{"id":1771,"date":"2013-09-15T10:47:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-15T10:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2013\/09\/why-do-i-do-it-3.html"},"modified":"2013-09-15T10:47:00","modified_gmt":"2013-09-15T10:47:00","slug":"why-do-i-do-it-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2013\/09\/why-do-i-do-it-3.html","title":{"rendered":"Why do I do it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Why do I keep visiting CAEI? \u00a0Why do I insist on subjecting myself to the pain and misery? In light of my post yesterday, I was asked this question. \u00a0If Mark\u2019s site is so bad, why keep going there? \u00a0It\u2019s true that going to CAEI is not enjoyable at all. \u00a0When I\u2019m done there, I\u2019m usually ready to renounce my faith, kick puppies, and join a terrorist cell. \u00a0So why do it?<\/p>\n

Because Mark\u2019s was the first Catholic site I found on my way to the Catholic Church. \u00a0His was the first blog I visited. \u00a0His was the first blog I ever commented on. \u00a0He was obviously a conservative Catholic who wasn\u2019t afraid to point out when the conservative approach was wrong. \u00a0He was willing to point to the sins of our country, but do so with balance and never at the expense of praising the greatness of America and its heritage. \u00a0He could get rough, but that was usually reserved for those who attacked the Church in particular, or Christianity as a whole. \u00a0He didn\u2019t allow personal insults or personal accusations on his blog. \u00a0You could trash someone\u2019s ideas or opinions, but don\u2019t get personal. \u00a0And he made it clear that those who did trash others in the name of the Gospel were among the biggest problems in the Church, whether Protestant Fundamentalist or Catholics.<\/p>\n

In addition, his writing had a pleasing quality. \u00a0When my wife read his articles back then, she commented that he wrote the way I talk. \u00a0He could be a bit snippy, but it was usually with a wink and a nod. \u00a0He injected a heartfelt emotional quality into works about theology and doctrine that more than one theologian could learn from. \u00a0When trying to explain Catholicism to Protestants, he was able to do so with respect to the better parts of Protestant tradition, while taking the whimsical jab here and there at those who rejected Catholic teaching. \u00a0Even on his blog he retained this quality to a degree, reserving what vitriol existed for those who openly advocated something like abortion or sexual deviancy, or attacked the Church, Christianity, or even America.<\/p>\n

But all that was. And is no more. \u00a0Sigh. \u00a0Mark has become, IMHO, the Jack Chick of the Catholic Blogosphere. \u00a0The good news it there are other blogs not like that. \u00a0The bad news is that others are following in his footsteps, tossing out an increasingly long list of things that separate the deplorable Christian or Catholic goats from us awesome Catholic sheep who should be embraced my the modern Age. \u00a0The biggest problem? \u00a0Success. \u00a0Mark is now being turned to by mainline news outlets for interviews. \u00a0Mark is flying about meeting with other celebrity Catholics and bloggers, wining, dining, fellowshipping. \u00a0Receiving praise and adoration from a growing number of fans and followers. \u00a0Recently Mark said he wanted to go to Europe for book research, he just needed folks to contribute. \u00a0They did. \u00a0It\u2019s hard to tell someone to turn aside when their current course of action it getting them trips to Europe and the accolades of a media culture.<\/p>\n

Still, I always hope. \u00a0Every now and then, he pops one off<\/a> in the manner of olden times and ancient rhymes. \u00a0True, I doubt he\u2019ll ever go back. \u00a0He insists he\u2019s just a conservative Catholic calling out other conservatives. \u00a0But whether he is speaking falsely, or simply isn\u2019t aware of the obvious, he\u2019s not. \u00a0That would be like Limbaugh saying he\u2019s just a liberal Democrats at heart. \u00a0Mark\u2019s loathing and hatred for any and all who would be associated with American conservatism is beyond palpable. You can\u2019t miss it. Even if he\u2019s a gifted enough writer to allow wiggle room in his own mind, anyone with half a brain following his blog knows otherwise. \u00a0And many following his blog seem more than happy to join the trend.<\/p>\n

Likewise he, like a growing number of other Catholic bloggers, are warming up to most things modern-liberal. \u00a0Perhaps that\u2019s where the Church is going after all. \u00a0Some say so. \u00a0Some say that with the exception of issues revolving around sexuality, most of the modern Church is following the same path as your average mainline Protestant denomination. \u00a0To be brutally honest, I don\u2019t know. \u00a0But I wouldn\u2019t condemn as stupid a person who made the observation. \u00a0And that has been said by more than just your radical pre-Vatican II traditionalists I might add. \u00a0Looking at the Church\u2019s take on homosexuality, women and men, social justice, war and death penalty, economics, immigration, biblical studies, science and evolution \u2013 it\u2019s not hard to draw parallels between it and many mainline Protestant denominations I know that are commonly called \u2018liberal.\u2019 \u00a0Perhaps it is going there. \u00a0If it is, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me. \u00a0I\u2019m not a pie-in-the-sky Catholic. \u00a0I believe that historically the Church has zigged more than once when it should have zagged. \u00a0I doubt those days are all in the past.<\/p>\n

And since Mark is zealous about his total and complete obedience to the Church here and now (at least in theory), it wouldn\u2019t be shocking to see him drift to \u00a0the Left, overlooking abortion rights Colbert while spewing rage and contempt for Paul Ryan. \u00a0Loving Jon Stewart and loathing Rush Limbaugh. \u00a0Pointing out that the Democrats who support abortion and Obama\u2019s war policies are wrong, but as a party there is much good while giving no credit to the GOP for anything positive no matter what. \u00a0Quoting CNN and Comedy Central as gospel while declaring that in FOX news there is none who aren\u2019t evil, no not one (literally, during the Kermit Gosnell story, Mark and others complained that mainline outlets weren\u2019t covering it. \u00a0Mark mentioned that FOX news had at least covered the story of murder and slaughter, but after being corrected by one of the growing number of more modern thinking commenters, he revised his story by pointing out that FOX couldn\u2019t care less about slaughtered babies; they no doubt did it for the ratings alone). <\/p>\n

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As a result of the changes, there\u2019s not much to see that\u2019s edifying or inspiring. And if I found his blog now, I\u2019d conclude is was written by a passionate left leaning libertarian Ron Paul supporter who is pro-life and embraces most of the tropes of Woodstock liberalism. \u00a0And if someone else concluded that, I wouldn\u2019t condemn them. \u00a0I certainly wouldn\u2019t use it as a stepping stone to give up the world and enter the Church.<\/p>\n

So why go back? \u00a0I always hope, that\u2019s why. Against hope, I go back every day thinking that this latest mea culpa<\/i> will be a turning point, and we might get back to some of the balance and insight and feeling that Mark used to inject into his writings, and away from becoming another Jack Chick pretender in Catholic garb. &nbs
\np;That\u2019s why I do it, in case anyone else is wondering.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why do I keep visiting CAEI? \u00a0Why do I insist on subjecting myself to the pain and misery? In light of my post yesterday, I was asked this question. \u00a0If Mark\u2019s site is so bad, why keep going there? \u00a0It\u2019s true that going to CAEI is not enjoyable at all. \u00a0When I\u2019m done there, I\u2019m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy do I do it?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why do I keep visiting CAEI?  Why do I insist on subjecting myself to the pain and misery? 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