bloggedy blog: the personal weblog of a music lover and aging punk wannabe

:: Thursday, December 29, 2005 ::

Reflections on a year of blogging
Scot McKnight, author of one of the better recent books about Christian spirituality, The Jesus Creed, posts his thoughts on his first year of blogging and surmises, as we all eventually do, that there are some downright impolite folks in the blogosphere, many of whom brand themselves as Christ-followers. McKnight is obviously more accustomed to the more civilized discourse of his fellow scholars. But as he's discovered, the blogosphere can be a wild and wooly place.
I still am bewildered at the way some bloggers talk to one another — and you can get a good sample of this if you look at Tony Jones’ site and see the sort of meanspiritedness in the responses to his posts. This I simply can’t accept as a form of Christian discourse. The standard rule obtains: don’t say to others what you don’t want them to say to you, or don’t write things you wouldn’t say if you were facing the person yourself. If you do, you should be ashamed of your calling to walk in the way of Jesus. Disagreement and nastiness are not the same thing. Conversation and scoring points with cheap shots are neither winsome nor wholesome.
Well put.

McKnight also rightly advocates a ban of all uncivil "watch blogs," which he describes as "those sites designed to do nothing but gripe about the left-leanings of others"
My plea: enter into the conversation as a conversational partner, and please avoid acting like theological cops who are protecting the Church from devious writers out to deflower the Church and its theology. ...

It is far wiser to come alongside and ask questions; it is far simpler and self-justifying to point fingers at others in order to bolster pride in walking the narrow path. ... Make your comment, watch the conversation, avoid demanding a response.
Again, well put.

Link via Randy McRoberts.

blogging, blogs, blogosphere

:: Andrew 10:04 + ::
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