tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post6437177564030430589..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Introducing @Preacher_Bot: An Experiment in Evangelical SpeechmakingPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-51740792154068790932015-09-10T22:47:16.999-06:002015-09-10T22:47:16.999-06:00Thanks again for the conversation. Perhaps I shoul...<i>Thanks again for the conversation. Perhaps I should build a Tom_Bot out of all your blog comments!</i> <br /><br />I'm honored, tho the proper mix of pith and vinegar may be impossible to synthesize on your planet.<br /><br />BTW, I do think Prosperity Gospel-talk could be synthesized, perhaps Social Gospel-talk as well. My remarks were referring to the transcendent stuff, not the material, as perhaps not so easy to fake.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-62347426887880051452015-09-10T10:44:14.875-06:002015-09-10T10:44:14.875-06:00Fascinating post, Chris.
And the image of Joel O...Fascinating post, Chris. <br /><br />And the image of Joel Osteen’s pearly white smile is quite appropriate for @Preacher_Bot. As I argue in Salvation with a Smile, among contemporary televangelists, Osteen the only minister I’m aware of with nearly two decades of television and media production experience *before* taking the pulpit, and his historical rise to notoriety in the early 2000s more or less tracked with the emergence of social media—so you couldn’t have picked a better image for @Preacher_Bot! <br /><br />The ways that your post is attuned to analyzing discourse remains, I think, one compelling (and with @Preacher_Bot playfully hilarious at times) way to further our comprehension of contemporary evangelicalism, and even the prosperity gospel. Regarding the potential for understanding the prosperity gospel, it would be interesting to compare some of Kate Bowler’s network diagrams in Blessed about professional connections between prosperity gospel ministers to any discursive connections between prosperity clergy rendered by @Preacher_Bot. <br /><br />With you, I’m still pondering the possibilities of what this sort of digital research might reveal, but at the very least, it pushes us to continue to analyze—and historicize—the language and ideas present within contemporary evangelicalism.Phillip Luke Sinitierehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07961277209206245992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-31911639973132681462015-09-10T08:10:12.394-06:002015-09-10T08:10:12.394-06:00Ahh, I see. Thanks, Tom! I read you as conflating ...Ahh, I see. Thanks, Tom! I read you as conflating my project with the faux academese pieces. Sorry for confusion.<br /><br />Though to be fair to academia, the gullibility of academics who publish/cite scholarly hoaxes with the wisdom of laypeople to not cut off their arms is not exactly comparable. Both cultures have insatiable appetites for content and I'm willing to bet there are more than a few devotionals whose composition was likely less then authentic. But I think we agree that the trend in some corners of the humanities to privilege mediation over agency does has some deleterious effects. <br /><br />Thanks again for the conversation. Perhaps I should build a Tom_Bot out of all your blog comments!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10762487595483265718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-76973273702336284552015-09-09T23:03:08.482-06:002015-09-09T23:03:08.482-06:00Blogger Christopher Cantwell said...
This is exact...<i>Blogger Christopher Cantwell said...<br />This is exactly my point, Tom. I fail to see the critique you're offering here.</i><br /><br />Not a "critique" [criticism?] atall if your point is that computer-generated academic newspeak can pass a Turing test but Bible/Christian counterfeits cannot, although this may say more about the gullibility/fear of authority of their intended audiences than the actual quality of the BS. Feel free to use the Turing formulation as your lede or button as helpful, Christopher, with my compliments. <br /><br />I loved this!<br /><br />I thought the amputation riff might be useful too, though I understand if YMMV. Thx for the considered reply. I think you hit a fresh vein here.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-73973640503581140922015-09-08T22:04:11.957-06:002015-09-08T22:04:11.957-06:00Oh and thanks, Tod!Oh and thanks, Tod!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10762487595483265718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-5146990125475190072015-09-08T22:01:38.965-06:002015-09-08T22:01:38.965-06:00This is exactly my point, Tom. I fail to see the c...This is exactly my point, Tom. I fail to see the critique you're offering here.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10762487595483265718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-1402505056281122522015-09-08T19:16:53.314-06:002015-09-08T19:16:53.314-06:00This Turing Test is premissed on [Christian] relig...This Turing Test is premissed on [Christian] religious-speak being as much BS as academic jargon<br /><br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2014/feb/26/how-computer-generated-fake-papers-flooding-academia<br /><br />is--or its target audience being as authority-susceptible and gullible. The latter possibility is actually more intriguing. Christians don't actually take "if thy right hand offend ye, cut it off" literally--in fact, they take it as literal madness. However, many of us wouldn't even question a study recommending elective amputation as a cure for "body integrity identity disorder" even if we didn't understand a goddam word of the paper.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-24889618909218257322015-09-08T14:24:09.918-06:002015-09-08T14:24:09.918-06:00Brilliant work Chris! I may have to return in kind...Brilliant work Chris! I may have to return in kind with an Apostle_Bot here pretty soon.Tod Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00839443291699465031noreply@blogger.com