Who are you talking to? Who needs to lighten up?

I thought it was funny. Geez, lighten up.

Dear "Skeptimal",

As a Christian for well over 50 years, I accept your "criticism." But I do regret that it took us nearly 2000 years to reach this level of civility (if you can call it that). With the uneasy truce in Northern Ireland, at least Christians are not killing other Christians because of their creedal differences.

Though only one major branch of Christianity includes a hierarchy vested with the authority to determine who makes it to heaven, you will occasionally read posts here from those of us who have appropriated the same degree of judgement.

Also, I forgot the :) for my one post. I was trying to be funny when I wrote about "my humble disagreement" and "irony"

Please forgive me. Apparently humor is not my strong suit ;)

And thank you!

I heard a preacher once put it like this: Is it true? Is it gracious? Is it necessary?

Your words were a reminder to me to put myself through the 3 question test when I post here. And again, thank you!

Thanks for explaining more, Skeptimal. Before I read your comment about your letter being self-referential, I interpreted the part about "America-blaming, immoral, valueless" as being critical of progressives in general. I'm glad I was mistaken.

Considering the history of the dialogue on this blog, I appreciate that we have taken some significant strides at promoting more civil discourse. We still are not "there", but we are much further along than we were. Thanks Sojo for the increased moderation efforts, and to all those who have helped increase respectful, loving, Christian dialogue.

Thanks, Skeptimal. I look forward to future dialogues with you!

Trust me, compared to other "Christian" websites I read, this one at its worst is often better than those at their best.

'expressing both admiration and sympathy for a group of people I see trying to bridge some painful gaps in our culture"

Agree with the goals. But I can see somewhat of your understanding of your short comings on civility . Basically when people come together and support the beauty and gift of life , the cherished traditions of our culture and Faith groups of family, and watching some disturbing evidence of groups being denied the right to honor those beliefs because of funding or legislative requirements it appears less then civil to stereotype all those who see that position because ONLY of their own view of "supernatural significance" " "

ever look at what one statistics state what is always a leading indicatore of child poverty , child molestation ,etc rates , one of tha natural parents are no longer in the home ". "


Or saying a list of Ministers from different walks believe beliefs in religious freedom is only for one specific group. hats a respectful way to start a conversation ?


In fact The problem of civility can be caused often by the belief my opinion deserves respect and yours does not. Which is why in America most people do treat each other much better then other cultures , we are far from say Leave to Beaver , but we are surely not totally acting like the cheating housewives and other Hollywood's decadent portrayals of common American life or the hostility to faith and portrayals of ignorant , bigoted , only concerned about our own religious freedom types and our American traditions that academia has embraced, in fact young people are becoming less sexually active, more see the pro life point of view, and just by chance civility may mean saying Mom and Dad , life , respect are important things to consider . Because if we don't see that as a good conversation , you basically may not be able to discuss the rest unless your in your own group.

But I can see why Ryan totally got where you were coming from .

I did intend to return to prior comment line and express my appreciation for your interaction and affirmation for writing in a manner consistent with the civility for which you appealed. Thanks.

Xfree and duhsciple,

In short, I was making fun of my own shortcomings in civility, and I was expressing both admiration and sympathy for a group of people I see trying to bridge some painful gaps in our culture. That’s all. It was gratifying that Ryan understood what I was trying to say.

Maybe the message is a challenge for how we should be conducting the conversation. Amen?

Clever message. Unfortunately, I'm not sure this particular person has read much of the comments. Even I tend to flirt with uncivil discourse every now and then.

I humbly disagree that the post was ironic.

Irony can be really effective when it's pulled off well. It's not easy to do in the electronic universe, but Skeptimal nailed it, I think. Thanks for sharing this, Ryan.