Licking My Wounds

In my brief time here at Patheos I have already caused a couple of fights, and I’m feeling battered and bruised (it’s not fun to have people doubt your faith, or call you names). As tough as it is to hear critiques I am so glad I was able to hear them this week. It helped me learn a few lessons:

1. Commentators are drawn to blood! If I want to get people to comment I should attack things other people have said. This is something I really am not prone to do most of the time but something I have done twice since coming here (once about Sarah Palin, once against an image posted by Fr. Z). Both of these post have sparked a TON of feedback. Much of it has been very good and has helped me think more deeply about the issues I have brought up. Thank you! Some was less useful…. which bring me to my next lesson.

2. People are prone to jump to conclusions (and I am one of them).

In my first post about Palin I was trying to emphasis the radical call of the Gospel and people heard “Palin hates the Pope.” Some people loved this message and some people criticized this message, but it wasn’t the message I was trying to say. I guess I need to make things clearer!
In my second post I was trying to emphasis the way that the gathered people at Mass become a special icon of God, and people heard that I was trying to argue against facing east during the anaphora. This also was not my intention, I just didn’t like the stick figure drawing.

I was feeling frustrated by this but than I realized that I had done the same thing to Sarah Palin and Father Z! I assumed Sarah Palin was slamming Francis as liberal, but in reality she was expressing concern that some liberals might be misusing him. I was taking Fr. Z’s image outside of the context of actual worship and that wasn’t fair to him.

3. If you don’t clearly draw lines people will try to read between them. I need to reestablish my voice. When I was living on my own little corner of the internet my readers knew and understood my voice. They had journeyed with me for years. Now I have a lot of people who are trying to feel me out for the first time. They assume I am against worship facing the east or that I hate Sarah Palin because I voice criticism. I need to learn to have grace and to take special efforts to make my own position and voice clear to all the new voices I have been given the privilege to interact with.

So to all of you, I hope you will continue talking with me, and asking good questions, and if at any point anything starts to sound off: