Tuesday, August 21, 2007

And who will speak for you?

Discussion of theology is not for everyone, I tell you, not for everyone - it is no such inexpensive or effortless pursuit. Nor, I would add, is it for every occasion, or every audience; neither are all its aspects open to inquiry. It must be reserved for certain occasions, for certain audiences, and certain limits must be observed. It is not for all people, but only for those who have been tested and found a sound footing in study, and, more importantly, have undergone, or at the very least are undergoing, purification of body and soul. For one who is not pure to lay hold of pure things is dangerous, just as it is for weak eyes to look at the sun's brightness.
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Those for whom it is a serious undertaking, not just another subject like any other for entertaining small-talk, after the races, the theater, songs, food, and sex: for there are people who count chatter on theology and clever deployment of arguments as one of their amusements.
St. Gregory of Nazianzus
An Introductory Sermon against the Eunomians
Oration 27, Section 3


The Internet is a wonderful resource. I say that not only as a user for some 12 years, but also as someone employed by the industry for almost as long. Readers of Wikipedia, chat rooms, and web forums know to take a lot of what they read with a grain of salt because these resources accept both rare ore and dross alike. My seven year old can comment on the superiority of Darth Vader (a personal favorite) to John the Baptist wherever he wants. Only the respective administrators with their oracular vision vouchsafe the Internet from battling clans of porn purveyors and giggling Hello Kitty pre-adolescents vying for world domination.

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