas without fear of being shunned and outcast. Of course, in a properly
functioning Christian community, in which both the parties are humble and
gracious, such anonymity should not be necessary for one to be able to
express such ideas for the sake of exploring them.

Douglas
Received on Fri Jun 11 10:50:00 2004