Blogging For Idle Hands?
I happened to read this article from Jeremy Wood over at BlogMinistry, and felt an obligation to address it myself. I'll let you read his comments yourself, but basically Kevin Denee of The Restored Church of God (which originates from the Worldwide Church of God, which had some questionable doctrine itself) takes blogging to task, basically claiming the majority of blogs as dangerous, vain and rooted out of boredom.
The truth is that most blogs originate for one of two reasons:
- A Desire To Express One's Self - A lot of people just need an outlet to express themselves.
- A Desire To Help, Guide, and Inform Others - Sharing expertise to help others be able to do more.
For him to throw blogging under the bus like that shows a lack of understanding of the technology and fear that it will do something to the people. Truthfully, some of his concerns are earnest, but he's pointing the finger in the wrong direction. Blogs and personal homepages can be potentially dangerous if their users do not use them properly, but so can your debit card if you write your pin number on it and start walking around in crowded streets waiving it around. The finger must be pointed at the individual, and not the tool (unfortunately, this seems to be a recurring problem for Christian leaders to blame the "new things" in a world of advancing technology that they may not fully understand).
Yes, there are some blogs which are focused around getting attention or make the mistake of keeping a personal journal in a public forum. But to classify the vast majority of blogs as such shows a real lack of understanding in the power of blogging and social computing in reaching a world that is eager to learn more.
After all, if blogging was as evil as he makes it out to be, I'm pretty sure IJHAW and the numerous constructive Christian blogs out there would not be here today. But we are here...working to do the will of God.
Well put. If anything, I avoid blogging while I bored in an effort to minimize boring posts!
I've found blogging to serve in a number of different ways- communication, relationship-building, informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking. It's not like a dreary cable access TV show where some people really do just want to be seen.
Greg,
If the blogosphere is filled with danger, vanity and boredom (just like society/culture in general) it seems to be the exact kind of a place sound Christians should set up shop.
I recently included a post on my site called '40-reasons-to-blog' and left out the most personal for me: because the Lord told me to. Blogging is not the be all, end all but neither does it possess an inherent evil. For some of us, it's strictly a point of personal obedience (with side benefits)! Believe me, if I was bored, writing on a regular basis is not what I'd elect to do with my time.
Thanks for the reminder that even-handedness and a balanced look at pros & cons are evidence of sound judgment & wisdom. Extreme postures about the evils of technology will cause the church to miss the very opportunities it is currently being presented with.
Thanks for the link!
It is not a surprise in todays "climate of excuses" that personal responsibility is dismissed. It seems it is either someones, or something, elses fault.
But isn't it always just that? The same old negative response to something we don't understand. The same thing that has been happening since the Christian Church began, and probably even before that.
I even met a guy who thinks that music with guitars and drums in it is devil worship, when the vast majority of contemporary christian bands use both instruments!