How Long Until 'Sic et Non' is Cancelled?
Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2022 8:39 pm
One of Dr. Peterson's favorite quotes to recycle is one from our very own Mr. Bond, who some years back predicted that "Mormon Interpreter" would eventually be little more than a blog. (Question: when was it ever anything *more* than that?) Lately, though, I'm beginning to wonder whether or not the most prolific of all Mopologetic enterprises--"Sic et Non"--might be going through its final death throes. Blogging started out as a means for the Mopologists to exercise greater control over their "message"--a way to continue their work without having to deal with the "hassles" (I.e., interference from critics) that went hand-and-hand with message board posting. Thus: Sic et Non, Enigmatic Mirror, and blogs by Schryver, John Gee, and others. Most of those fell by the wayside or dwindled away into irrelevance, but "Sic et Non" persists. Well, sort of.
I don't know if you caught it yet, but this is the most recent entry. In case you don't feel like clicking on the link: Dr. Peterson is reposting a "review" from Jim Bennett of the *very first* episode of Under the Banner of Heaven. Dr. Peterson remarks that he's "not sure whether I’ve done already done so or not." (Hint: you have.)
Let's face it: "SeN" was never very good, but whatever "quality" it ever had has been in steep decline. There has been lots of repetition--including passages of alleged plagiarism--and the recent "travelogue" through Europe, which consisted of the most banal observations imaginable, coupled with material that seemed to have been lifted out of Wikipedia, plus a bizarre fixation on Nazism, was pretty terrible. And now he doesn't even seem to remember whether he's recycling material or not.
I can see several possibilities here:
1. Dr. Peterson's time as Chief Mopologist is coming to an end. He doesn't have his same old sharpness, and so "SeN" is going down the tubes simply because he doesn't have the same energy that he used to have. Whatever reserves he's got left are going to need to be saved for the sequel to "Witnesses." (Sorry, FAIR Conference: you're going to get off-the-cuff crap again this year.)
2. Repeats, reposts, and lazy writing will continue on a daily basis at "SeN", because the powers-that-be at Patheos aren't paying attention, and there is enough of an audience/readership/"click volume" that they see no need to look more deeply into the issue.
3. Patheos steps in and pulls the plug because they are not getting their money's worth. I see this as a very real possibility. On the one hand, it's not hard to imagine DCP thinking to himself, "Hey, I've put years and years of service into defending the Church. I *deserve* to get something back in return!" And that's how, in his own mind, he justifies "bilking" this Church-owned blogging platform with his bottom-of-the-barrel posting. I mean, if you can get some spending money back from the Church by cutting-and-pasting material from Wikipedia, then why not? It doesn't seem quite as unscrupulous as trying to get Rodney Meldrum and Jonathan Neville excommunicated, I guess.
In any case: I am curious what others think. At what point does the plug get pulled on this, if ever? What would be the last straw?
I don't know if you caught it yet, but this is the most recent entry. In case you don't feel like clicking on the link: Dr. Peterson is reposting a "review" from Jim Bennett of the *very first* episode of Under the Banner of Heaven. Dr. Peterson remarks that he's "not sure whether I’ve done already done so or not." (Hint: you have.)
Let's face it: "SeN" was never very good, but whatever "quality" it ever had has been in steep decline. There has been lots of repetition--including passages of alleged plagiarism--and the recent "travelogue" through Europe, which consisted of the most banal observations imaginable, coupled with material that seemed to have been lifted out of Wikipedia, plus a bizarre fixation on Nazism, was pretty terrible. And now he doesn't even seem to remember whether he's recycling material or not.
I can see several possibilities here:
1. Dr. Peterson's time as Chief Mopologist is coming to an end. He doesn't have his same old sharpness, and so "SeN" is going down the tubes simply because he doesn't have the same energy that he used to have. Whatever reserves he's got left are going to need to be saved for the sequel to "Witnesses." (Sorry, FAIR Conference: you're going to get off-the-cuff crap again this year.)
2. Repeats, reposts, and lazy writing will continue on a daily basis at "SeN", because the powers-that-be at Patheos aren't paying attention, and there is enough of an audience/readership/"click volume" that they see no need to look more deeply into the issue.
3. Patheos steps in and pulls the plug because they are not getting their money's worth. I see this as a very real possibility. On the one hand, it's not hard to imagine DCP thinking to himself, "Hey, I've put years and years of service into defending the Church. I *deserve* to get something back in return!" And that's how, in his own mind, he justifies "bilking" this Church-owned blogging platform with his bottom-of-the-barrel posting. I mean, if you can get some spending money back from the Church by cutting-and-pasting material from Wikipedia, then why not? It doesn't seem quite as unscrupulous as trying to get Rodney Meldrum and Jonathan Neville excommunicated, I guess.
In any case: I am curious what others think. At what point does the plug get pulled on this, if ever? What would be the last straw?