"Chuck Currie: Would you hire this guy as your minister?"

This weekend I posted a clip from FOX News in which one of the anchors comes unglued when a guest questioned the cost of the inaugural in light of the on-going war in Iraq and the great human suffering in Southeast Asia.  The FOX anchor looked surprised and then offended that anyone would question the President.  Folks over at the conservative Free Republic web site were incensed that I posted the clip and started a discussion thread called "Chuck Currie: Would you hire this guy as your minister?"  "This guy is tailor-made to be the presiding minister at some leftwing University," wrote one participate.  Another responded: "Hey Chuck You SUCK! I didn't even read his page. He is some sort of minister? What an ass."  "Chuck Currie is everything that is wrong with liberal seminaries today - they are motivated by politics, not by faith. I hope any prospective church does a Google search on this guy before hiring him," said one person very concerned about my possible future ordination.  Now I have this funny image in my head of church pastoral search committees turning to Google to find their candidates.  These types of Internet forums (where people can post anonymously) allow people to make some pretty off the wall and irresponsible comments.  No one can hold them responsible for what they say.  For example: "And I bet he thinks he's the re-incarnation of Jesus Christ. May be the re-incarnation of Judas Iscariot would be more appropos," claimed one.  Would these same people come up to me during a church coffee and make the same remarks?  Civil discourse can only happen when people talk without hiding their identities and do so with a measure of respect.  All of us have been guilty of name calling from time to time.  But it is possible to disagree with someone without resorting to personal attacks and the like.  Democracy thrives on debate but the debate needs to be civil to be effective. 

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