We've had some helpful posts and good comments. But we have also had many exchanges which have not lived up to the biblical ideal of "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15). I realize that negativity is common in discussions about men's and women's roles. But I really want to believe that it is possible to rise above what is common and have more respectful exchanges. If we listen better to each other, respect each other more, we can, at minimum, learn what each person believes and what they base their beliefs on. I have found that when I understand what another person believes and why they believe it, I often have more respect for that person, even if I still disagree with their conclusions.
One of the reasons I thought of starting a blog like this is that some other blogs that post on these topics do not allow any comments. I do not consider speculating about motives to advance dialog, so I won't speculate about why they do not allow comments.
I believe we should take the risk of having comments. We really can learn from each other. We may not convince each other but we can grow as people, yes, as Christians, in the process even if we do not convince someone to believe as we do.
Another technique used on some blogs is to moderate all comments. We could do that here, as well. Comment moderation slows down dialog, but it does raise the level of discourse if no comments are approved which are not respectful or kind. Comment moderation requires that one of the blog administrators be available to approve comments. When administrators are gone to meetings or on trips, comments do not get approved quickly unless the number of administrators is increased.
So far, egalitarians seem to outnumber complementarians on this blog. As I noted in a comment, I have tried hard to balance things out by recruiting bloggers from both sides of the debate. I do not know why our complementarian bloggers have not written much lately. I do know that two of them, at least, have been, or are about to be, involved in conferences, so that would keep them from blogging. I hope that they can return energized and ready to post from their point of view.
Growing pains are inevitable, especially when something is new such as this blog. It takes time to increase the number of visitors. It takes time for self-moderation, group moderation, or administrative moderation to bring an atmosphere to a blog where those who are not posting feel safe to comment without fear of being put down.
- How we can improve the level of exchanges on this blog?
- What communication techniques have you noticed that help improve dialog?
- Would you all prefer that we go to comment moderation?
