CHANGING THE FREQUENCY OF THIS E-LETTER
"FIRST THINGS" SMEARS STEVE RAY
Dear Friend of Catholic Answers:
Last week there was no E-Letter because I made a last-minute decision to backpack in the Grand Canyon. I figured it might be my last opportunity before snow and cold made such a trip impracticable. As it was, it was chilly, barely above zero degrees Fahrenheit when I started down the South Kaibab Trail for the Colorado River.
Halfway down I met a hiker who was headed for the rim. He uses the moniker Rim to Rim Maverick. Last year he hiked rim to rim 43 times, and so far this year he has made the trip 42 times. Most people are incapable of making one such trip, period. What is remarkable is that Maverick is 79 years old.
At the bottom, at the campground by the river, I was temporarily adopted by two wild turkeys. They followed me for several hundred feet, down the trail and even over a footbridge, staying within a few feet of me and expecting, I suppose, that I would share an energy bar or some jerky with them.
Once I left the vegetated area around the campground, they realized that they would have to go back to foraging on their own, which they did. (The National Park Service asks hikers not to feed the wildlife, so the animals do not become dependent on man for their survival.)
NO LONGER A WEEKLY E-LETTER
The first issue of this E-Letter was sent out on February 12, 2003. This is issue 142, which means the E-Letter has appeared every Tuesday save for five or six--not a bad run, I think. But now I'm instituting a change.
As much as I enjoy doing the E-Letter, I find that composing it has made it difficult for me to engage in other writing. I want to be able to write more often for "This Rock" and to work on some book projects.
For the indeterminate future the E-Letter will appear roughly every other week. I say "roughly" because there may be times when I write it three weeks in a row, and there may be times when I take three weeks in a row off. There will be no set schedule, except that Tuesday will remain the day of publication.
A CHEAP SHOT FROM "FIRST THINGS"
In recent years I have read several articles about Catholics and other religious folks using the Internet to promote or share their beliefs. Perhaps because the Internet includes so many religious sites, each of these articles has seemed to be little more than a pastiche, the writer flitting from one site to another, not really able to get a handle on the whole thing.
That impression has been reinforced by reading "God on the Internet," an article appearing in the December issue of "First Things," the monthly founded by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus and edited now by Joseph Bottom. The writer of the article is Jonathan V. Last, the online editor of the "Weekly Standard."
In seven choppy pages Last mentions many web sites, some Catholic, some Protestant, some indeterminate. He writes also about religious blogs and quotes several bloggers. Other than some digging into the background and operation of Beliefnet, which is the most visited religious site, Last gives only the briefest of overviews. Some of his comments are snide, and, in at least one case, downright malicious. That case involves a friend of mine, Steve Ray.
Here is the entirety of what Last writes about Steve:
"A more personal strain of consumerism leads people such as Stephen Ray to hawk their wares on the web. Ray, the author of several religious books, runs a web site called Defenders of the Catholic Faith. On it he features a photo album of his family and his travels, conversion testimonials from readers, and even his own blog. But the primary mission of Defenders of the Catholic Faith is to move product. Books, audio tapes, videos, DVDs--it's all there, mingled with explanations of 'Why I'm Catholic' and lessons about St. Mark. There's also a press kit describing Ray, showing his upcoming speaking schedule, and telling you how to book him at your event for a mere $600, plus expenses. (That's for local talks; overnight events are $1,800, plus expenses and, as his site explains, 'Steve rarely travels without his wife Janet.')"
Last claims that "the primary mission of Defenders of the Catholic Faith is to move product." The man must not have spent much time at Steve's site. By clicking through the drop-down menus one finds that the site's primary mission is to share the Catholic faith.
Yes, Steve's books and videos are marketed, but, as he says at the blog at his site, the income from those sales does not end up in his pocket: "The money earned from speaking engagements and product sales go into preparing materials, investing in the ministry and video series, maintaining this web site, donations to the needy, and other causes to promote the Catholic faith." Steve derives his living expenses from running a maintenance (janitorial) business.
Take his videos. Most Catholic videos are "talking head" affairs, taped in a studio. Steve's videos are taped on location in the Holy Land and around the Mediterranean. When you watch a Steve Ray video about the apostle Paul, you see Steve speaking where Paul once spoke. It isn't cheap to produce an on-location video, and Steve uses profits from his product sales to underwrite the expenses.
Steve is on the road much of the year. He happens to like his wife, Janet, and they think--properly, I'd say--that it is not good for a husband and wife to be separated for great lengths of time. That is why Janet often accompanies him on his speaking trips.
As noted, Jonathan Last is the online editor of the "Weekly Standard." Both the "Weekly Standard" and "First Things" have web sites that include (in the case of the latter) or are about to include (in the case of the former) online stores hawking books and other articles. The "Weekly Standard" sends out a weekly e-mail newsletter that includes advertising. Both sites, of course, sell subscriptions to their print publications.
It strikes me as ungenerous of Last, who runs a web site that sells things, to complain about sales at Steve Ray's web site, and it strikes me as ungenerous of "First Things" to have published Last's hit piece in the first place.
Steve has written to "First Things," asking for an apology. He deserves a very public one.
p.s., If you have a comment about anything appearing in this E-Letter, please do not hit your Reply button. Instead, go to Catholic Answers' discussion forums at
http://forums.catholic.com
where you may post your comment in the forum dedicated to the E-Letter. You will find a thread devoted to this issue of the E-Letter. Feel free to add your comment in the form of a reply to that thread.
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