In this particular venue, I publish under a pseudonym. That does not go over well with lots of people. It is particularly amusing, though, for me to hear "Calvinists" complaining about my use of a pseudonym.
Calvin apparently wrote under at least three pseudonyms:
(1) Alcuinus
(2) Charles d'Espeville
(3) Martinus Lucanius
(see here for more detail)
-TurretinFan
Monday, December 15, 2008
2 comments:
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The curious thing about this kind of complaint is, why it should matter to anyone what someone's real name is. You are either speaking the truth, or you are not... and you are either speaking it in love, or you are not.
ReplyDeleteUsually people complain about pseudonames when it is perceived that a person is "hiding" behind it. (That is, the pseudonamed person is making unsubstantiated claims, slanders, or personal attacks, and is apparently using the pseudoname to "get away with it").
I find it curious when people complain about theology (or science) coming from a pseudoname "just because". Ironically, such complaints seem to point back on the complainer as one who is more interested in credentials than fact.
In terms of "hiding," I think it is interesting to compare:
ReplyDeletea) a person who uses a pseudonym, but who openly and constantly defends the positions he takes against challengers; with
b) a person who uses his own name but refuses to defend his positions.
-TurretinFan