Hi, Folks. I’m sorry I don’t get to reply to all of your comments –questions, challenges, criticisms, hatefests (and lovefests, too), etc. I would get nothing else done. I do have to be husband, father, etc. and keep writing my new book, teach Sunday School, etc. In other words, like most of you (but apparently not all of you), I have a life beyond blogging. Sometimes, like this past week, I didn’t even check my email or go on the internet all week–too much to do.
Secondly, I have received several emails and blog comments from around the world concerning my post on the Global Baptist Peace Conference in February ‘09. Look, folks, I am NOT on the planning committee. I am not even going to be able to afford to go myself–although a trip to Rome (Italy, not Georgia!
)to work on peacemaking with great Baptists (and others) from around the world would be WONDERFUL! So, I cannot help anyone get a scholarship to attend, etc. Please go to the website of the conference (which I included in my blog post!) for all information, to register, check on lodging, ask for financial aid, etc. I cannot help you and my email is getting full from mistaken requests for aid. I was just advertising the conference, folks. As a certain Agent 86 of Control (Maxwell Smart) used to say, “Sorry about that!”
One other matter: Unless I am specifically quoting others (and I say so and usually link to original sources, whenever possible), all opinions in these posts are my own. No one else in my family, church, denomination (the Alliance of Baptists), political party (Democratic–although always tempted to re-register as a Green), etc. is to blame for any of my views. I have just finished blocking as spam a comment that smeared and threatened my wife for (a) being an ordained minister with the (in the spammers’ view) “wrong” genital equipment for the job and (b) having a husband who says the outrageous things I do. I have saved and sent this comment to the Louisville Metro Police because I think it was from a local IPS. If not, it will go to the FBI. I am and remain a pacifist and, NO, I have NOT figured out entirely how police should figure into that view and do NOT want to discuss that–but I will NOT take kindly to any threats to my family or friends and will treat all as serious threats. I almost quit and deleted this blog, but I will not be intimidated–there is far too much loss of free speech in this country because of both official and private intimidation–and it stops here.
All views expressed in comments are those of the commenter and, unless I am that commenter, it should not be assumed that I agree with said comment.
Thanks for listening, Gentle Readers.