Or alternately – Why bother? This may seem like a silly question. After all, you have only to go to my home page to read that, “I created this blog as a way to share some of my thoughts on life and faith, and also as a way to share my journey with others.” There you have it, question answered.
Except that it doesn’t – not really.
I have been blogging for three months now, and I can tell you that it takes a tremendous amount of time for me to do what I do. On average I spend eight to twelve hours per post on research, writing, editing, etc. And let’s face it, there are others out there writing about the same subjects who are far more intelligent and articulate than I am. So, why do I choose to blog, and where am I going with it?
Let’s start with the why. Why do I blog? Basically to get it out. Anytime you can drag your inner monologue out of the dark recesses of your brain, get it down in a concrete form, and make it visible – dust it off, expose it to the light, let others take a look at it – that’s self examination. Transparency. Catharsis. And when I began this blog, I think that I began it largely for me.
I moved my family, changed careers, converted to Catholicism, got a vasectomy reversal – I’ve been processing a lot over the last couple of years and it needed to come out. At a certain level it’s as simple as that. I’m a writer, and it helps me to, “get it down on paper” so to speak.
There’s an idiom that our grandkids won’t understand the etymology of!
These changes, especially my conversion to Catholicism and my deepening faith, have really impacted the way I view the world. They have changed the way I look at Christianity in general, and the Protestant faith in particular. As my beliefs have changed I have had to re-examine my philosophy, theology, and morality, and re-evaluate my stances on certain “social” issues such as contraception, divorce and remarriage, and homosexuality. Blogging has been a indispensable way for me to wrestle with these theological arguments, philosophical views, and societal issues while inviting others to join in the conversation.
This idea of interacting with others who may have different perspectives and opinions, or even other facets to add to the conversation, is one of the primary areas that I would like to see improve as I move forward with this blog. Currently, most of the discussions that I have with others about my posts take place away from this site either at Facebook or through private emails and instant messages. I would love to have more people interacting with both myself and the larger audience that reads the posts at this site. Please don’t hesitate to leave your comments, thoughts, opinions, and reflections in the comment area below. We can all learn from each other while we encourage and exhort each other along the way!
I’ve been accused of being too lengthy in my posts. Too deep, too intellectual. My wife says that I am too “cerebral.” One person wrote to me saying, “So let me ask you a yes or no question and I don’t want a thesis….” It would appear that I am developing a bit of a reputation 😉
Having said that, this is another area where I hope to improve. I am beginning to branch into more content that comes from the heart and not merely from the head. I am starting to incorporate personal experiences and life lessons along with apologetics, and I hope that the end result will be a more balanced blog. I’m not saying that you won’t still find lengthy theological treatises here – I’ve found that often times the most important questions in life are far more nuanced than a simple yes or no – but I am hoping that you will also be able to find other content that resonates with you – even if you aren’t interested in lengthy discourses.
But that does shed light on another one of the main reasons why I choose to blog.
I write to change minds.
First and foremost my own. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”1
But I also write to change the minds of the people who may read my posts. I believe that truth is absolute. As a matter of fact, “I believe that truth is an accurate representation of a fundamental reality of which God is the very foundation.”
In other words, there is no such thing as your truth versus my truth, there is simply the truth, and all of our personal opinions and beliefs either conform to it or they don’t.
Because of this, I believe that these conversations are worth having.
But if I can’t change your mind, I at least hope to change your misconceptions. That seems fair enough right? You don’t have to agree with me, but at least don’t accuse me of believing something that I don’t. Same thing goes for the Catholic Church. You can disagree with her theology, philosophy, Scriptural interpretation, and teaching – but at least disagree with what she actually believes and teaches and not with what you think she believes and teaches.
Basically, don’t be lazy. I’m not interested in your ad hominem attacks, false dichotomies, or straw man arguments. Let’s disagree where we really disagree – but let’s not disagree over false misconceptions. In other words, you don’t have to agree with the Catholic doctrine of infallibility, but trust me when I tell you what infallibility doesn’t mean.
Honest questions are welcome here, as are honest disagreements 🙂 If I get the same question often enough, or if it’s a good one, I’ll probably write a post dealing with it. So feel free to ask, “Do you follow the pope or Jesus?” or, “Why do you pray to saints?” – who knows, it may make for a great post!
Romans 12:2 ↩
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