SoDakMonk does his first fisking with an article by John Allen on the annual Religious Education Congress in L. A.
Rubricism and formalism
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"It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it." GKC
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Thanks for posting this link. After reading it, I was reminded of when I received a sample copy of NRO in the mail. As I went to open it, my hands immediately broke out in a rash. I wasn’t sure then whether to put it in to the regular recycling bin or take it to a hazardous waste site.
Gaillerdetz is the same individual who slammed the so-called “new apologists” a while back for doing the unthinkable and trying to spread and defend the faith.
I’m mystified by SoDakMonk’s target and his sarcasm, which seems to be a little sugary. There are certainly poorer writers to nail down, and John Allen is hardly an object of scorn in most circles. So the Congress, the NCR, and John Allen aren’t one’s cup of tea? Aren’t there bigger fish to fisk?
SoDakMonk certainly hasn’t read much of Allen’s work, has he? I don’t agree with Allen’s column on the Rel. Ed. Congress, but most of the time he is pretty good. For example, Allen’s book All the Pope’s Men is must-reading, as far as I’m concerned.
Perhaps what this demonstrates is the care one should take when fisking to try to get an overall picture of the columnist (through scanning past work) before attempting to rip him to shreds. Otherwise, the one who looks foolish may well be the fisker himself.
Well, for myself, having attended the LA RE Congress several times (not in the last couple years), I can certainly affirm that nuttiness is present. However, I have never regretted attending, and I am inclined to say that Allen’s general assessment of the Congress is pretty close to reality. I have had the chance to attend some really good and solid workshops at Congress that I would have not otherwise had the opportunity to see. In fact, I attended one of Allen’s talks there two years ago that I found to be very good. But you do have to be discerning about selecting your speakers.