Rebuttal...

So apparently I can't comment on my own blog, so I guess I'll have to do it here. I promise not to make posting my replies to your comments as 'blogs' a habit. However this time, the situation merited it. Below is a comment I received on the blog preceding this one. Rebuttal

Original Comment by 'Connor'

wow chad,
that was an incredibly interesting article. I must agree with what Jason said above about you having talent and that this article is very transparent. Unfortunately I cannot make him see the error of the rest of what he said, however I will try to show you. You did a FANTASTIC job naming this article, which in my narrow understanding of journalism is, from what I can tell, a good chunk of the battle. Ones eyes are drawn to it and I literally dropped what i was doing out of interest of what you might have to say, but i misjudged the topic a bit. Still, i was curious. I'm afraid to say I was a bit disappointed. Your talent begs far more than this and I am saying that both because I am someone who doesn't really believe in being polite when it is counterproductive and also because you openly invited feedback. This article is not at all what I think you wanted it to be, But rather a deliciously indicative example of not only where your motives lie in writing, but also the pathetic state of some prevailing ideologies. You site Christianity in your article, you even quote Matthew and explain how it relates to your life, which might seem noble when taken at face value, however upon deeper inspection it is painfully clear that you are merely a preacher who has recently found his soapbox. thats one of the draws of Christianity, it gives the senseless finger wagger some method to his/her madness, it justifies the most self righteous bigot, the most outspoken hater of life is granted a license to fear monger. your a very articulate and well read individual and clearly you feel a passion for writing, but it is a fatal mistake among writers to set pen to page when it there is not a clear idea or passion about what there is to write. Apropos Christianity, where nothing you say can be negated without divine retribution and ridiculous self indulgence and gushing can easily masquerade as a selfless attempt to serve the greater good. Not only have you clearly chosen this topic "more to fill the blog out then actually parody my own flaws" but you've also managed to succinctly demonstrate the most irritating of christian traits: shameless egocentricity. God had his son whacked just so YOU could keep sinning, god devises the complex and often meretricious plots just for YOU, god spends much of his time dealing out specific talents and traits, a combination of which was created just for YOU,god is standing by for prayers from YOU and YOU may petition his plan as YOU please. When i heard you make reference to an earlier blog of yours, for a second there, I got the feeling that this whole article was in jest, that you couldn't possibly be ignorant of the irony that NOW and HERE you would reference that article. Perhaps thats what you are doing with this, in which case i'll ask you to please disregard this whole comment if that is the case. But if thats not the case, I ask you to please wait until you have something to write next time before you pick up the pen, lest you further pollute cyberspace with regurgitations and perversions of the imbecilities of christianity.

My Reply:

I WELCOME any and all comments to my style, content or lifestyle. I have a high tolerance for critique and insult, so I feel I've found my ideal creative genre. That being said, I find no fault in what you have to say. Being a FIRM believer in freedom of speech and press, I welcome you to continue commenting on my blogs as you see fit.

However, I WILL say this. Your grasp on the teachings of Christianity seems piloted NOT by your own unbiased immersion into the lifestyle, but more like you have a singular hatred of all things Christian. Either you blindly grasp at the majority opinion on Christianity simply because it's the majority, or you yourself have had a negative firsthand experience with the Christian faith. My reasoning for making such a statement is as follows. You generalise about Christianity. Riddled throughout your comment are ideas such as, "it gives the senseless finger wagger some method to his/her madness", "where nothing you say can be negated without divine retribution and ridiculous self indulgence and gushing can easily masquerade as a selfless attempt to serve the greater good" & "the most irritating of christian traits: shameless egocentricity". To anyone else (and myself) it reads as if you have an axe to grind regarding the Christian faith. Which is all well and good. While I find some of your comments to be slightly insulting, I personally take no offense in your right to say what you think. Also, NOWHERE in your comment do you make such bold statements regarding religion in general, your singular focus for your attack is Christianity. As if no other religion on earth is (and has been) capable of such great affronts to humanity before the 'advent' of Christianity.

I don't wish to get into a senseless debate on the fatal errors of Christianity. I'm searching for answers and think I can find them within God. You seem to have firmly made up your mind. It would be 'counterproductive' to have an open minded discussion regarding the Christian faith with someone who has locked the door to their own mind (or had it bolted shut by some outside experience). The ONLY reason I believe you have a closed mind regarding Christianity (if not in general) is your very last sentence, " I ask you to please wait until you have something to write next time before you pick up the pen, lest you further pollute cyberspace with regurgitations and perversions of the imbecilities of Christianity." Seeing as how I enjoy picking apart what people say to reveal the true motive behind saying it in the first place, here is what you JUST said to me. "Don't write anymore until you can get past that idiotic Christian belief system." Do I not have a right to say what I feel, believe or think? Do I not have the same rights as you?

I wish to say two things more. The first being, I wrote this blog over a week long period during the slower points at my job. I literally read and re-read what I had typed, over and over and over in hopes to gain the momentum I had early on. Besides which, I DID say, "I need to write about a couple of things and these next few blogs could come crashing bitterly down in style for the sake of the insatiable need to focus on the topic at hand." The second point I need to make here is that I STRONGLY suggest you stay tuned for my next blog. While there might well be some Christian undertones in the upcoming blog, it will approach the instability of my current personality and lifestyle in great detail. For a sliver of a preview, be sure to read the "about me" section on the side of my blog.

I will finish up with this, "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." I may be left standing on a rock without a clue as to where I go from there. But I've got a piece of the puzzle to my life in my hand. I won't let it fade away because the world doesn't agree with me.