Happy Birthday, Blog!
by Suzanne Hadley on 07/19/2007 at 1:38 PM
An article on WSJ.online celebrated the 10th anniversary of the blog this week. Besides the fact that blogging is no longer for computer geeks but is now the tool of actors, CEOs and moms, the article discussed the downside of sloppy discourse:
In the decade since their conception, blogs, once a smorgasbord of links, have evolved into vehicles for a fuller, more forceful and opinionated prose. Not all of it has been lovely to behold, or even edifying. Inevitably, there has been bombast, verbosity and exposure to the public eye of thoughts that, ideally, should have remained locked inside fevered heads. (The impact of blogs on public discourse has included, I contend, the emergence of a form of "oral blogging," noticeable at seminars and the like, where people who might once have asked brisk questions are now empowered by the blog form to hold forth at length, with little attempt at self-editing.)
At the advent of the Boundless Line, I considered the believer's responsibility when engaging in the blogosphere in my article "Blog Responsibly." Christian bloggers Carolyn McCulley of Solo Femininity and Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds offered some points to ponder when blogging and commenting. Here are a few of the gems:
Carolyn on grace: "Christian blogging is often characterized by gracelessness. As we write we should not be above the commands of Proverbs 31 to open our mouths with kindness and love, instruction and the law of wisdom on our tongues."
Justin on maturity: "A lot of people assume that just because they can blog they should blog. There are probably a lot of people out there who shouldn't be blogging. The Bible has a lot to say about teachers and their increased level of accountability to God. The more you blog — and the more people read your blog — the more responsibility you have."
Carolyn on self-control: "In a digital world, we have to work very hard to refuse the pressure of the immediate. Just because you can hit publish, doesn't mean you should. If you're questioning your motives, there's nothing so important that you can't wait 24 hours to post it."
Justin on the spiritual potential for blogs: "Without the blogosphere, people like Tim [Challies] would just be reading books in their offices. And yet people keep going back to his blog day after day because they find it helpful and informative and edifying. We need more people like Tim out there: people who are godly and have good minds and can speak the truth winsomely."
These are good reminders for me. And, as the Line approaches its first birthday, I'd like to challenge all of us to make our conversations here edifying, grace-filled and self-controlled, so that we may continue to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
1. John said the following at 6:24 PM on Jul 19
In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Proverbs 10:19
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. Eccl. 5:2
One suspects Solomon would have been a blogger had the technology existed.