a Facebook page<\/a> for this blog. Those readers who hesitate to friend the author can ensure themselves regular and timely updates simply by Liking it.<\/p>\nFrom certain quarters, one hears grumbling against so-called professional Catholics. Generally, I sympathize. From money changers and bogus relic dealers to fake fakirs and storefront Kabbalah tutors, religion has given rise to innumerable rackets. Why should any intelligent person support the industry?<\/p>\n
To this question, I have three answers:<\/p>\n
First, as I understand the term, a professional Catholic is someone who claims to speak with authority on Church teachings, but who does so outside of established channels, since that\u2019s where the money\u2019s at. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not me. I have about as much authority to speak on Church teachings as Katy Perry. In fact, I\u2019m not sure I understand most of those teachings half so well as she does. <\/p>\n
I write as an Everyman \u2013 a fairly typical product of late 20th-century America, who, for reasons that are often obscure even to him, has chosen to throw in his lot with a medieval institution. Even after six years, the experience continues to feel like crashing face-first through the looking glass. In comparison, relocating to Turkey has been a trip to the Circle K, culturally speaking. I\u2019ve looked in vain for other muses, but this is the one that feeds me most regularly.<\/p>\n
Second, you can rest assured that I will never earn anything like a living wage at this. I won\u2019t tell you exactly how Patheos remunerates its bloggers, except to say that the pay scale is performance-based, and performance is defined by traffic. Each of you could click on my links until she developed gangrene in her clicking fingers, and I still wouldn\u2019t be able to quit my day job.<\/p>\n
Third, it won\u2019t cost you a blessed thing. You\u2019ll notice I don\u2019t even have a \u201cDonate\u201d button. Save your money for the deserving poor.<\/p>\n
Now that you\u2019ve heard my plea, here\u2019s my pledge, producer to consumer:<\/p>\n
1.\tNo click bait. No screamy-meemy bloviating, no posts with three lines of original text and 14 block quotes. Mind you, I\u2019m not knocking bloggers who blog like this. By and large, they have honorable motives of their own: either they are determined to disseminate their opinions on important issues to the widest possible readership, or they are hawking some other product \u2013 a book, say \u2013 into which they\u2019ve already poured their blood, sweat, and tears. I blog for the satisfaction of writing something that sounds good to the ear and rings true to lived experience \u2013 mine, and my readers\u2019. I am convinced that is an effective and legitimate way to spread the Gospel. <\/p>\n
2.\tWhatever you read, you can be sure I\u2019ve worked my ass off on. You love your artisanal bread; come patronize an artisanal blog.<\/p>\n
3.\tYour opinions matter to me. The reason I don\u2019t join discussions in m combox is that I\u2019m scared to death of getting pwned. (Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, etc.) But you can bet I read \u2013 and often stew about \u2013 the things you post.<\/p>\n
In the Gospel, Jesus promised that the workman would be worthy of his meal. Now you get to decide whether this journeyman writer is worthy of an occasional pack of name-brand cigarettes.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I loathe self-promoting \u2013 not because I\u2019m modest, but because I wasted years of my life selling things. Depending on the year and the company I happened to be working for, my wares were debt reduction plans, adjustable-rate mortgages and online university degrees. I was a loser sustaining himself parasitically by pitching empty dreams of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":192,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/p>\n