Alice C. Linsley
The priest at my church dislikes blogs because he believes that they stir negativity and do more harm than good. I certainly have been to blogs where this is the case. The fallacies, the insensitivity, and the crudeness leave me feeling weary and distracted. I hope that does not happen to those who visit my blogs.
Father Tom has never viewed any of the blogs I manage. This is unfortunate because the material and conversation is intelligent and almost always edifying. Rarely do I have to delete a comment because it is inappropriate, crude, blasphemous, or contains a personal attack. Possibly a positive experience with blogs might change Fr. Tom's mind.
Bad experiences with people can led to unjustified criticism of the blogging medium. The potential of a well designed and well managed blog is enormous in this day of social media, excellent search engines, and fast internet connections. Christians should make their voices heard over the media hype, the political banter, and the rhetoric generated by popular causes. Blogs are a good medium for proclamation, apologetics, education, and engagement with the world.
Blogs that follow the Apostle Paul's recommendations do good service. Here are his recommendations:
1. Avoid what is evil; stick to what is good (Rom. 12:9).
2. Praise what is good (Phil. 4:8).
3. Show patience in correcting those in error. (II Tim. 4:2)
4. If they fail to be corrected and persist in error, let them be anathema. (Gal. 1:8) In this event, the blog administrator is justified in deleting and blocking comments.
Related reading: Why a Blog about Genesis?; Thoughts on Blogging; An Apology; Blogging to Communicate the Gospel; Facebook Conversation of Creationism
Related reading: Why a Blog about Genesis?; Thoughts on Blogging; An Apology; Blogging to Communicate the Gospel; Facebook Conversation of Creationism
.jpg)
2 comments:
It is interesting how each individual perceives blogging. The very word"blog" is a hybrid of two other words that escape me. Some blogs are trivial and so then all blogs are judged under that same umbrella.
I started my blog to learn about preparedness and as my blog progressed it turned into to something much deeper and also a vehicle for learning more about God's will in my life. I couldn't pay anyone to read my blog because they thought it was trivial thing to do, a waste of time. So in frustration once, I thought about shutting it down, not writing anymore. Who would care I reasoned, no one reads it anyway.I prayed about it, and I was impressed to reconsider the purpose of my blog. Was I writing it for popularity, or to have hundreds of followers, or was I writing it for the one? That one person who would stop by and read and find an answer, or find a blessing. I know that Heavenly Father watches over us and is concerned in all that we do, even blogging when it has a greater purpose. This could be a portion of those greater works we are commissioned to do.
So, I emailed a copy to my Bishop and he really enjoys it.
That's a wonderful story, Ramona! Thanks for sharing it.
Post a Comment