Beware of the Blog!

The title seems almost self defeating – does it not? BEWARE OF THE BLOG. And now, I want you to read the rest of this blog – go figure.

I have been blessed by the proliferation of the blogosphere. So many avenues to gain insight and understanding on important issues. And yet, I warn that we must be careful when reading through blogs and their comments. I have recently been watching a couple of different blogs where the people making the comments are not really engaged with true subject of the blog itself and the whole thing degenerates into some kind of shark-feeding frenzy where people get misrepresented or maligned. And if the original author of the blog was not correct in his or her presentation of the subject – well, things get out of hand real fast.

The following is something I read in an article by Phil Johnson concerning Arminianism. Without getting into the particulars there – I thought that Phil said some interesting things in light of the way some people build their case or even their theology via the comments on a blog rather then through more careful research and study. Phil Johnson wrote:

With the rise of the Internet it’s easier than ever for self taught lay people to engage in theological dialogue and debate through internet forums. I think that’s mostly good, and I encourage it. But the Internet makes it easy for like minded but ignorant people to clump together and endlessly reinforce one another’s ignorance. And I fear that happens a lot.

How easy is it to simply “clump together and endlessly reinforce one another’s ignorance”? Again, Phil Johnson wrote:

My advice to young Calvinists is to learn theology from the historic mainstream Calvinist authors, not from blogs and discussion forums on the Internet. Some of the forums may be helpful because they direct you to more important resources. But if you think of the Internet as a surrogate for seminary, you run a very high risk of becoming unbalanced.

Now the principle is true regardless of whether we are talking about Calvinism or about the latest thing said by an Evangelical Leader. My advice is that we do our learning from the sources, not from blogs and discussion forums on the internet. I too believe that some of the forums are helpful, particularly as they direct us to the more important resources (particularly the Word of God). So, do use the blog but also beware of being too influenced or too dependent upon it.

Just some food for thought:

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed