Why do we blog, and whither do we link…

Some random thoughts for a random afternoon.

I’ve spent a few minutes looking around and adding yet more links to my blogrolls. I’ve asked myself if they are getting too long, but I’ve decided that, at least now, they aren’t. Those links, at least to those who aren’t hobo-bloggers (to steal Andrew’s Alan’s term for those who rarely update their blogs), all contain food for thought of some sort–theological, political, practical, humerous. They aren’t uniform in their points of view, though they are heavily weighted to subjects of interest to your truly (such as Presbyterian and Reformed Theology, for instance).

Russell Smith (found over in the emergent-esque blogroll) has an interesting post up about integrity in linking and blogging. One quote:

Simply put, our blogging should seek to edify and build up the saints, not engage in a tough-man free for all of words and attack. Sometimes that edification may be in the form of challenging cultural or institutional assumptions — but it must always be done with the aim of edifying rather than scoring points. The question still remains — is there a place for prophetic wrath?  I welcome your thoughts on that question.

I had lunch with Not Prince Hamlet a while ago and we talked a bit about why we blog. Is it to engage in serious conversation? Perhaps, but honest conversation on this medium (viz. blogging, but I also mean the internet more generally) is next to impossible. Conversation requires trust, and its hard to trust someone you can’t see, can’t hear vocal inflection in their speaking, and so on. And it is so easy to feel shielded by this monitor and thereby forget that this is a human enterprise, and the people reading this are, indeed, people, children of God, endowed thereby with worth and demanding of moral respect.

There’s also the notion of trying to contribute to the discussion of ideas. I like that, and that’s a major reason why I blog. Its an interesting question, for sure….

In his post, Russell points to several sites that edify, challenge, instruct. They’re interesting, particularly Dear Church. As Russell describes it: “this website…tells stories of 20 somethings who have left the church because they’ve been so badly burned. Some of their complaints are grossly unfair — however as you read on you may find yourself being deeply challenged. Worth a look-see.”

Take a look…