, and whose new novel, Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator, will be coming out in March of 2011. Fabian pointed me to an article by the always humorous and mostly reasonable Mark Shea, appearing in the National Catholic Register. His article is entitled, "'Simple' Is Right," and in it he criticizes a commenter who claims Anne Rice is in the right because the Magisterium has a long history of being T3h 3v1L.*The article's fine, but what really impresses me is the combox where Shea reprimands his more acerbic conservative readers. So when somebody whose name I won't use says this:
And it’s high past time we orthodox go on the offensive. Instead of responding to the apostates with measured words and mellow tones, we need to metaphorically wad their heresies up and fling them boldly back into their faces. Scripture will demonstrate that our Lord was not averse to the use of sarcasm, ridicule, and invective when the situation warranted it. Down with the Hippie Savior! No more Mr. Nice Jesus!
Shea responds with this:
You make me regret what I wrote. If there’s one thing the Church doesn’t need more of it’s self-appointed bishops declaring fellow Catholics apostate and indulging the sins of anger and self-righteousness. My goal was to attack some particularly dumb *ideas*, not to read my correspondent out of the Church. Far too many self-described “faithful conservative Catholics” do this—and then turn around and declare that torture or the deliberate nuclear murder of civilians is just fine and the bishops need to shut up about that. Fewer excommunications by laity and more charity and humility would do many of our “faithful conservative Catholics” a world of good.
Aside from the unfortunate insertion of the topic of torture and nuclear strikes, which have nothing to do with the discussion, I like that. Go take a gander here.
*That's "evil" for those of you wise enough not to be MegaTokyo junkies.
