For context see this post. You can also see the whole series. Nathan’s comments are in blockquotes and my responses are in normal typeface:
Nathan’s question:
1. Who are you and why do you talk about the things you talk about? How did you get into it? Why do you chose to do it pseudonymously?
I’ll tackle the last part first. Social justice warriors are in the process of consolidating their victory in the culture wars. One of their favorite tactics is to swarm anyone who disagrees with them and try to destroy them personally, since they know they would lose an open debate. I assume this is obvious with all of the examples we have seen, but if you aren’t already familiar with this Brendan Eich and Paige Patterson would be examples you could look into.
I’ve seen arguments that when faced with social justice warrior silencing tactics Christians should either shut up (as nearly all Christians have done) or volunteer for the punishment/harassment SJW swarms stand ready to mete out to dissenters. For example, fellow Christian blogger Bnonn recently tweeted:
I disagree. I see writing pseudonymously as a prudent measure to help protect my family from evil. I’ll take it a step further and return the question; do you think it is critical for the sake of the culture war for me to expose my family to SJW assault? I won’t put my family at risk to show Bnonn I’m a “real man”, but if there is a serious argument as to why I should put my family at (greater) risk I’d love to hear it. I’ll add that if you have read my blog you already know that I meticulously link to and quote my sources for what I write, so everything is right there for anyone who is interested to cross check. In fact, I urge you and your listeners to do so.
One of the interesting facets of the discussion is that I challenge other writers to defend what they write. As a general rule, the “other side” responds by refusing to defend their writing and challenging me to defend what others (commenters, etc) write, or explain who I am that I would ask another to defend their ideas. It could be that there are great rebuttals to what I write, but we won’t ever know until the topic of conversation changes. I’ll go into this in more detail on other questions, but I think this is relevant here.
As for the remainder of the question, I’m a happily married (over 20 years) father of two, and I started blogging because of my passion about marriage. My passion is twofold.
1) I strongly believe that marriage is truly beautiful. Marriage has been under attack for decades, and most conservatives, including conservative Christians are in denial here (more on this in later answers). I grieve for young people who won’t have the opportunity for something so beautiful, something my wife and I enjoy, because previous generations stood by in denial as it was under assault. Even in cases where marriages technically exist, much violence has been deliberately done to transform the reality of marriage away from its beautiful design.
2) Children deserve the benefits of an intact family. Our cultural abandonment of marriage as the primary family structure is causing immeasurable pain to children. I’m astounded by the apathy I experience daily on this topic. Whenever anyone asks me why I care, my first thought is “why don’t you”?
I’ll stop here and let you get a word in edgewise, and if more comes to mind I’ll also add it as a reply.
Nathan’s reply:
I’m not sure what to think about your arguments for remaining pseudonymous. I understand your desire to protect your family and I don’t think there’s anything innately manly about offering yourself or your family for punishment by the mob.
It does trouble me that you are denying your readers the chance to examine your life—what sort of man you are, how you practice what you preach, and what authority you speak from. These are not insignificant question, and they’re not inappropriate to ask. Jesus and the Apostle Paul was never afraid to engage in “ad hominem.” Who a person is does matter. Not just their arguments taken in the abstract. That being said, I’m not sure I disagree with your choice. I just question it. However, I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking it through.
Look forward to your answers to the next questions!
