Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Blogging

I wonder about blogging. I have been doing it a while and I like writing down my thoughts. I am just not sure what kinds of thoughts make the most sense. I have been blogging a lot of scriptural reflections lately. I like to contemplate scripture. Yet very few people read it. What is more, I am more sure people should read it. If folks want to read scriptural reflections I am thinking that mine are not the best use of their time. There are some very good biblical writers out there and my $0.02 is not worth much when the demand is pretty low.

Besides, people who are drawn by biblical reflections are typically already Christian. So you are not really encountering the culture or going our into the peripheries as Pope Francis likes to say. It is basically an inward focused activity.

You can get more readership by connecting with the pop culture. You can reflect on the latest news stories and movies and scandals and whatnot. The trouble is that takes a lot of effort. You need to be right up to date and on top of everything. I just don't have time to stay right on top of cultural happenings. I do like to reflect on movies and TV but I often don't see them until the public interest has cooled off a lot. I like it that way. It means I can pick and choose. It just means nobody is going to care much what I write about it after.

Then there are the arguments. I have argued with protestants quite a bit. I find it is hard to find any protestants who are at all interested in interacting with Catholic arguments. Many will argue with atheism because they know why they reject atheism and can express it in a compelling way. Most protestants don't understand why they are not Catholic. Why that is such a closed question in their minds. Engaging Catholic arguments just makes them uncomfortable. It does not lead to a productive conversation.

I do argue with atheists quite a bit. I don't do it here. It is quite hard to find places where charitable conversations with atheists happen. I know of a couple and I go there a lot. I like to show how Catholicism can stand up to the scrutiny of very smart atheist opponents. Of course, said opponents eventually loose patience. Catholicism is hard to argue with. It is relentlessly logical. If you don't want to become Catholic it can become quite frustrating. I thought so when I was a protestant. 

The other think I have done with some success is respond to other people's articles. Maybe I need to do that more. Find some things to respond to. I do think I need to be more positive. We will see.

1 comment:

  1. Good thoughts, Randy. Have felt very similarly myself.

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