Thursday 19 June 2014

Cross Currents -Open comments

Further to Hannah's post below, we would like to draw readers attention to an alternative blog (not in any way connect to any of us here), which is a forum for people to leave comments on Cross Current blog posts.Cross Currents itself heavily moderates comments and in some instances does not permit comment or a dissenting view, as in the case of the post Hannah has commented on. The explanation for this site is given on the first post  .

We are bringing this to people's attention, not because we are hostile to everything that comes out of the Haredi world, nor do we wish to constantly bash it, or see it gone, but because we believe that with every majority that there is a minority view and sometimes that minority is in the right. In fact we appreciate the sincerity of the writers of the Cross Currents blog and the Haredi world as a whole, in which a few bad apples spoil the reputation for everyone else in their community and to be fair, sometimes the ordinary Haredi family may feel that they are under siege both from within the Jewish community and outside it. 

However, our family are broadly liberal & conservative (politically and philosophically, not in respect of religion, where we are Orthodox in the broadest sense of the word) and do believe in the idea of freedom of speech, of thought and being able to articulate a world view, even if it one that we strongly disagree with. That is  one of the reasons why David set up our blog here, to allow for a forum where anything could be discussed, by anyone of any faith & even to ask about  heretical thoughts, in place where comments rarely get deleted & people can post under what nome de plume that they wish to. The truth can only be illuminated, never thrown into darkness.   

It was CP Scott, a famous liberal, who once said 'The voice of opponents, no less than that of friends has a right to be heard' ; in our own faith we study Torah in pairs, as we read we write and arguments down, debate it try and tear the other's argument apart. In this way we help each other to find the truth, as in the words of one Rabbi, study and debate are like a knife, that can only be sharpened on the side of another. That is the world we are used to and that is why we are happy to draw to your attention the Cross Currents- Open Comments Weblog.

2 comments:

  1. Great. If I need a place to provide comment on the CC site, I know where to go!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree. We need forums where people can debate, not be shut out from it. Shutting down debate does not achieve anything.

    ReplyDelete

Comments aren't pre-moderated. Try and keep things civil. See our comments section for further details.