Who is 'Reverend Blair?'

[QUOTE BY= BC2004] So '"reverend" blair,' I'll ask for the upteenth time...what kind of reverend are you? Are you even a reverend? By real of course I mean a reverend who has degrees in religion and preaches in church. Or is reverend blair just a silly user name you came up with to make yourself sound cool and provocative?[/QUOTE]

What difference does it make, really? Even if he came to this forum and told you that he held service and wore the vestments, that means nothing unless you ever meet him in person to confirm these claims. This is the internet; you wouldn't be so obsessed if someone with the username "Pope John Paul III" was posting. You would be rightly skeptical. Using my own skepticism, since Blair has never made claims to being an actual clergyman, I assume he is not. I am also assuming that that's a picture of him and not of someone else, and that he's really a man. These are just assumptions, you're free to operate under your own. I would recommend you keep an open mind towards blair's posts regardless of what you decide he is.

You define "real" rather narrowly. There are many reverends, some of them quite famous, who do not meet your criteria. I could have just answered, "Yes," since I am ordained and can legally perform sacraments. I considered it, but doubted you would agree with the answer. You were asking questions that had no relation to the subject at hand in what appeared to be an attempt to derail the discussion at hand. I find your continued attempts to discredit me by bringing up something that has nothing to do with any article I have had published here laughable. None of what I'm about to type is secret by the way. As I alluded to before, I've answered this question many times in many places. I was ordained in the United Life Church in 1999. One of my friends wanted me to perform the ceremony at his wedding and since the ULC offers free ordinations over the internet, it was the easiest way to get the necessary permissions. I can perform weddings, does that make me a "real" reverend in your eyes? It does in many people's which is why I say I could have just answered, "Yes," when you asked and been perfectly truthful. There's more to it than that, of course...there always is. I was raised Catholic and by the time I had completed thirteen years of Catholic education, had become a confirmed atheist. There were too many questions that nobody seemed willing to answer, too many questions that I was told not to even ask. I did the usual reading and found that atheism made the most sense to me. Over the years I became quite aware that atheism was as much of a belief system as any of the organised religions. Nobody can prove that a god or gods does or doesn't exist. I've also been very aware that many people who belong to organised religions often claim to be more moral than those who do not belong to organised religions or believe in a specific god. They often claim that without their religions our most basic laws would not exist. I find such assertions to be ridiculous. Morality is related to societal norms, not the prevailing religion or any religion at all. Laws grow out of societal norms and most societies, religious-based or not, have the same basic laws...Don't kill, don't steal, don't harm others. Being ordained as an atheist reverend is in part a reaction to that. Explaining this instead of just giving a yes or no answer that those from both sides of the argument would consider to be untruthful is something that goes against my own personal morality. So do I feel justified in using the name Reverend Blair? Yes...I have the same credentials as many who run churches of various denominations, obtained in the same way from the same place. That my beliefs are unlikely to match yours, BC2004, have no relevance. Neither does the likelihood that you won't accept my explanation. In short, it really doesn't matter to me whether you consider me a "real" reverend or not. That you tried to use your personal religious definitions to derail a discussion on a completely unrelated subject and persist in trying to discredit me according to your personal religious definitions does matter though. To me, at least, it brings your personal ethics into question.

Does it matter if he is or not? Do you believe everything you read on the Internet? Are you picking on Rev? If not, then why don't you ask me if I'm a really Doctor? (I'm not, I just play one on Slashdot).

[QUOTE BY= Reverend Blair] There were too many questions that nobody seemed willing to answer, too many questions that I was told not to even ask.[/QUOTE] I'm with you, disilussioned. But here is a story I found very interesting. It's rare to have a belief system that has most of the answers written down, and that encourages questioning and challenging it's belief system. <a href='http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/7/27/161835/452'>Who are the Hare Krishnas</a>. Pay particular response to some of the comment responses by the author. (May not be safe for work, but then again, nethier may Vive be . . .)

Ok, now I understand. You are indeed a phony reverend, although your answer is certainly not the answer I was expecting, LOL! A mail order reverend...good lord, what's next. But thanks, i'm happy to finally know the wierd, silly truth.

So, a 'real' Reverend would be . . . ? One not ordained by a church? My brother in law is 'ordained' by the OTC, and is therefore allowed to visit his buddies in jail as their 'pastor'. The law recognizes him as a pastor, why not Rev?

You'd best check the credentials of the head person at whatever church you attend or whatever Sunday morning preacher you tune in, BC2004. The ULC has been around since the fifties and like I said before, [QUOTE]Yes...I have the same credentials as many who run churches of various denominations, obtained in the same way from the same place.[/QUOTE] It really doesn't matter, Doc...anymore than it matters if you are a real doctor or whether BC2004 received that name at birth. It is a question I've answered many times in the last few years though, almost always in a context similar to this, and have developed a policy of answering as fully as possible if the questioner is willing to ask it in an appropriate place.

Jesse brought up the question of whether I was an actual clergyman. Just for clarification...I would have to answer that with a no. It's quite a different question than whether I'm a real reverend.

Reverend vs Pastor/Priest are vastly different, just as PH.D. in Engineering vs Brain Surgeon. Personally, it never mattered to me whether you were clergy or a reverend or not, 'cause you're a heck of a nice guy.

Thanks, Doc...I try to be nice. Sometimes I'm more successful at it than others.

I don't care!!! Reverend Blair can marry me anytime!!! Ummmm, what I mean is, should I ever decide to renew my vows, I'd be honoured to have Reverend Blair preside. I didn't mean I'd marry...oh, I give up..

[QUOTE BY= Calumny] I didn't mean I'd marry...oh, I give up..[/QUOTE] Hey, no biggie, we understand. I've been looking for the right time to propose to Dave as well. <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/lol.gif' alt='Laughing Out Loud'>

Thanks for understanding, Dr. C. Just didn't want anyone thinking I was being unfaithful to my wife or taking up a life of bigamy. Never know what people might take out of an innocently offered comment. <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/mrgreen.gif' alt='Mr. Green'>

While all of this is very interesting, I am left wondering what relevance 'rev' the title has on the writing or comments he makes? There are so many handles which have meaning for the poster and some that give an attitude to the rest of us, but basically no handle, 'rev' or even if it was 'Father' as in priest, should or would in my mind give more weight to the posters ideas. We all put our pants on the same way, we all eat, drink and survive the same way, each opinion has value based on what is said, and usually after a period of time we begin to form relationships and trust opinions based on a history. So what was the purpose of finding out the history behind, 'rev' ?

Oh and Dr. Caleb guess we can't call you out on dark and rainy nights to make house calls for our sick friends, too bad! <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/cry.gif' alt='Cry'>