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Christianity Today, March (Web-only), 2009 |

Theology in the News

Blogs: A Window to Our Souls

What does your Internet personality say about you?

Collin Hansen | posted 3/09/2009 10:49AM

Nearly three years ago, Alan Jacobs wrote in Books and Culture, "Right now, and for the foreseeable future, the blogosphere is the friend of information but the enemy of thought." First drawn to blogs ...

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Patrick Gann

Posted: March 19, 2009 7:21 AM

It's interesting to see people who act one way, in "real" life, put on an entirely different face when they sit down to the computer. I first picked up the concept that this HAPPENS at all in the late '90s from the anime "Serial Experiments Lain" (worth watching, I might add). Creating an "online" persona that's different from how you act in face-to-face interactions usually reveals more of our inner thoughts and ideas, since we're more comfortable putting that information out there for a faceless crowd to see than we are telling our best friend (strange but true, ne?).

Gary Sweeten

Posted: March 15, 2009 1:26 AM


Perhaps we are seeing the least reflective aspect of Christianity and politics in blogs. Reading the comments of most blogs on most issues reminds me of how many people out there are emotionally un stable and who have short fuses. It also reminds me of how much we need to help people grow in the fruit of the Holy Spirit and learn how to debate sensitive issues in a democracy.

Mike Morrell

Posted: March 12, 2009 11:24 PM

The funny thing about the neo-Reformed's shocked & indignant reaction to McKnight is that they routinely tar their theological foes as not giving a rat's you-know-what about the Bible. I think McKnight & (for that matter) Wright back up their claim quite nicely. As Michael Spencer says, we're headed for a bit of an evangelical meltdown...and that might be okay. For what emerges (sorry, couldn't resist) might be all the healthier because of it. I do agree with you, though - I hope what grows next out of the compost of our dying institutions is a bit more gracious than the blogosphere tends to be.

Kozak

Posted: March 11, 2009 12:05 PM


Gotta disagree with the thesis. I have learned a lot online from bloggers, especially Mark D. Roberts, but also Ben Witherington and Frank Viola. Some of this stuff has pointed me to books which expound more deeply on the question at hand. Obviously we shouldn't be jerks in the comments, but I wouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Graham UK

Posted: March 10, 2009 4:58 PM

It is relationally in the ordinariness of every day that God sows generously. Praying for His help in our communications across all media including face-to-face will receive Our Lord's grace and mercy. Look at the small encounters and sharing; pray and reflect using 'For what moments am I most grateful?' and 'For what moments am I least grateful?' questions at the end of each day. You may never know how profoundly somethingyou think is insignificant acts on a person for good.

RMason

Posted: March 10, 2009 9:04 AM

This is somewhat of a shill, but I do a blog three days a week and I try to have a sense of purpose in doing it. It is difficult to achieve anything other than venting my frustrations at times, but I do believ God has used some of the articles to show a different perspective on some issues; to the Christian as well as the non-Christian. http://www.selfinflictedblog.blogspot.com if anyone is interested.

JerryR.

Posted: March 09, 2009 10:43 PM

I don't know if I fit into this conversation; I'm not a professional theologian and neither Reformed nor NeoReformed, but I have written a book with some pretty obvious theological implications and have just recently started a blog with the intention of eliciting response, theological or otherwise, from the blogosphere, Christian or otherwise. The book, "The Gospel According to Jerry: Confessions of a Fool for Christ" is a personal testimony of a radical conversion experience that echos that of innumerable Christians from Paul to Billy Graham. The theological lens through which I view this experience is Wesleyan, and the analytical tools with which I understand it were provided by Anton Boisen in his "Exploration of the Inner World" (U. of Pa. Press, 1971). To start the conversation, I present the question: Was Plato's idea of "divine madness" (Phaedrus) fulfilled in the Christ (Mark 3:21; John 10:20) as were the Hebrew concepts of prophet, priest and king in the Messiah?

Dr. James Willingham

Posted: March 09, 2009 8:33 PM

Theology in blogs is open sesame to a lot of opinions more than sound exposition of some scripture about some doctrine. Part of our problem today is the scientific method. Not many are aware of it outside the fields of science, but the scientific method is flawed; it suffers from the paralysis of analysis. Our present understanding of science and the scientific method is superb, when it comes to analysis. Our difficulty lies in the encounter of asymmetrical realities, truths that cannot be reconciled, realities which by their very nature must be taken into account as the truth in toto and so evaluted on that basis as well as implemented. Science is in bad need of a synthetical approach which can cope with paradoxical situations. Theology and blogging are not immune to the present flawed approach. Multi-level assessments are also needed. The depths of Holy Scripture are not so easily grasped or perceived due to our being hindered by seeking insight into a strange medium.

LeeC	Posted: March 09, 2009 7:54 PM


Is it not possible for the group seeking/receiving the comments to set the tone for comment-quality? In many cases CT responders are not showing depth and creativity of thought. Love and compassion are too often not detectable in responses; anger and frustration are prevalent. The overall quality of the online CT articles is often diminished for me by the time I read the comments.

dma	Posted: March 09, 2009 4:41 PM

Great article. I think part of the stigma against blogs comes from its perceived detraction from human relationships, as you mentioned. However, as blogs and online social networking are fast becoming the norm for communication, it's important that Christians present a voice of reason and truth in online forums. As you point out, this also means presenting the Christian worldview with humility and discernment. It's encouraging that Jacobs and others have stimulated so much discussion through their blogs. The objective is not to win an argument, but rather to present truth. Of course, that also means both author and reader have a responsibility to know the truth and what they're saying instead of just blurting out text on impulse.

Paul Wilkinson

Posted: March 09, 2009 4:33 PM

With somewhere between 1 1/2 and 2 percent of the electricity in the U.S. now being used to power cloud computers and server farms, blogging could be come an environmental issue someday! (Yes, I'm serious.) CT's 1000 character limit on comments ought to be normative across the blogosphere. There are too many words, too much time and way too much brainpower being used up in the flood of opinion. Christian blogs often become battlefields in wars of doctrine, especially those doctrines which perhaps belong more to the realm of mystery than to anything we can sort out through argument. Still, as a blogger who just passed the one-year mark, I wouldn't have traded the past year (675 posts) for anything. I've encountered the most interesting people, been encouraged to read books I might never have known, and have risen to the daily challenge that newspaper publishers have known for decades. Blogging is both the best and worst of online activity, depending on what you read and write.

John L

Posted: March 09, 2009 4:06 PM

The virtual ecclesia presents both profound opportunities and dead-end streets. Like any new tool, learning how to use it skillfully will prove its legitimacy. There seems to be a lot of "warnings" of late about how virtual communication can detract from "real" community. I've found just the opposite is true - virtual interaction has enhanced F2F relationships, and I can point to a growing body of evidence to support this. The warnings are well taken, and we should always guard our time. But over coming generations, I'm convinced that virtual access will bring net positive and valuable change to the church universal. Be skillful.

artgirlmonrovia

Posted: March 09, 2009 2:41 PM


I agree that too many Christians are buying into the negative slant of blogging. I myself have a blog that comments more on provoking thought and behavior founded in New Testament theology. As a layman, I have seen too much abuse in the church at large and have a really hard time subscribing to the statement that this is only prevelant in the blogging world.

PatrickO

Posted: March 09, 2009 11:52 AM

Very interesting article full of great links and insight into the present blog conversation that is seemingly becoming a central field of theological discussion, even as blogs themselves aren't sas popular as they once were. As far as the neo-Reformed, I feel like I read an article on this movement, not quite named this but reflecting the same ideas. In CT, in fact. Found it and found the author quite helpful there too, if a fair bit clearly sympathetic to it: http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2006/september/42.32.html Seems like an article like that would have been worth noting when dealing with, and critiquing, the specific refutation of that movement by McKnight. It's not a mystery what is being discussed, and that McKnight is keeping it less personal shows restraint, and within the looser blogging standards.

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