blogs should be full of meaning and not hurt

In Victorian Britain, so we are told, children were to be ‘seen and not heard’. They were to maintain a discrete distance from their parents and only make their presence felt when it was requested. Until now I have always taken that at face value. But I have just realised that it is a very middle/upper class view of things. Dickens’ children were anything but quiet. But many of them were from underprivileged backgrounds where presumably they were permitted or even required to be noisy and robust in the presence of adults.

This rather pathetic epiphany got me thinking about other ‘facts’ I take at face value. In particular, the items we are fed by the news media. This is not going to turn into a bashing of any particular conveyor of news (printed, spoken or broadcast visually). Rather it is a reminder that usually other people decide what is important for us to know. If you doubt this, I suggest you look at the different headlines on the front of the national newspapers today. Editors choose what’s newsworthy, and they decide what is most important for us to consider. We choose what to read, watch or listen to, but someone else has already narrowed that choice down for us.

We may be happy with that, but at least let’s be aware. This week has seen the launch of the online Baptist Times (www.baptisttimes.co.uk) which also has an editor. Rather kindly they have a section that mentions Baptist bloggerists like me – thank you BT.

People suggest that the world wide web is the only place that is uncensored and provides unfettered access to the truth. As they used to say on the X Files, ‘The truth is out there.’ But we are also told the lie that truth is relative, which means that nobody can criticise anyone else for their point of view. Tell that to the people who write comments on some of the online news media! Especially, it seems, those who want to claim intellectual superiority by bashing Christian faith. It seems that truth is only relative if you don’t disagree with it.

Jesus said that ‘The truth will set you free.’ Which truth was he talking about? Discuss…

Be blessed, be a blessing.

True genius is knowing how many lightbulbs it takes to change a person.

(If that seems surreal, think about how cartoonists portray ideas)