Monday, October 17, 2011

SI Thoroughly Documented in the Iron Skillet

If you are visiting the Iron Skillet for the first time, or the first time in a long time, I encourage you to review and read many of the other articles you will find in the right column of the Iron Skillet. There are numerous, thoroughly documented articles, that irrefutably detail SI’s bias and hostility toward historic, balanced Fundamentalism, gang-tackling of participants who express even legitimate concerns and questions over SI's preferred doctrines (Calvinism and Lordship Salvation), SI's corporate favoritism toward and unqualified promotion of the star personalities of the so-called “conservative” evangelicalism and their fellowships.

My open challenge to SI site publisher Aaron Blumer, which he for months ignored and then in one failed attempt, still has not been able to answer satisfactorily is to produce even one article from SI's Front page, a main page article, that is 100% positive toward Fundamentalism and edifying for Fundamentalists. Aaron can't provide that example because in the 6+ years of SI's existence it has never been done.


LM

Sunday, October 9, 2011

SI: Censorship by Omission?

Citizens and visitors from another planet, please pay very close attention to the opening paragraph.

Twice, in the last two days, I sent to Aaron Blumer (SI Site Publisher) and certain others connected to SI the story of Calvary Baptist Seminary (Lansdale, PA) to host New Evangelical Dr. Haddon Robinson at the March 2012 Spring Forum. I included the promotional copy from and a direct link to Calvary’s website.

On Sunday I, furthermore, utilized SI’s Contact Form, completed the required fields and submitted it to SI for their attention. There is no way SI can claim they were not aware of this important news item, which has been circulating in various spheres of fellowship since as early as September 24. SI gives this description About Filings:
SharperIron Filings are links to bits of news around the world and the “blogosphere.”  The items linked to are not published by SI and do not necessarily express the opinions of anyone at SharperIron. They’re chosen because we believe they may be of interest to SI readers. (As is customary on the ‘Net, we do not seek permission to link to Web content.) If you have suggestions or tips for Filings items, please use the contact form and select “Filings item suggestion” as the category.
SI routinely publishes “bits of news [from] around the world” on any number of topics that may be of significant, little or nearly no interest to SI readers. The invitation of Haddon Robinson by Calvary Baptist Seminary would without question qualify as news “of interest to SI readers.” SI claims,
SI is a fundamentalist place. We welcome readers of every kind, but remember that SI is about how fundamentalists see the world.”
Without a doubt the news from Calvary Baptist Seminary (CBS) is significant and certainly of interest to fundamentalists. SI says it is “a fundamentalist place [and] about how Fundamentalists see the world.” Is it?

If SI is what it claims to be and if SI offers Filings, “because we believe they may be of interest to SI readers” then they have no excuse for ignoring or refusing to publish the story out of Calvary Baptist Seminary in their Filings section.

I do, however, have a possible reason for why SI will not run this story. If you review their list of advertisers you will note that Calvary Baptist Seminary is among the regular advertisers at SI. CBS pays to have their ads placed in rotation at SI.

Is it possible that the site publisher’s decision to ignore and bury the Haddon Robinson/CBS story may be due to the fact that they accept advertising revenue form CBS? Isn’t it possible that SI will not risk putting up a story of interest to readers because they fear the subsequent reaction might generate sharp criticism of Calvary? Isn’t it possible that SI is practicing censorship by omission to protect a source of sorely needed revenue to keep the site viable?

I believe it is more than reasonable to believe censorship-by-omission to protect a needed source of revenue is why SI will not publish this story from Calvary Baptist Seminary.

This afternoon at my primary blog, In Defense of the Gospel I have published, Calvary Baptist Seminary (Lansdale) to Host Dr. Haddon Robinson for your consideration.

If you are visiting for the first time, or the first time in a long time, I encourage you to review and read any of the other articles you will find in the right column of the Iron Skillet.  There are numerous, thoroughly documented articles that irrefutably detail SI’s bias and hostility toward historic, balanced Fundamentalism and its corporate favoritism toward the so-called “conservative” evangelicalism, its star personalities and their fellowships.


LM

Site Publisher Addendum:
I expect SI to offer some logistical excuse for the absence of the CBS story and then, to save face, just might make some mention in Filings. For related reading see, The Invitation to Larry Pettegrew: Will Central Seminary Continue the Drift Away From It’s Historic Moorings?

SI: You guys just kill me!

UPDATE:
Shazaam!!! In less than an hour, after I posted my new article on Central Seminary inviting Haddon Robinson, SI has the news in their Filings section. What happened to the 36 hours previous that they have been aware of the Calvary Baptist Seminary news? One thing you gotta like about SI’s leadership: Their anti-fundamentalism bias and favoritism on behalf of evangelicalism is predictable, and they are easily manipulated with the right kind of outside pressure. Oh, and this time there is no journalistic malfeasance by SI, I told them in my email they did not have to hat tip (HT) my blog.