Somewhere or other – Im lazy and dont feel like searching while enjoying a nice cognac – I noted that a synthesis of the ”good sort” of heresies to fight modernity is a losing proposition. Today, on a blog comfortably self-defined as a synthesis of such heresies – Ive characterized them as ”pre-Enlightenment Christianities” before, but the tent is ever more accommodating – purportedly combatting modernity in the name of Christ I was treated to Calvinism and furrow browed consideration of schism from Roman Catholicism.
Im not suggesting that every great and good blog should be more Catholic than the Pope. But I am suggesting that modernity will not be destroyed by anything which is not also riding under the banners of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
Wood Faileth 
I was looking forward to your take on that. You gotta have stamdards, you can be a politically right thinking genius but if youre a heretic find another place to publish. But thats the problem, the orthosphere isnt a centrally organized ideological space. Its a parlor for friendly intellectuals. I wish it was a parler for catholic intellectuals but unfortunately no one is controlling for that.
For all my bluster, I have to remember to pray for the poor mans soul. Otherwise im stepping over lazarus on my way to the temple.
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Scoot,
I agree that it’s a parlor for friendly intellectuals – I have no beef with that and can enjoy it. The “parlors” I find myself in with work folks or whatever are much less uplifting. But I’ve always found it interesting that it characterizes itself as an “Orthosphere.” Having read relatively recently there vociferous advocacy of voting in modern liberal democracy, Calvinism, Protestantism, there was a free speech post there a few years back IIRC, and (I shouldn’t say advocacy here since the OP cannot be read that way) at least a “fuzzy feeling” towards schism from RCC, I wonder what the unity of that orthostuff is. If it’s just a “safe space” bulletin board for ideas – that’s quite nice. Their position appears at least to me much more than that, and there is a lot of danger there.
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I found the Orthosphere in 2018 and since the. The main writers have been kristor, smith, bertonneau, and bonald, who are all explicitly catholic whether jaded or not. My reading of them gave me the impression it was a catholic space. Then i learned about charlton, who is not Catholic but is politically right, Richard Cocks who i learned quickly never to disagree with, and alan roebuck who has been posting there a lot recently.
Its a stark turn from the blog i was introduced to and i still enjoy most of what i find. I think it started with an eye towards orthodoxy but now i think its devolved into something else. Its tough to control a multi-author blog like that wothout either strict editorial controls or none at all. I guess they are going for the “none at all” approach
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Im on the bus to babylon at the moment so pardon the typos. Ill email you back when weve got definite plans!
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That tracks closely my own relationship and interests over there. I *think* I was reading before JMSmith was a regular – he is still one of my favorite writers. I wish more folks knew what a GIGANTIC drag the whole panty-waddedness over Catholicism is for Catholics trying to keep it between the lines. I mean I get it geez; oh wow what a cool totally nuanced and not like anything at all I’ve heard before better and by others take against the Church sure haven’t heard that 14 billion times today thanks!! Learning about Zippy’s…..er departure from the WWTW blog helped me immensely shield against blog disappointments. Safe travels.
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I knew zippy contributed there but did not know he departed under “er….” Terms. I know im very skeptical of that lydia mcgrew character and consider hill an ill portend when she shows up. I went over to explore wwtw to read their zippy memorial there a ways back and none of the articles there appealed to me the way the ortho ones do. Agree re: JM. I think he’s my favorite writer but at times a very discouraging commenter. Kristors writing can be opaque but i love the depth that comes from his comments.
I agree, re anti catholic sentiments. Once you learn what truth is, untruth just isnt satisfying. Its not even the differemce between a nice steal dinner and junk food—its like eating a bucket of halloween candy. Its not good for you and most of the time i wish it just wasnt around to begin with.
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I’ve followed Orthosphere from its start – Roebuck has been a contributor from the beginning as I recall it, but his posting is sporadic – quite a bit for a period of time, then nothing for long periods of time. I’ve always admired his fortitude in holding fast to his (Calvinist) beliefs, but this admiration is overcome by the all-too-apparent problem of the foundational premise of the website. Starkly stated – what business does a blatantly Calvinist contributor have with Catholic contributors on a website established under the rallying point of “orthodoxy”? I have a faint memory of Zippy giving his thoughts on the premise, but in a quick search of his website I couldn’t find it. From my memory he was guarded about the idea, but didn’t preclude that it could work. He often commented there and linked from his website as you probably know.
Even more puzzling to me at the start of the O, is the collaboration of Charlton in it, and then Jim Kalb. There is very little orthodox about Charlton, and much strange in what he says, to use an old-fashioned and euphemistic term. Somewhat riffing off your (Wood’s) comment above about panty-waddedness (ha!), I wonder that Charlton seems to think he is being original somehow in his calls for a “new understanding,” or something like that, of Christianity. The old forms are useless, we can’t trust to organized or structural religion, while system Christianity had its day, those days are now past, etc. etc. How can he not see that he is almost literally parroting what has been said about the Church constantly from the time she could be said to be old? I’m going to embarrass myself and admit to something of a mama bear passion that rears up when I encounter him in particular suggesting to Catholics both at the O and at his website that they ought consider how their structural Catholic faith is no longer where true Christianity is at (e.g., his comments to JMSmith starting here).
Then Jim Kalb…he was slated as a collaborator from the beginning. I think there was even some consideration of calling the website the Kalbosphere (I think it was the right choice not to, not that “Orthosphere” was a better choice considering problems already mentioned, but you can see how influential Kalb was at the start). At any rate he only ever contributed a handful of entries, and most of them were simply links to articles he had published at other websites. His name still appears on the sidebar as a contributor, but not sure he even remembers he is there, judging by signs of his presence there (i.e., non-existent). I do wonder whether he saw the problems with the collaborative project right away and just gracefully bowed out in effect.
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buckyinky,
Thanks for the great comment. I’m exactly the same re: momma bear-iness. Isn’t it interesting that seemingly all manner of opinions are routinely expressed other than a full-throated defense of The Church? Again, I’m not implying that as a prerequisite for all blogs – you should see my “bookmarks” tab ha – but I am saying that one which puts itself out as some “prescription for the Good Guys” is going to fail without it. There is also the issue of scandal as there are atheists clearly poking around over there. Have a great end to Advent.
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Thanks Wood. Blessed Advent to you and yours as well.
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Full throated defense of the Church is hard.
Full throated defense of the Church is hard when you have friends outside the Church.
Full throated defense of the Church is hard when you realize your friends outside the Church are heretics.
Full throated defense of the Church is easy when you realize you can still love heretics.
Full throated defense of the Church is hard when you realize you must love heretics.
Full throated defense of the Church is hard when you realize you must call them heretics.
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