Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Umm - What?

So, let me get this straight.

A man who has published a dozen books (many of them explicitly on apologetics topics), edits a magazine that is at least partly devoted to apologetics, and who has publicly debated (among others) Michael Horton and Robert Godfrey, is supposed to be so afraid (we are told that he "turtled") to get into an apologetics conversation with TF's friends that he "locked down" (that's my phrase, not TF's) an apologetics website forum by adding a registration requirement?

Puh-leaze.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, wouldn't it be possible and even likely that Madrid & Co. have other plans for the site besides dealing with literally any stray Protestant critic who comes around the bend? Is it more likely that TF's pals are going to ask more searching questions than seminary professors from Westminster of all places?

And if you're going to suggest that the registration requirement is intended (oh yes, TF knows the hearts and minds of Patrick Madrid and Co.) to prevent others from "shin[ing] any more light on the deception routinely attempted there [sic]," don't you think you'd be in a better position to do that if you didn't have a registration requirement for one of your own websites? Or shall we conclude (following his own remarkable example in this case) that TF has "encased" that site "in a protective shell of registration, lest outsiders shine any more light on the deception routinely attempted there"?

Well, let's not do that. Let's concede what TF won't concede about Madrid: namely, that we don't know what TF's reasons for the registration requirement are, but that he probably has what he thinks are good ones (as opposed to cowardly ones).

2 comments:

Algo said...

"Meanwhile, back in the real world, wouldn't it be possible and even likely that Madrid & Co. have other plans for the site besides dealing with literally any stray Protestant critic who comes around the bend? Is it more likely that TF's pals are going to ask more searching questions than seminary professors from Westminster of all places?"

Friend Of Reginald:

As one of the few and I mean (3)"stray Protestant critic(s) who comes around the bend" I have a little bit of insight regarding what went on at "Speak Your Mind". The few times that I was able to interact with Mr. Madrid he was very gracious. However he challenged me to read his 2 books in which he addressed the "universal bishop" claims of Pope Gregory The Great.
Pages 111-119 in Answer Me This, as well as pages 152-157 of Pope Fiction.

When informed by the moderator:
"And you either need to ante up on dealing with Patrick's historical evidence or move on to another topic."

Well, I did just that. And posted a lengthy challenge to Patrick's conclusions found in his books.
My response from Patrick was that he did not intend to interact with me on this personally since he was very busy.

My response from the moderator was to read an article on a 1930s "Radio Replies by Fathers Rumble and Carty", from This Rock Magazine.
That and the common "move on" suggestion.

Fred Noltie said...

Hello Algo,

Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

Peace,

RdP