Forming a New Club
I’ve decided to begin a new invitation only club, “The Victims of the Gentle Hand of Liberal Tolerance”. The first membership invite has been sent to Pete Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden. He’s just received this generous outpouring of liberal love.
Mmmmmm…. Can you smell the inclusivity?
I don’t like what this Mike-man said at all, but I think we need to stop using the word “liberal”, especially when used to berate people who think differently than you, or the people you agree with. The most common thread on “traditionalist” blogs (and I think that is a misnomer as well, as I regard myself as both orthodox and traditional and small-c catholic on most matters) is how “Illiberal the Liberals” are.
“You can’t attack me, you’re a liberal! You should turn the other cheek!”
is the common cry.
If someone vehemently defends their position which is different, they might not be liberal, but progressive. If they think that women or LGBT people have a place in the church, that is not ‘liberal’ but RADICAL. If they disagree with you and your kind that is not liberal but PROGRESSIVE.
New Language Please!
He calls himself a liberal, so it’s fine to use the word liberal in relation to him.
Mike what’shisname clearly has a lot of anger in his life.
His hit counter says he’s had fewer than 12,000 views since April 2005. That’s a touch over 200 views per month – or around 7 or 8 views per day. That’s pretty much him reading his own blog plus a few random search engine hits. I don’t think he’ll be changing the world.
It seems to me like a very good place to put up a ‘Don’t Feed The Troll’ sign.
There was a ‘merseymike’ that used to post over at StandFirm. He eventually was banned. If this is the same fellow, and it likely is, it’s nice that he has an outlet for his passions. And who knows, perhaps in the midst of his venting, he may reflect upon what real Christianity is about and repent.
On a side note, the spam test has become eerily meaningful. My two words were ‘pustules’ and ‘decision’. It’s almost as though there were a hidden message there.
I’ve been coming across him for several years on Christian websites & forums. He was claiming to be a Christian three or four years ago (but making the same sort of arguments any “village atheist” would do). At least he’s being clear about that now. I don’t know what his experience is so I don’t want to judge. I’ve never been tempted to go near his blog though. (I try to avoid angry atheists on the web!)
Peter, I think it rather disingenuous to label MerseyMike a ‘liberal’ with the implication that he is a Christian. He is now, as his blog makes clear, an atheist – and one who makes his antipathy to conservative Christianity (indeed all Christianity really) perfectly clear when he contributes to Anglicans Online, Ruth Gledhill’s Times blog, and elsewhere.
The problem about liberals in general for conservatives is that whilst proclaiming tolerance they refuse, quite rightly in my opinion, to tolerate intolerance. How can they do otherwise?  Conservatives, of course, say that can’t be tolerant of sin – or of those who encourage sinners to continue in their sin rather than to ‘change and repent’………
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