** Updated 1/4/2008
When I first created this blog, I believe in August 2007, I had no idea that it would draw so much attention, as it has in the last few days (1/2008), especially from a non Christian audience. I surely did not expect it to show up at RichardDawkins.net.
I believe if readers would take a moment to consider the About and Concept pages, there would be less assumptions and claims regarding what this blog is really all about.
The first sentence of the About page declares, “CHRISTIAN OUT is currently more of an idea or concept than an organization or campaign.” The OUT simply stands for “Observable Underlying Testimony” in that, “My desire is that we, as Christians, may each have a personal, individual, Observable Underlying Testimony of Christianity that can be seen by the world around us, without even a word having to be spoken at all. Not that we should not speak of the things of God, but that our inward spirit and outward walk should match our words.”
It has been seemingly demanded that, “Richard Dawkins is a Professor at Oxford University, give him the respect he deserves and acknowledge him as Prof. Richard Dawkins on your site.”
As concerning the outcry of why I simply chose the use of “Mr.” instead of “Dr.” or “Professor” was not intended to diminish Richard Dawkins in any way. The term mister (Mr.), as defined by the dictionary, means “a title of respect prefixed to a man's name.”
I highly doubt that he is offended or feels disrespected by me calling him Mr. Richard Dawkins instead of Dr. Richard Dawkins or Professor Richard Dawkins. Calling him Mr. makes him no less of a man, than calling him Dr. or Professor makes him more of one. Neither my blog nor my simple choice to use Mr. takes away any of his accomplishments, nor any respect his peers may have for him. Not to mention that some of the emails I received simple use Richard Dawkins without the use of Mr., Dr., or Professor. Again, I highly doubt that he is really concerned or offended by my use of Mr. in front of his name on this small blog in the scheme of the entire Internet.
As written in the About page, “Although the idea originated from the initial view of Mr. Dawkins’ campaign site, CHRISTIAN OUT has little to do with atheism and more to do with a deeper more personal relationship with Jesus Christ concerning our Christian walk in our daily lives as Believers.”
If one should see a limit in comments, especially recently, it is because this blog is not meant as a place to debate Atheists or non Christians, but as a place to help those that profess to have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to act as such.
Thank you all for visiting.
I believe if readers would take a moment to consider the About and Concept pages, there would be less assumptions and claims regarding what this blog is really all about.
The first sentence of the About page declares, “CHRISTIAN OUT is currently more of an idea or concept than an organization or campaign.” The OUT simply stands for “Observable Underlying Testimony” in that, “My desire is that we, as Christians, may each have a personal, individual, Observable Underlying Testimony of Christianity that can be seen by the world around us, without even a word having to be spoken at all. Not that we should not speak of the things of God, but that our inward spirit and outward walk should match our words.”
It has been seemingly demanded that, “Richard Dawkins is a Professor at Oxford University, give him the respect he deserves and acknowledge him as Prof. Richard Dawkins on your site.”
As concerning the outcry of why I simply chose the use of “Mr.” instead of “Dr.” or “Professor” was not intended to diminish Richard Dawkins in any way. The term mister (Mr.), as defined by the dictionary, means “a title of respect prefixed to a man's name.”
I highly doubt that he is offended or feels disrespected by me calling him Mr. Richard Dawkins instead of Dr. Richard Dawkins or Professor Richard Dawkins. Calling him Mr. makes him no less of a man, than calling him Dr. or Professor makes him more of one. Neither my blog nor my simple choice to use Mr. takes away any of his accomplishments, nor any respect his peers may have for him. Not to mention that some of the emails I received simple use Richard Dawkins without the use of Mr., Dr., or Professor. Again, I highly doubt that he is really concerned or offended by my use of Mr. in front of his name on this small blog in the scheme of the entire Internet.
As written in the About page, “Although the idea originated from the initial view of Mr. Dawkins’ campaign site, CHRISTIAN OUT has little to do with atheism and more to do with a deeper more personal relationship with Jesus Christ concerning our Christian walk in our daily lives as Believers.”
If one should see a limit in comments, especially recently, it is because this blog is not meant as a place to debate Atheists or non Christians, but as a place to help those that profess to have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to act as such.
Thank you all for visiting.
** UPDATE: 1/4/2008
I have received a good number of emails, some more lively than others, but it still appears that many are so fixated on the concept of Richard Dawkins’ OUT Campaign that they fail to see what this simple blog is about.
I would like to note two things, as concerning the comments I have been given.
1. I have been called all sorts of names, claiming I am just a thief that cannot come up with an original idea, but we must remember The Scarlet Letter ‘A’, now used for Atheism, is not original either. Does this mean that the originator of the OUT Campaign is a thief and unoriginal also, for Nathaniel Hawthorne did not write of Atheists, did he? I am not saying they are, but ask those, which have wished to label me as such, if one be a thief and unoriginal, is not the other also? I was also emailed the “Atheist "out" campaign, which was based off of the homosexual coming "out" of the closet campaign.” If this be true, does this make the OUT Campaign any less original?
2. I have received various emails concerning this blog and the idea of homosexuals. One has said, “Way to stick it to the homos and gays,” claiming “The whole reason the original Out Campaign was called the OUT CAMPAIGN was a coorelation of homosexuals/gays who were too afraid to "come out of the closet."” Interestingly, I notice the taking of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter ‘A’ (originally for Adultery) for use in the OUT Campaign, but the sight itself claims “Atheists are far more numerous than most people realize. COME OUT of the closet!” Neither The Scarlet Letter nor the OUT Campaign seems to say anything about homosexuals (thought granted, some homosexuals may be Atheists or adulterers, just as some heterosexuals may be).
Again, if one would honestly take a moment to read through this blog, I do not believe they will find any writings directly against Atheists or homosexuals, but writings that are written toward Christians. As stated above, this site is/was not intended to argue with Atheists or homosexuals; therefore, I have limited the comments that seem to have not really been intended for discussion, but merely ridicule or rant.
The reason for moderation at this blog is because for quite sometime I have had an Atheist at my other blog which visits everyday, commenting on every topic presented. Knowing good and well it is a Christian blog, they regularly posted cursing, blasphemy, and even pornographic links, just out of spite. I was unable to keep up with all of the comments throughout my entire blog, so I decided to enforce moderation to allow the good discussion I have shared with many Atheists, but to weed out the comments which serve no purpose but for personal attack or those which bring no productivity to discussion. I am most surprised they have not revisited this blog and left a comment as of yet.
Feel free to check out my other blog (http://www.splintersofsilver.com/) which is where I do most of my writing, but I ask that your comments be in good taste if there is to be genuine discussions.
I have received a good number of emails, some more lively than others, but it still appears that many are so fixated on the concept of Richard Dawkins’ OUT Campaign that they fail to see what this simple blog is about.
I would like to note two things, as concerning the comments I have been given.
1. I have been called all sorts of names, claiming I am just a thief that cannot come up with an original idea, but we must remember The Scarlet Letter ‘A’, now used for Atheism, is not original either. Does this mean that the originator of the OUT Campaign is a thief and unoriginal also, for Nathaniel Hawthorne did not write of Atheists, did he? I am not saying they are, but ask those, which have wished to label me as such, if one be a thief and unoriginal, is not the other also? I was also emailed the “Atheist "out" campaign, which was based off of the homosexual coming "out" of the closet campaign.” If this be true, does this make the OUT Campaign any less original?
2. I have received various emails concerning this blog and the idea of homosexuals. One has said, “Way to stick it to the homos and gays,” claiming “The whole reason the original Out Campaign was called the OUT CAMPAIGN was a coorelation of homosexuals/gays who were too afraid to "come out of the closet."” Interestingly, I notice the taking of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter ‘A’ (originally for Adultery) for use in the OUT Campaign, but the sight itself claims “Atheists are far more numerous than most people realize. COME OUT of the closet!” Neither The Scarlet Letter nor the OUT Campaign seems to say anything about homosexuals (thought granted, some homosexuals may be Atheists or adulterers, just as some heterosexuals may be).
Again, if one would honestly take a moment to read through this blog, I do not believe they will find any writings directly against Atheists or homosexuals, but writings that are written toward Christians. As stated above, this site is/was not intended to argue with Atheists or homosexuals; therefore, I have limited the comments that seem to have not really been intended for discussion, but merely ridicule or rant.
The reason for moderation at this blog is because for quite sometime I have had an Atheist at my other blog which visits everyday, commenting on every topic presented. Knowing good and well it is a Christian blog, they regularly posted cursing, blasphemy, and even pornographic links, just out of spite. I was unable to keep up with all of the comments throughout my entire blog, so I decided to enforce moderation to allow the good discussion I have shared with many Atheists, but to weed out the comments which serve no purpose but for personal attack or those which bring no productivity to discussion. I am most surprised they have not revisited this blog and left a comment as of yet.
Feel free to check out my other blog (http://www.splintersofsilver.com/) which is where I do most of my writing, but I ask that your comments be in good taste if there is to be genuine discussions.
Thanks again for visiting.
** UPDATE #2: 1/4/2008
Question: If I stole the idea from Richard Dawkins, did he steal the idea from Hawthorne (the ‘A’) or the homosexuals, which many have claimed had an OUT campaign even before him?
un·der·ly·ing:
–adjective
2. fundamental; basic
3. implicit; discoverable only by close scrutiny or analysis
un·der·lie
–verb (used with object) -lay, -lain, -ly·ing.
2. to be at the basis of; form the foundation of.
That which lies within us will make its way to the surface without a word being spoken. If that be Christ, His light shall shine forth, but if it be darkness, how great is the darkness within us?
The symbol means nothing, but the man Christ Jesus means everything. It is He, the very Son of God, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the only means to forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
I realize that the opposition is not to this simple site, but to the very God who formed the universe and all that is.
19 comments:
"I surely did not expect it to show up at RichardDawkins.net." Why ever not? You plagiarise an idea from someone, they react.
"Not to mention that some of the emails I received simpl[y] use Richard Dawkins without the use of Mr., Dr., or Professor." (But you just did mention it.) Not to use an honorific is a Quaker tradition, because all people are equal. It's also BBC usage. To use one, but a lower one than a person is entitled to, is a deliberate insult, one that you persist in and use sophistry to wriggle out of. He may indeed not be offended, but that makes your insult no less.
"OUT simply stands for “Observable Underlying Testimony”" Since Observable and Underlying are near-opposites, that's hardly simple. Seems to me you were straining for an initial.
What's the matter, weren't the fish and the cross and the crucifix and the lamb enough? It isn't as if any christians in the western world have to hide anywhere, and in the US, sometimes some of them ought to hide more.
I'm a Christian I admit I'm puzzled by your Christian Out concept. Firstly, we already have a symbol for Christianity don't we? I realize that the Cross is used by a multitude of different churches, but nevertheless it is a timeless symbol. And there is of course always the Icthus fish which has been widely accepted and seems to cross many denominational boundaries.
So I'm not sure why we need another symbol - especially one that is obviously (and you admit as much) 'borrowed' from an atheist organization. It feels very 'me too'!
But ultimately shouldn't the real symbol be that Christ has changed our lives and that this should shine through in a way that no external logo can ever do?
No disrespect but I think you really need to pray and get guidance that this is really a good use of your time and energy - you're obviously well-meaning, but it would be terrible for you to waste so much time on this and for it not to succeed.
When you've earned a PhD, held a chair at a world-renowned university, authored 9 scholarly books, written a stack of peer-reviewed scientific papers, and made 6 film documentaries, you can call him "Mr." Dawkins.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...
Sad, very sad indeed. You've entirely missed the point. Comical, but you have my heartfelt pity.
I fully support and understand the concept your site!!!
I agree with shuggy. This idea was directly copied from the official OUT campaign (http://outcampaign.org). I have to admit, I cannot understand the point of it.....I mean....."observable underlying testimony" does not even make sense! It's like you thought "Oh, Richard Dawkins has the OUT campaign, that's a good idea, I'll copy it and adapt it to my own cause." Except, here's the funny thing, you couldn't adapt it so you came up with some lame set of 3 words that now ended up forming the OUT acronym. Nice.
On the whole Professor thing, george.w was right when he said that people who have achieved highly in academia require some respect. The fact is, Richard Dawkins earned the title of Prof., and this deserves to be acknowledged.
Come up with an original idea to get your message across; people will respect you more for it.
Wow, an entire 8 comments on this site and 6 of those are in response to you stealing the concpet from Prof. Richard Dawkins or the fact this site is superfluous. Does that say something or what?
As for your "OUT" acronnym:
Observable:
adjective 1. capable of being or liable to be observed; noticeable; visible; discernible
Underlying:
adjective 1. lying or situated beneath, as a substratum.
Looks like an oxymoron to me!
This site will fail miserably and when the strongest traffic you see comes from the "non-believing" community, it's a testament to it.
Agreed.
Considering that you 'borrowed' the keynotes of the Dawkins OUT campaign in your introductory piece:
Come out, Reach out, Speak out, Keep out, Stand out, one has to think you posted this as a response to the Dawkins campaign. How...trite.
Tim........this is a new low.......even for you.
Like I always said, you are just a hypocrite in the grand scheme of things. No originality, no talent, and no writing skills to speak of.
Try doing something for a change, like cleaning toilets. I don't see you in a position of teaching kids, much less writing novels and stuff.
Beast
Is this site still here? Wow! What a waste of (cyber)space.
"The reason for moderation at this blog is because for quite sometime I have had an Atheist at my other blog which visits everyday, commenting on every topic presented. Knowing good and well it is a Christian blog, they regularly posted cursing, blasphemy, and even pornographic links, just out of spite. I was unable to keep up with all of the comments throughout my entire blog, so I decided to enforce moderation to allow the good discussion I have shared with many Atheists, but to weed out the comments which serve no purpose but for personal attack or those which bring no productivity to discussion. I am most surprised they have not revisited this blog and left a comment as of yet."
Productivity? You and your homophobic, anti-atheist bigotry......how productive is that? What arguments have you contributed in your pathetic writings so far?
If you are as good as you think you are, you wouldn't be wallowing in your shell, writing your hate-filled nonsense and unintelligent books to hoodwink the masses (not to mention the atrocious English).
Please Tim, tis time to smell the damn coffee.
Beast
Why is this site still here? Should have been closed long ago!
Closet Christians? Give me a freaking break!
Beast
Beast,
There are closet Christians just like there are closet Atheists.
And the reason this site is still here is simply because I want it to be here, just like you want your blog to be here.
Enjoy!
Tim
Lolz. It would be a challenge to seek out those so-called "closet Christians".
Churches are hard to miss in most countries.....unless you are talking about morbidly islamic countries, then surely your message has totally missed the point.
In the States, churches are tax-free; the US army has chaplains to administer to the faithful: The odds of finding a "closet" christian are about the same as finding God in the closet.
In any case, your campaign clearly hasn't caught on...."Observable underlying testimony" doesn't mean squat to me, or to your fellow Christians.
Close the campaign, Tim. It isn't working.
Beast
Why is this copycat campaign still running? Close it for Jebus's sake!!!
Beast
"'m a Christian I admit I'm puzzled by your Christian Out concept. Firstly, we already have a symbol for Christianity don't we? I realize that the Cross is used by a multitude of different churches, but nevertheless it is a timeless symbol. And there is of course always the Icthus fish which has been widely accepted and seems to cross many denominational boundaries.
So I'm not sure why we need another symbol - especially one that is obviously (and you admit as much) 'borrowed' from an atheist organization. It feels very 'me too'!
But ultimately shouldn't the real symbol be that Christ has changed our lives and that this should shine through in a way that no external logo can ever do?
No disrespect but I think you really need to pray and get guidance that this is really a good use of your time and energy - you're obviously well-meaning, but it would be terrible for you to waste so much time on this and for it not to succeed."
Even your Christian brethren knows you have plagarised Dawkin's work. Please, Tim,close this whole superfluous campaign. Its a bloody eyesore on the net.
Beast
Lame blog...lame xtian content. FAIL
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