The Dove and the Soapbox

Early yesterday morning we received our 5,000th comment here at Strange Notions. We're just four weeks in and the response has been stunning. The site has received over 185,000 pageviews, 65,000 unique visitors, and thousands of comments. Contrary to those who claim this is "a one-sided Catholic conversation," roughly 75% of the comments have come from charitable, serious-minded atheists. As far as I can tell, there is no other place on earth where atheists and Catholics have come together in these numbers to engage in such fruitful conversations.

We've done our best to moderate the comments and to keep the discussions on track, but it's been surprisingly civil. We've only had to delete a handful of comments (about half Catholic, half atheist) and we've only banned three users for repeatedly violating our Commenting Rules. It's tough keeping tabs on so many comments—hundreds every day—so if you see a problematic comment that we've missed please "flag" it by clicking the down arrow underneath it.

Four weeks in, I thought this was a good time to reiterate the type of dialogue we're aiming for. A friend of mine, singer and songwriter Miriam Marston, composed a song inspired by Strange Notions. Her haunting and evocative lyrics really capture our vision. So enjoy the song below, and thanks for all your comments, engagement, and everything you've done to make this site an oasis for reasonable dialogue in a mostly dry and contentious digital world.
 

 
 
(Image credit: Iceon Palm Trees)

Note: Our goal is to cultivate serious and respectful dialogue. While it's OK to disagree—even encouraged!—any snarky, offensive, or off-topic comments will be deleted. Before commenting please read the Commenting Rules and Tips. If you're having trouble commenting, read the Commenting Instructions.