My inspiration for this blog seems to be drying up a bit!
I am passionate about my faith and want to share it with people. Like anyone else though, I also have questions and doubts about things. My intention here was to try to be honest about the things I don't know and have doubts about, as well as the things I feel more confident about. This isn't an easy place to do this though - its strength and also its weakness is that it can be read by anyone!
I like the fact that this blog (potentially at least) has a mixed audience. I have different things to say to different people, but my aim, broadly speaking, is to communicate thoughts and ideas that will make sense and be relevant to believers across the spectrum, as well as to atheists, agnostics and anyone in between. This doesn't mean I always want everyone to like what I have to say - I hope to provoke (positively if possible) as well as to inspire.
For non-believers in the Christian faith I would like to show that:
For believers I would like to:
This was my intention, but I'm running out of ideas! Also, as I've said, it's hard to be honest about the stuff I don't know or am unsure about because it makes me feel vulnerable - I'd far rather stick to subjects where I feel like I've got it all figured out (or at least am able to more or less give that impression!).
So a question for my readers then - assuming there are still some people reading this who are interested in what I have to say - do you have any questions? What subjects would you like me to write about? How do you think it's going so far? What should I do differently?
As I said earlier, I'm passionate about my faith and want to share it with people, so no offence intended to Christians, but I am particularly interested in the opinions of any non-believers who might be reading this - although believers are of course also welcome to contribute!
I am passionate about my faith and want to share it with people. Like anyone else though, I also have questions and doubts about things. My intention here was to try to be honest about the things I don't know and have doubts about, as well as the things I feel more confident about. This isn't an easy place to do this though - its strength and also its weakness is that it can be read by anyone!
I like the fact that this blog (potentially at least) has a mixed audience. I have different things to say to different people, but my aim, broadly speaking, is to communicate thoughts and ideas that will make sense and be relevant to believers across the spectrum, as well as to atheists, agnostics and anyone in between. This doesn't mean I always want everyone to like what I have to say - I hope to provoke (positively if possible) as well as to inspire.
For non-believers in the Christian faith I would like to show that:
- Contrary to what many people think, it is deeply relevant to every day life and to the wider world.
- Some Christians are capable of thinking sensibly, logically and critically about their faith and the world they live in!
- Despite the terrible damage that has often been done to people and to the world in the name of "Christianity", when properly understood and applied the Christian gospel is and always has been a message of hope and liberation.
For believers I would like to:
- Challenge some of the unhelpful (in my opinion) dogmas which have become very prevalent in certain Christian circles.
- Encourage them to think critically about the world and about their faith.
- Encourage them to think about what their faith looks like from outside, and how they might communicate its message more effectively to those who don't agree with them.
This was my intention, but I'm running out of ideas! Also, as I've said, it's hard to be honest about the stuff I don't know or am unsure about because it makes me feel vulnerable - I'd far rather stick to subjects where I feel like I've got it all figured out (or at least am able to more or less give that impression!).
So a question for my readers then - assuming there are still some people reading this who are interested in what I have to say - do you have any questions? What subjects would you like me to write about? How do you think it's going so far? What should I do differently?
As I said earlier, I'm passionate about my faith and want to share it with people, so no offence intended to Christians, but I am particularly interested in the opinions of any non-believers who might be reading this - although believers are of course also welcome to contribute!
Hi Dan
ReplyDeleteMy modest opinion is that you have set your sights very high. Your aspirations are good, whole and noble, but they demand a different medium, possibly.
Just be you. You are a great bloke with important and valuable things to say. Regularity brings its own rewards; write about the absurd, the serious, the challenging, the irrelevant, the amusing. Talk about all of it, and through your writing your message will seep forth.
Share your work, through Twitter or Facebook - comments themselves will source further material. It is alright to be annoyed, flippant, grumpy, frivolous - if that is how you are feeling. Let the world know who you are, not what your agenda is. One follows from the other if you get it right. If you get that the wrong way around, your agenda will kill you!
God bless, and good luck!
David - thanks for your wise comments, and for being so encouraging!
ReplyDelete"Just be you" - easy to say, hard for me to do - especially in such a public place! I find it much easier to write carefully constructed mini-essays than to just say straight out what I think, especially when once I've said it it's out there and it stays out there for anyone to see!
I think you're talking sense though, and I will try to do that a bit more and to blog a bit more regularly on a more random assortment of topics.
So those are my new objectives, in addition to those above which I hope will still fit in somewhere - although to me, the new objectives actually feel more difficult!