I haven't stopped by CenturiOn's blog in a while, but it seems he's taken a break from swimming in cyberspace. He posted the following:
"I've been on vacation for almost two weeks, which was nice. However, part of that time was spent assessing personal priorities, and it turns out that as much as I like blogging and believe I have something to say, it's at the bottom of the list of personal priorities -- and things which I say I value more than the blog are getting pushed out. For example, I have a lot of weight to lose; you can't lose weight if you don't exercise, and I only have a fixed number of hours in the day. I also have two children who deserve to have a better Dad than the one who sits in front of that stupid flat screen monitor half the time, and I have a wife who works much harder than the average wife who deserves not to have to work that hard -- she deserves to have a better husband than I am.There are also the issues of whether I am doing in real life what I blog so passionately about here, and again there being only so many hours in the day, you get the idea. What about my church? What about that trailer park? What about my pastor? What about the Gospel and lost people?"
Frank is absolutely correct about priorities. I likewise have struggled with which way best to use my time. It's always a constant battle. For those of you who keep an active blog, you know how much time simply vanishes once one sits behind the keyboard. This is one of the reasons I limit myself to not interacting with most of the blogback comments. It takes long enough to put posts together, and interacting with multiple comments from multiple people takes equally as long, if not longer. However, I do appreciate the comments, and I do read them.
James,
ReplyDeleteI just want to say that I very much appreciate you blog comments. By you putting selective quotes from the Reformers in context, I've begun to realize that Catholic apologists, lay ones included, are either liars, deceivers, or their thinking has been grossly deformed by their allegiance to Rome.
Interestingly, you, Dr. White, and Orthodox apologist Michael Whelton (I highly recommend his book, Popes and Patriarchs), by doing nothing other than putting the comments of Fathers in context thereby provide devastating arguments against Rome's claims!
Another thing, your work on Luther has revealed that many Catholic apologists simply do not take into consideration historical or chronological context. It's like Dr. White said: as long as it defneds Holy Mother Church!
Keep fighting the good fight, James. Catholic apologists are masters at marketing and capitalism, i.e., they know that the lay people is where it's all at.
I don't blog every day for that reason, and sometimes I go a week or two or even longer between posts because there is life & responsibilities, so you have to respect that.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's possible to do it all, sometimes it's not.
A big part of it is why we blog--if it's all about us then as Christians we are not living up to it as we ought to.
In my case I see it as informing and encouraging believers, (although I do get visits and comments from others as well.)
And I have received comments on how a post was encouraging or informative.
A lot of it can depend on whetehr we want a blog read by thousands or if we're content with whatever readership we have. Mine isn't large, but it has helped others, so I will continue it, at least for now. We all have to make that decision for ourselves, and so I respect any decision made in that manner, such as yours to limit interaction with comments.
I enjoy this blog. It addresses issues I deal with sometimes given my background. I know others with RC families as well, so I appreciate this blog and it's overall tone in addressing things.
There are too many poorly done sites and blogs on RCism that are over the top, indulge in conspiracies, and don't deal in reality. Too many take a hateful tone. We need more that just deal with the real issues. So you are an antidote to the poorly done sites that deal with RCism.
Dude, that's why my last blog entry has been in March. I really struggle with finding the time to blog and participate in many forums. I have limited myself to one Catholic-Protestant discussion forum and NTRM (although its been ages since I've posted there). I've been working on a response to Matt1618's rebuttal to my Jerome piece, but again, due to time, It's been "bits and pieces." Part of me is tempted to let it lie, because he really didn't refute anything, but the other part of me sees how he misused some sources (whether intentionally or unintentionally I do not know) and I feel like I have to respond. Yet, I stray. I consider family, church, and the job my priorities and "blogging" is down there somewhere. I do believe that blogs of our nature do have an impact on those seeking answers, therefore, it is ministry, but it's tough to find the time. Maybe I should start looking at it a bit more as ministry?
ReplyDeletePeace,
Ray