Iain Dale's reverse midas touch
Well, that title is, of course, a tongue-in-cheek overstatement. I am a fan of Iain Dale's blog. But on , as part of a "Guide to Blogging 2007", Iain offered a proposed list of the "Top Ten Religious Blogs". At Number 6 was "The Protestant Gazette", a blog written by Ian Hall, the minister of John Knox Memorial Free Presbyterian Church, on Belfast's Shankill Road.
On Tuesday of this week, just fifteen days after Iain's list went online, The that it "will cease to publish from today." Ian Hall explained that "There are other projects in my ministry which I would like to spend more time on and as a consequence something else has to be sacrificed."
Such, you may think, are the dangers of being named by Iain Dale in a list of top blogs. , beware!) The list may have brought Ian Hall the kind of attention he was not seeking. The day before announcing the closure of his blog, he posted this comment:
Over the past number of weeks I have noticed an increase in the number of comments which have personally attacked some of my brethren in the Free Presbyterian ministry . These comments have not been published nor will they be in the future. The usual collection of non-separatist evangelicals, hyper-calvinists, theological crackpots , and chip on the shoulder ex-Free Ps have been responsible for this personalised abuse . This motley crew can find another blog to peddle their anti-Free Presbyterian hatred.
The Protestant Gazette has itself published criticisms of other named individuals, but it appears that the debate in recent weeks has become a little too hot to handle. Perhaps the closure of this blog should been seen in the context of some continuing disagreements within the Free Presbyterian Church about their retiring Moderator's role in a power-sharing government; or perhaps not -- it's dangerous to speculate. Nevertheless,
I'm sure there is a lesson in this episode, somewhere, about the importance of conducting theological and political debates with sensitivity and respect. As John Knox himself once famously put it, "You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time."
Comments
Fancy that. It wasn't those nasty atheists then... maybe there's a lesson there somewhere.
I take it then William that you’re not a fan of The Protestant Gazette. It seems that the kitchen was to hot for Ian to handle. Notice also that the Protestant Gazette went conveniently of line during the Stormont Election which put Ian Paisley into a power sharing government with Sinn Fein; it also failed to report the dirt on the Canadian scandal involving the FPC and another incident involving alcohol and one of their ministers. The Protestant Gazette is an oracle for the Pharisees. They love throwing mud at others but when it is thrown back they can’t take it. The moral that those militant Free Ps fail to understand the Bible when it comes to hypocrisy, which is strong meat if you’re a FP Pharisee:
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Good riddance to bad rubbish
As the good ship Protestant Gazette sank beneath the waves this query was posted.....
IAN:
HAVE YOU HEARD THAT THE ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ PRESENTER WILLIAM CRAWLEY HAS COBVERTED TO CATHOLICISM
Clearly the work of a hyper-ventilating Calvinist.
> sensitivity and respect
William, those are two words that don't describe T P-G, but certainly apply - along with "restraint" - to your your post above ... given the over the months.
So the, fairwell Protestant Gazette. No more virulent anti-catholicism ... I think we can survive without you.
Killer quote from John Knox!
I'm amazed that my little blog should have attracted such attention . However , I think , that being the case I should at least clarify some points.
1.The personalised abuse that the site received while unpleasant was not the reason for shutting down the site . As you might imagine with the sort of forthright posts that I wrote, such responses were par for the course. And in fact the warning that I posted was not the first such warning .
2. The decision to close the site is totally unrelated to current political developments .
3. The purpose of the site was to highlight ongoing developments in ecumenism and romanism . This was primarily for the benefit of Free Presbyterians and other fundamentalists. In this the site has been a success and I am aware it has played a small role in energising particularly the next generation of fundamentalists to contend for the faith and oppose the apostasy of the main churches.
I have been delighted with the response of young Free Presbyterians to the Protestant Gazette and in particular I am thrilled that while the devils crowd having been writing the obituary notice for Biblical Protestantism in Ulster God is raising up a body of people who will stand for Him and His truth.
The Protestant Gazette has gone but Protestantism has not.
www.theevangelists.blogspot.com
What is the expression...
Oh yes!
Good riddance to bad rubbish!
With those who are finding the loss of the Protestant Gazette too much to handle, might I direct you to this fellow's Bebo site
Read through the blogs. I'm sure you'll get the fix you need