The Death of BlogSpotting?

Here's a really long BlogSpotting post. Could be the last one ever. See below and top right.

Note to all with hyperactive RSS readers: No substantive changes here. I'm just reposting this to fix a broken link. I know I have edited this post a dozen times or more, but if this is going to be the last ever BlogSpotting post, I'm determined to make it the best, most complete one ever.

Darren of "Nicene Theology" takes me to task in a comment at Thinklings. He's fed up with sloppy Calvinistic exegetical work, and he's not going to take it anymore. I can kinda relate to what he says, but. . . Ah, well. (Darren later takes another slap at my exegesis on his blog.) Jared, in the post that provoked Darren's tirade, thinks he has a more fitting name for PyroManiac. Matthew Hoover ponders how "limited atonement" can be said to apply to "the whole world." I like his argument (except that I can't quite agree with his assertion that "the physical world is not . . . being destroyed"). Still, I think I know what he means, and the gist of his argument is correct.

• Samuel at Adagio County does some name dropping. He thanks all the little people and Marc Bulger. He writes, "It's ironic that [Phil] mentioned me for mentioning him and now I'm mentioning him because he mentioned me mentioning him. Do I need some commas in that sentence?" Yes, just before the word and. Don't mention it.
  
• David Gibson recommends something I wrote in a book about "open theism."
  
• Brian McCrorie at SharperIron.org informs me that I am not universally despised. He discovers a place where he can make friends just by saying my name. Hey, my mom loves me, too.
  
• Jon Mackenzie warns of my impending visit to his side of the Atlantic and posts a link to info about The School of Theology.
  
• Doug Phillips finds inspiration in "The Do-It-Yourself Group Blogging Kit for Emerging Religious Types."
  
• Pastor Phil Siefkes encourages his readers to scope out PyroManiac. He gives a gentle disclaimer about my pert attitude, but even Darlene would agree with him about that.
  
• Jeff Spry, who has a really cool graphic blogheader, also has a very unusual insult for me.
  
• Michelle Arnold tries her hand at fisking my post on the high cost of pedophile priests. The most interesting thing here is the comment by Tim M., who marvels at "how many protestants think that the Roman Catholic church is the same as what it was at Trent." Funny, when I have pointed out inconsistencies between Trent and Vatican II, every Roman Catholic apologist I have ever encountered has fallen back on the semper eadem argument.
  
• Jim V. finally figures out how to add links, and figures a BlogSpotting notice will be good for a few hits. I feel so used.
  
• Ryan DeBarr doesn't really deserve to be here. He hasn't blogged any remarks about PyroManiac that give me any fodder for a reply. But he does have me linked in his blogroll, and he's an old friend, so I'm giving his blog a freebie.
  
• Jon Trainer posts a really great B&W picture of the Capuchin crypt.
  
• Dan Paden adds me to his blogroll in hopes he'll get BlogSpotted. Success at last.
  
• Lycaphim at "Think Christ" is posting some lists of good, bad, and theologically incorrect websites. I like that he put PyroManiac in his "Good" category. I like even better that he sandwiched me between Challies and Triablogue. But I'm offended by his suggestion that I look like James White. Time for a new blogpicture. Maybe an aerial shot, to emphasize my full head of hair.
  
• By the way, in an earlier post, Lycaphim offered his unique perspective of what he sees as a running battle between the iMonk and me. (For the record, I have no personal animosity against the iMonk. In fact, I think he's a fine writer. Although I don't seem to agree with him on some of the very issues he feels most passionate about, he has always been warm and cordial in his personal interaction with me. Those who want to see me take him on in a personal way are going to have to settle for this.)
  
• Speaking of Michael Spencer, he employs some wonderfully picturesque language to describe my recent appraisal of Ron Sider's latest book. (For insight into the iMonk's nickname for me, click here. And here is why my nickname for him will henceforth be "li'l brudder.")
  
• DJ Chuang includes a link to PyroManiac alongside news about his bathroom remodel.
  
• Bruce Blakey wonders if I will catch his link. I do. His thoughts on legalism are well worth reading.
  
• Tim Challies makes a lame and desperate attempt to get mentioned in what he fears might be the last BlogSpotting post ever. It works.
  
• David Morris observes that PyroManiac has attracted an oddly mixed community composed of a few cheerleading friends and a whole lot of people who hate everything about me, all the way down to my Haiwaiian shirt.
  
• Perhaps for similar reasons, whoever writes the blog at Faith Bible Church, in Murrieta, California, suggests you read my blog, but skip the comments.
  
• Geoff Robinson muses between sips of suds about therapy and blogs that go unread. But, Geoff, the articles about CT aren't being "plan[ned]"; we're already more than two years into the series. The articles appear regularly in each issue of Pulpit magazine, where people actually do read them. What happened here was that I posted one of them on my blog, just because I was too lazy to write a fresh blogpost for that day. Sorry if my introductory note was confusing. But, then, nobody actually reads that stuff, anyway—do they?
  
• Loki Odinsson, who likes really big fonts as much as he dislikes evangelicals, spots more proof that the word evangelical has lost any real meaning.
  
• Doug Burtt wrestles with the question of whether good works are indeed a fruit of sound doctrine—and accidentally pins himself to the mat.
  
• William Dicks at Just thinking... (scroll down past his blogroll if the posts don't show) joins the throngs of people complaining that I have blogged more than I initially promised.
  
• Fred Butler Suggests some possible blogtopics. Love your blogname, Fred. You don't need an invitation to stop by my office. Let's do luch. I'll buy.
  
• Paul Lamey likes the look and content at PyroManiac. But I suppose we should tell Paul that the stout is over at the Boar's Head Tavern, not here. We're strictly teetotal.
  
• John Moody spits into the prevailing wind.
  
• Brian Adams at Christendom Blogosis offers a detailed analysis of what is right and what's wrong with my blog. He is not a fan of my graphics.
  
• Dave Cruver thinks he should get a discount on the bobbleheads, too, even though his brother Dan's blog was where the idea was hatched. Dave's probably right, though. He helped uncover a huge market for bobbleheads over at SharperIron.
  
• Adrian Warnock trembles to contradict me but does so anyway. Then he is relieved to discover that his disagreement with me is not as profound as he initially feared.
  
• John Schroeder wonders what all the fuss was about in the first place.
  
• Mark Ritchie linked to my comments about Baptist Confessions.
  
• Peter Epps thinks if he disagrees with me politely, referring to me only obliquely, without mentioning me or linking to me, he won't get BlogSpotted. It doesn't work.
  
• Rae Whitlock notices that I noticed his link again. One of his commenters wonders how sincere all that recognition can possibly be if I haven't put Rae in my blogroll. See number 1 in my reply to Joshua Sowin (below).
  
• Jon at Misplaced Keys misplaced more than his keys. He'll bait me when he gets back from vacation. (Assuming he can find his keys.)
  
• Joshua Sowin thinks all the "back-patting" in these links is "shamelessly (and needlessly) vainglorious," and he dares me to admit it. I think I did once say, Joshua, that BlogSpotting is my nod to the native narcissism in the blogosphere. Nonetheless, here are four things I hope you'll note:
  
  1. These posts are primarily intended as a way of recognizing those who network with me, without having to create a permanent, mile-long blogroll. I have deliberately tried to keep my remarks light, humorous, and generally non-self-congratulatory.
     
  2. I try to link to every blog where I encounter comments about PyroManiac, whether the remarks are negative or positive. The only exceptions are those who use profanity or have other unsavory material on their blogs. I refuse to link to them.
     
  3. So far, I don't believe I have answered any of my blogcritics with anger or deliberate personal insult. In as many cases as possible, I have tried to let the critic have the final word.
     
  4. One might make the case that "tip jars," "wish lists," bobbleheads, and blogging itself are all inherently vainglorious. I hope you'll at least give me credit for abstaining from putting a tip jar or wish list on my blog. (If anyone would like to make a donation, though, e-mail me for information on how to wire large sums of cash into my account. Unless you're dealing in Nigerian currency. In that case, e-mail the iMonk.)
  
  Not wanting to cause unnecessary offense under any circumstances, however, I have decided to sponsor the first-ever PyroManiac poll. "In the multitude of counsellors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14).
  
  So please take the poll in the right sidebar—and the BlogSpotting posts will live or die by the vox populi. What is your pleasure?

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