I was having dinner with a colleague of my mothers this weekend and we got to talking about blogging. He was telling me about a young man whose blog is about faith, that he thinks the posts are "just as good as Dr. Kennedy’s stuff".
It got me thinking, and I know I’ve seen it elsewhere around the blogosphere, that we (like it or not) are becoming the theologians for the next generation.
I have mixed feelings about it honestly.
On the one hand I’m really excited. I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea that church leaders and theologians had to hold a PHD in theology or an MDiv, or whatever. Look at the disciples, they were ordinary, unschooled men. The Holy Spirit turned them into something much more. So I’m really glad that ordinary, unschooled men (and women) have a way to record what God is teaching them for the benefit of others.
On the other hand, it’s scary…very scary. After all, any joe blow can have a blog. What if what they write sounds scriptural, but isn’t. What if they mislead others?
I think we need to be very careful as we enter this new territory, careful of what we write, and careful of what we read. I’m going to start to try to follow a few simple blog rules. This is just a short beginning list. Hopefully they will make what I write more edifying to God and man, and make me more discerning about what I read.
Rules for Theoblogging
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Season my words with salt – In many cases, just because God has convicted me of a thing doesn’t mean that others HAVE to do the same thing.
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Quote sources – There are very few truly original ideas under the sun. If I know where my ideas come from I should quote a source. I should especially try to quote scripture that inspires my posts.
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Be honest – Sometimes I write about what I know or feel strongly about. Sometimes I write more on emotions & ideas. I need to make more of an effort to make a distinction between the two.
Rules for Theobrousing
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Season my comments with salt – If I feel the need to correct a fellow blogger’s post I should do so with love and humility, maybe contacting them directly instead of on their blog. No one likes to be publicly challenged.
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Check everything with scripture – Scripture is God’s ultimate revelatory tool. Just because another blogger says something is good or bad doesn’t mean that person is right. I need to be better about going back to God’s word when I read a post I’m not sure about.
These are just quick, poorly hatched out intro rules. I’m sure my ideas will become a bit more mature as I contemplate this over the next couple weeks. I’d love to hear if you have anything to add to either of these lists. If we get a good list I’ll repost the full list later.
Just my $.02
4 comments
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adam
May 4, 2006 at 8:13 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
interesting idear, here, mo. i might not agree w/ you that bloggers are the "new theologians." i happen to think that movies & tv has taken that place. sure, we ("we" being the blogosphere community) have some important discussions on blogs, but in the end most people realize that it’s just "personal" responses to big questions. in other words, i’m not sure that many bloggers carry the weight of influencing theology. some notables who are influencing theology would be <a href="http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/">andrew jones</a>, <a href="http://www.jordancooper.com">jordan cooper</a> and <a href="http://www.jesuscreed.org/">scott mcknight</a>. of course, these guys already hold "theology" degrees are are already well respected outside of the blogosphere.
no doubt, though, that the blogs create a phenominal environment to discuss theological issues with a broad community.
regarding your "rules for theoblogging" and "theobrowsing," i think they’re great perimeters to responsibly read blogs containing thoughts on god.
adam
May 5, 2006 at 1:31 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
bro~ that video… wow…
you do have to admit, though, that the zoom-in-zoom-out-swrilly camera angles are pretty humorous.
mo
May 5, 2006 at 1:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
IMO, blogs & the internet are taking as big a role in shaping our nations beliefs as movies & TV. Any one paticular blog may not have a huge impact on theological beliefs, but the blogosphere as a whole, I believe, is going to have a huge impact.
The really scary thing about the internet is people can find "theologians" to back up whatever they believe. They can pick and choose what they want
mo
May 5, 2006 at 4:46 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Adam ~ Oh yeah. After I got over my initial shock I spent the rest of my time viewing it just laughing at the guy.