Eugene David<br>...The One-Minute Pundit

Posted 4:15 PM by Gene

More of what we little guys are up against, from the SUPERDUPERMEGAGIGABLOGGER for the Little Guy:

What MSM can learn from Mary.

Over at the sites of MarkDRoberts and Al Mohler, a series of posts on Mary, Mother of God, is providing the unlikely material for yet another lesson for MSM on how the rules of reporting have changed.

Roberts and Mohler are both accomplished theologians, authors, pastors, and teachers. (Both are also friends.) A series of posts on the Protestant view of Mary and whether that view is evolving towards the Catholic treatment of Mary might not be on every reader's "must see" list, but these essays should be.

First, Mohler is generally complimentary on Time's effort, writing that "[t]he TIME cover story is a prime example of a serious theological issue treated with respect and fairness." And Mohler is correct as to the tone of the Time piece, and is eager to move quickly to argue the status of Mary with his colleagues in the theological academy. Roberts is also headed into that fray, but he first did some sleuthing on some of the evidence presented by the author, David Van Biema, on the central assertion of the article, and the result isn't complimentary to Van Biema or his editors.

In his post, "A Pro-Marian Tipping Point? Evaluating the Evidence," Roberts looks at the central piece of evidence that Van Biema uses to suggest that the "Catholic-style" move towards Mary on the part of Protestants is indeed entering the mainstream of Protestant denominations: a sermon from a big name pastor, John Buchanan, of Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Read the Roberts' post for yourself, but I think you wil conclude that if Van Biema's article was a college course paper, he could end up flunking, with the paper returned with the scrawled comments: "Nicely written, but the evidence does not support your thesis. In fact, you stretched so far it can only be said that you distorted the truth to get to your preconceived conclusion."

Here's the key finding made by Roberts: "Does Buchanan's place for Mary confirm Van Biema's thesis of a Protestant 'pro-Marian tipping point' that will impact Protestant liturgy, piety, and even the 'actual messages of the Reformation'? I've read Buchanan's sermon twice, and I just don't see it. Not at all."

Van Biema's manipulation of his evidence is not a Jayson Blair offense, but it is still very troubling. A lawyer who wrongfully used case law in this fashion to press a point of argument in a brief would be violating a core principle of legal ethics. Perhaps journalists don't mind having lower standards than lawyers, but I haven't seen any of them admit to that.

Time never used to have to concern itself with the possibility that its cover stories could be stripped down to their central assertions and fact checked and discredited on the treatment of their evidence even before the issue left the racks. At most some letters would appear a few weeks later, carefully laid out among the complimentary missives, and the band played on.

Now, whether the subject is Mary or mechanical engineering, writers have to work with the certain knowledge that far more expert voices than theirs will be heard and, crucially, that their every assertion will be double-checked with the speed and thoroughness that the blogosphere allows.

Hugh, what in Hades are you writing about? I've gone up and down and left and right through your post and I can't make it out. It sounds like some minor debating point in religious doctrine -- and if so, why devote so many words to it? All right, maybe it isn't so minor; you boast as is the SUPERDUPERMEGAGIGABLOGGERS' wont to have moved a book on Amazon.com. Does that mean anything? Here's what always gets me: most of my posts are one or two sentences. Who pays me attention? But SUPERDUPERMEGAGIGABLOGGERS like YOU can engage in belching contests for HOURS, and NOBODY MINDS. In fact it's part of your infernal SEX APPEAL. As I've said before, life isn't forever; DON'T WASTE OURS WITH DENSE ZILLION-WORD POSTS.

P. S. All right SUPE, I clicked on the link and learned what your fuss is about -- the Virgin Mary is increasingly popular with Protestants. Why is this so consequential? Why did you and so many other bloggers unleash millions of words on something ultimately less than earth-shattering?