despite being a frequent blogger for almost 5 years now, i've never really spent a lot of time reading other blogs. to be more specific, i've never spent much time reading "christian" blogs. i read a lot of giants/baseball blogs, a few political blogs if something really interesting is going on, and my friend's blogs, but not much else.
when rob bell's controversial book, love wins, came out i will admit that i got sucked in to a world that i never knew existed (and sometimes wish i still didn't). turns out there is an endless number of christian folks out there with all kinds of blogs. its quite startling. maybe even more startling is the number of people who comment on these blogs. this past week another mars hill lead pastor (mark driscoll, different mars hill) got himself in hot water in the blogosphere for a comment he made on facebook.
my point here is not to argue in favor of bell or against driscoll (or vice versa) but to say that i think christians use the internet poorly.
here are a few conclusions i've come to. first, i have nothing against technology and the internet. in my opinion, while there are numerous changes in technology these days none of them are inherently bad...they can all be abused, of course, but i am not an anti-technology advocate. i have a mac, i tweet, i'm on facebook, and i have a blog, so it would be pretty hypocritical to try to present myself otherwise. that said, we might be wise to do some fasting from certain technologies (myself included).
second, i think most christians are doing blogging the wrong way. now, i don't do this for a living, so i understand that the way to make money as a blogger is to get people to your site and the best way to do that is to make strong, critical points. the problem is this: the beauty of our technology (especially blogging) is that we can now share information and life like never before, but most christian blogs are the equivalent of yelling at each other. or worse, just yelling and hoping someone will comment on it.
i love blogging (and all of the blogs on my blogroll) because they are forums for people to share the great stories they are telling with their local communities. there is a big difference between ripping bell for being a liberal (or driscoll for being a homophobe), and describing how God is at work in your life, community, and ministry.
i do not think the internet is the place to do theological discussion (or pastoral correction for that matter). most of the folks yelling at each are not what i would call theologians (sorry if that is a bit judgmental). theology is done best in local communities of people who are committed to each other and the place they live in.
so, for those of you who are doing blogging well, please keep it up, you are a breath of fresh air. and for those of you who are yelling, consider the proverb: creation is the best critique.
2 comments:
I both agree and disagree with you. I agree that attitudes and tone when it comes to christian debate online is downright awful and discouraging, and I agree that theology is best done in community, and especially pastoral correction.
But I don't agree that the internet isn't a place for theological discussion. I think places like Facebook and blogs are good places to discuss theology, and I'm not just talking about with friends who are too far away to have personal conversations with. I think between smaller groups of people, or even one or two friends, the internet is a great meeting place for discussions, at least initial ones.
probably true at some level. i think my main point, though, is that i wish the "loudest" blogs were the creative ones not the critical ones.
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