Re: TheologyWeb

douglas.hayworth@perbio.com wrote:

>
> "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!

That is supposed to be against the rules, but I suspect that many do it.

>
>
> 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.

Humility is pretty non-existent on tweb. It is even less common than it is on the ASA listserve ;-).

Walt

--
===================================
Walt Hicks <wallyshoes@mindspring.com>
In any consistent theory, there must
exist true but not provable statements.
(Godel's Theorem)
You can only find the truth with logic
If you have already found the truth
without it. (G.K. Chesterton)
===================================