Dilshad: Some of our bloggers and content get some major hate. Many people view Muslims as the "other" and as "evil," which saddens me. I don't delete a lot of comments because I don't have time to monitor them. On occasion when commenters have gotten too hateful or threatening, I've shut down the entire comment thread. One of my writers requested once to have her piece temporarily hidden because she was receiving death threats. The line for me is when the commenter wages personal attack against the writer and/or becomes threatening. Or if they persistently try and convert us.
Jason: If you show up to listen, share, and learn you will be welcome. If your only message is "convert to Christianity" you will be shown the door. Great comments are generally a continuation of the article.
What do you hope results from the work you do at Patheos, whether for others in your religion, for other religions, or for the culture at large?
Nancy: At the SixSeeds Faith and Family Channel, we subscribe to the idea that is epitomized by this Stonewall Jackson quote: Duty is ours, consequences are God's. We aren't in this to "change the world," but rather to be faithful to our various callings. It's up to God to determine the effects of our work.
Dale: This gets at a fundamental difference in our perspectives. Though atheists don't always agree on tactics or the exact outcomes we're aiming for, we are definitely hoping to change the world, to make it better for everyone. And because my worldview does not include gods, there is no one to take responsibility for the consequences of my actions but myself.
Kate: The idea of relinquishing ultimate control of outcomes reminds me of what Bart wrote earlier about "love of control" and how that hinders the conversation. As I see it, Patheos has a duty to share the full spectrum of voices without allegiance to any one, immutable desired outcome. Now that's a world changer!
Bart: I confess I share a lot of Nancy's perspective on this one. There's an Evangelical truism now that God doesn't expect us to be successful but only that we be faithful. But what would "success" look like if I could have it? I'd like to see the culture at large understand the Christian Gospel message, and that they'd be convinced of it and enter into it themselves. We're called the Evangelical Channel for a reason. And I want Patheos Evangelical material to encourage and challenge current Christians to look more and more like Jesus, to strengthen the Church, and to do a better job of living out God's mission in the world.
Jennifer: I agree with a lot of what Bart has to say here. The Faith and Work channel is solely devoted by virtue of its focus to helping people do a better job of living out God's mission in the world and helping them renew and steward the created order. I would like to see more of that in the world around me as a result of what we have to say.
Deborah: My goal as the Progressive Christian Channel Manager is to offer the Patheos audience the smartest and most faithful alternative voices of Christianity, so that people know that Christianity is more diverse in its theology and practice than non-Christians sometimes assume by watching the news.
Jason: If I can get a few people out there to believe that Pagans are serious about our religious choices, I will believe I've accomplished something. Ancient Paganism is a part of our society's fabric; I like it when I can remind people of that.
Dilshad: My goal is a combination of what Dale and Nancy said—I am here to help facilitate deep and rich intra-faith, vertical discussions in my channel. Muslims are struggling a lot with how to dialogue, disagree, and agree with adab (manners). I'm trying to grow that on my channel, and I think I'm succeeding. From a multifaith perspective, we are here to live faithfully, as Nancy says, and authentically, and hope that those of other faiths see that. We pray, and then back up our prayer with action.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In