Why We Hate People Online (And How Proximity Fixes It). Jared Smith plus Panel and Q/A Sac Estuary

In this Saturday morning plenary address from the Sacramento Estuary Conference at Living Stones CRC, Jared Smith (creator of the Atheist Church Audit YouTube channel) delivers a thought-provoking lecture titled "Proximity, Distance, and the Task of Criticism." Drawing a striking parallel between the evolution of warfare technology—where increasing distance insulates soldiers from human face-to-face contact—and modern social media communications, Jared explains why online critique so easily devolves into dehumanizing caricatures. He shares his foundational channel rule: never criticize a community or religious tradition without sitting in their pews in person first. Following the address, Pastor Paul Vander Klay, Tim Blackmon, Dave Busuttil, and Raj join Jared for an engaging panel discussion and audience Q&A exploring Johan Huizinga’s theology of play (Homo Ludens), algorithmic incentives, Chesterton’s neighborly love, whether proximity softens necessary truth, and why seeing humanity in our opponents transforms how we critique. 00:00 Welcome & Technical Setup (Paul Vander Klay) 05:52 Plenary Address: Proximity, Distance, & Criticism (Jared Smith) 06:30 The History of Warfare: From Hand-to-Hand Contact to Atomic Distance 11:00 Communication Evolution: How Social Media Lengthens Distance 15:20 Jared’s Golden Rule: "Never Criticize What You Haven't Seen in Person" 19:30 Auditing Churches & Cults: Finding Humanity Behind Caricatures 25:00 A Motley Crew of Friends & Calling Groups After Publishing 28:45 Panel Reaction: "This Time It's Personal" (Dave Busuttil) 34:29 Johan Huizinga, Magic Circles, & Inhabiting Space (Tim Blackmon) 43:53 Boundaries, Accountability, & Constructive Critique (Raj) 52:11 Audience Q&A: The Personal Cost of Maintaining Proximity (Rod Hugen) 57:50 Algorithmic Incentives vs. Physical Presence (Neal Daedalus) 01:04:15 Handling Anger & Manipulation During Audits (Dave) 01:12:35 Does Proximity Change Your Personal Convictions? (Ray) 01:20:51 Does Proximity Lead to Soft-Pedaling Truth? (David Jacobs) 01:23:51 "Are You Really an Atheist?" (Sonny & Jared Smith) 01:27:19 Is Proximity the Goal or the Tool? (Katie) 01:30:09 Chesterton, Loving the Neighbor, & Depth vs. Breadth (Brandon) 01:34:39 The Most Emotionally Overwhelming Audit Moment (Jacob) 01:37:36 Disillusionment with Politics & Personal Reflection (John Van Donk & Jared Smith) 01:41:49 Session Wrap-Up & Announcements (Paul Vander Klay) What is the TLC? ("This little corner of the Internet" also know as "the corner" https://youtu.be/Y3vqSjywot8?si=IVS3bnriwje5syPO TLC Search tool. https://thislittlecorner.netThe Flotilla List: https://thislittlecorner.net/channels https://www.livingstonescrc.com/give Paul Vander Klay clips channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX0jIcadtoxELSwehCh5QTg https://www.meetup.com/sacramento-estuary/ My Substack https://paulvanderklay.substack.com/ Bridges of meaning https://discord.gg/UKg8k93c Estuary Hub Link https://www.estuaryhub.com/ Retro PVK Merch by his daughter a few years ago: https://www.redbubble.com/people/raindoodles1/shop There is a video version of this podcast on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/paulvanderklay To listen to this on ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-vanderklays-podcast/id1394314333 If you need the RSS feed for your podcast player https://paulvanderklay.podbean.com/feed/ All Amazon links here are part of the Amazon Affiliate Program. Amazon pays me a small commission at no additional cost to you if you buy through one of the product links here. This is is one (free to you) way to support my videos. https://paypal.me/paulvanderklay Blockchain backup on Lbry https://odysee.com/@paulvanderklay https://www.patreon.com/paulvanderklay Paul's Church Content at Living Stones Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7bdktIALZ9Nq41oVCvW-A To support Paul's work by supporting his church give here. https://tithe.ly/give