It’s a crime that we have not linked to John Schroeder of Blogotional more here at Mere O. John has been one of the main supporters of Mere O since our inception and has never hesitated to link to us when we actually have something to say.
His latest offering on the misplaced priorities of Christian bloggers is the sort of post that reminds me why I read his blog every day. John’s analysis smacks of the sort of common-sense wisdom and insight that is obviously uncommon.
Obviously not everyone can sustain hard arguments or discussions with people over long periods of time. One of the things I’ve learned in discussions with Jim is that researching information and thinking of arguments can be incredibly time consuming–much easier to simply rehash everything I already know.
But if Christian bloggers are to have any significant impact on anyone outside the tight-knit community, then we must overcome this tendency, take on issues beyond us, and become learners. Is it possible that the Christian blogging community could actually be a community of scholar-activists? The problem with discussing the cursing of Mark Driscoll is that compared to other issues, it’s flat-out uninteresting. Who cares? There’s real thoughts left to be learned about Catholicism, or naturalism, or anything, and in a world with only so much time, it seems more beneficial and productive to start with larger thoughts than with trivialities.
Yes, this is an extended “Amen!” to John’s brilliant post. That’s what I do best: say what other people say, except longer, more confusing, and more boring.
Good link, Matt. His post helps. Here’s my comment at his site:
“It is odd that a time when our culture is falling apart and the hearts and minds of the Western church is in peril, we argue about what some pastor (who seems to do good work on the whole) may have said. C.S. Lewis saw this 50 years ago and therefore he presented “Mere Christianity”, a book profoundly impacting my life and the lives of a plethora of Christians since. Perspective is so difficult for us – as it was for the Fundamentalists of the early 20th century who faced many of the same battles we do now. May the eyes of our minds be enlightened to fight the right battles at the right times and blessings to John Schroeder for pointing it out.”