Bloggers: Are They Really Honoring Christ?

Blogging can be dangerous. It is certainly not for the weak, and some question if it is for the Godly. I think it can be used for good, yet have seen abuses by veteran bloggers. Allow me to illustrate and draw some conclusions for application.

1. Not long ago there was a post, by one of the more well-recognized bloggers among Southern Baptists, implying impropriety at a “very-high” level in the administration at SWBTS. Then, in the comment section, when asked of the validity of his statement, the Blog Administrator said “everything I write is well researched and usually verified by a minimum of 2-3 sources.” Later, when a different scenario was suggested, the Blog Administrator said the “connection I have insinuated was wrong.” However, no POST retracting the scenario has been posted (which, even if it had, would not reverse the damage). Moreover, only if one reads through the 80 plus comment section does he realize the error of the original post.

2. On two other recognized blogs, I have been accused of holding to a “private interpretation” of the Abstract of Principles (ONE of the documents professors at Southeastern have to sign) and “interpreting them as long as I get to define their meaning.” These accusations were also made by veterans of the blogging world, in spite of the fact I have never said either of them..

The latter accusation took a statement I made about Calvinism out of its context, and then amazingly replaces the statement “3 Points of Calvinism” with “Abstract of Principles.”

The former was made because I said I signed the Abstract according to my understanding (which is not private) of what it says. Further, I went to great lengths to make my position very clear (ie – I cannot sign the Abstract based on what John or Tom or Fred understands them to say, for I am not John or Tom or Fred…I am Brad). I even revealed that my understanding fits into the parameters of what Dr. Mohler and Dr. Akin believe the Abstract to be saying.

And yet, amazingly these accusations are STILL made without any retractions.

You can imagine the unchristian comments and untruths these Posts generated. The statements, comments, and accusations were false and horribly inaccurate, however, I have done things in my life much worse than I was accused of. Thus, what concerns me is not what the Blog Administrators said or implied, but that they made such errors in the first place. These intelligent men are far more experienced bloggers than most of us. I believe their motives to be pure in a pursuit of truth. I further believe they are Christian men who love our Savior.

Yet, if these men can err like this, then what hope do we have of avoiding such.

Wade Burleson posted an excellent article on his blog written by Alan Jacobs author of “The Narnian: The life and Imagination of CS Lewis.” I shall quote:

“As I think about these architectural deficiencies (of the blogosphere), and the deficiencies of my own character, I find myself meditating on a passage from a book by C. S. Lewis. In his great work of literary history, Poetry and Prose in the Sixteenth Century, Lewis devotes a passage to what he describes, with a certain savageness, as "that whole tragic farce which we call the history of the Reformation." For Lewis, the issues that divided Catholics and Protestants, that led to bloodshed all over Europe and to a seemingly permanent division of Christians from one another, "could have been fruitfully debated only between mature and saintly disputants in close privacy and at boundless leisure." Instead, thanks to the prevalence of that recent invention the printing press, and to the intolerance of many of the combatants, deep and subtle questions found their way into the popular press and were immediately transformed into caricatures and cheap slogans. After that there was no hope of peaceful reconciliation.

On a smaller scale, the same problems afflict the intellectual and moral environments of the blogs. There is no privacy: all conversations are utterly public. The arrogant, the ignorant, and the bullheaded constantly threaten to drown out the saintly, and for that matter the merely knowledgeable, or at least overwhelm them with sheer numbers. And the architecture of the blog (and its associated technologies like rss), with its constant emphasis on novelty, militates against leisurely conversations. It is no insult to the recent, but already cherished, institution of the blogosphere to say that blogs cannot do everything well. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, the blogosphere is the friend of information but the enemy of thought.”

Wow…very powerful, insightful, and convicting. Wade, thank you for the post.

I have a strong desire to address the issues before SB. But I also have an even stronger desire, to do so in a way that honors Christ. I have no desire for this blog to devolve into the kind of antagonism that is already too prevalent. A brawl draws a larger crowd than gentlemanly discussion, but I’m not interested in getting a crowd. So I have some new guidelines for our comments.

1. Any comment that attacks another person (questioning his integrity, his motives, or implying he is cognitively challenged) will be removed and the commenter will be asked to restate his comment.
2. Any anonymous comment will be removed unless the commenter gives his name.
3. Since, I too am subjective and overlook things, if a commenter thinks I have missed an unwholesome comment he shall e-mail me his concerns.

Further, all participants should assume those who differ with them are their brothers/sisters in Christ who have pure motives, love Jesus, and are sincerely searching for truth. Also, participants should NOT assume others are assailing them; therefore, statements like: “I hear you saying ______, is that what you are saying?” are encouraged.

Am I overlooking something? If so, help me out.

I ask your forgiveness as readers for not applying these rules sooner.

Now to a wider application. I agree with Dr. Jacobs, there is a problem. Could we be proactive with a solution? What do you think about creating some accountability on Blogs. Creating some sort of an organization of professional Christian Bloggers with standards concerning membership: distinguishing professionalism from sensationalism. Could we juror ourselves; where statements and implications (especially of organizations or individuals) in Posts must be FACTUAL? Could we design such an organization that is a witness to all and admired as an example of Christian conversation and conduct?

Such an organization would obviously require representatives from diverse perspectives.

I’m just thinking out loud. What do you think?

BR