beginnings

so, apparently "everyone" blogs these days. with political ambition, with theological imprecision, with devotional aspiration. seems rather perverse to me. the thought that someone, somewhere, even remotely cares what i think. rather perverse, indeed. a common excuse given for such an exercise (i lifted this from a friend's blog) is that "blogging is great because it not only gets you in the discipline of writing every day, but it also helps to think critically about issues as a Christian." i can buy the first motive. furthermore, i think it's a wonderful discipline to nurture. i feel that way even more as i strive to spend five to seven hours most weekdays working on my dissertation. discipline is the correct concept. something cathartic about expressing oneself on paper, though, even if it's simply a narrative setting up the eighteenth-century world. the second reason for blogging, namely, to think critically (thanks for not splitting that infinitive, by the way) about issues as a christian, is a little harder to buy. of course, i think we christians ought to do nothing less. but i suppose such a statement rubs me the wrong way because it assumes we could do anything less. then, when i think about, i guess we christians (especially of the evangelical stripe) all too often don't really think critically about issues. we are definitely good at criticizing both issues and those who have and make issues, but not too adept at thinking about such things and such people. so, maybe this blog thing serves a purpose after all. only way to find out is to begin...