I knew it from the moment I got the email, but I walked into it anyway. For our interaction this week Mike posed the question: “Heaven and Hell. What are they, where are they and who’s going?” It was blunt, and potentially dangerous…right up my alley.

But it was con. In his post on the subject, he says this:

In fact, as I’ve already indicated, I do not believe that two destinations such as those exist, so the discussion of who is going and how they get there is moot!

I could have played the same game with my question, but chose not to. This is not an invitation to a shared intellectual exercise. It’s more like Carrie being voted prom queen so they could dump a bucket a pig’s blood on her. Don’t worry, I’m not telekinetic…

So I sent him this email, which I am only making public to try to avoid a future ambush. If you think it’s in bad taste, I apologize:

Mike,

I enjoy difficult and uncomfortable questions. I even enjoy being backed into a corner occasionally. But I don’t appreciate the bait-and-switch game. I could have asked the same type of loaded question the first time around, but I had hoped we’d both want to work harder than that. If this is the way things are going to be – you asking loaded rhetorical questions as straw-men so that you can respond “in true postmodern fashion” and denigrate “those who are looking for linear answers” – our interaction will not last very long, which would be unfortunate.

Charles

So Mike, I offer you a challenge. Let’s make an effort to come up with questions that are a challenge for both of us, instead of creating easy opportunities to make our pet arguments. That way something real is happening, instead of some kind of sound-byte theology.

————————————————————————–

Update:

Here’s Mike’s response to my email, posted out of fairness:

Dude - you’re reading me all wrong. I’m sorry if I caught you off-guard, I answered the questions honestly, and the linear comment wasn’t directed at you in the least. I chose that question because it’s basic to the faith, and I figured we would have differing answers to it. The comments you’ve quoted were honest acknowledgments that the way I would have answered the same question 10 years ago in no way resembles the way I would now. (I was the guy looking for the linear answers back then and would have been quite satisfied with one.)

Again, I apologize for putting you off but please know I wouldn’t do what you’ve suggested I did.

Peace,
Mike

 I guess we’ll see what happens next week…

Technorati Tags: ambush, bait-and-switch, mike todd, straw_man

1 response so far...

Ryan

March 9th, 2008

Looks kind of like the issues we had… it’s going to be difficult, but soldier on…

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