What proceeds from Hart (Updated)

Every time atruce between David Bentley Hart and me has been broken, it has been broken byhim.  And more than once, friendly andfence-mending exchanges in private have been followed by a public shivving onhis part.  The man has no honor.  In a new documentary, hecasually remarks that “Feser… really is a person for whom Christianity ismostly about, you know, killing people or, or you know, it’s about beating them.”  The surrounding remarks are no lessnasty.  (Readers who don’t want to watchthe entire thing can fast forward to about 57 minutes into it.)

The truth isthat I have merely defended the teaching of scripture and two millennia ofChristian tradition that capital punishment and corporal punishment can, undersome circumstances, be justifiable.  Thetruth is that this is a small part of my work, the vast bulk of which (asanyone who follows it or peruses my list of publications can easily verify) isdevoted to other and unrelated matters.  Thetruth is that I have consistently and vigorously condemned the excessive use ofviolence, from Dresden and Hiroshima to Gaza.  And the truth is also that I have, as Hartwell knows, done my part to try to help him when he was in need.

None of thisdeters him from issuing the grave calumny that for me, Christianity is mostlyabout killing and beating people.

The man hasno honor.

UPDATE: Severalreaders call attention to this apology, apparently from Hart, in the commentssection at YouTube: “Well, I apologize to Ed Feser. When this was recorded Iwas obviously angry at him over the public whipping thing… But I have gottenover it.  And we will never agree on whatChristianity is… But I acknowledge that he is a good person at heart, with badideas.”

Fairnessrequires acknowledging this apology. Fairness also requires noting that it islikely that far fewer people will see it than will hear the calumny for which Hartis apologizing.