What biblical principles should guide Christian bloggers?
That is the question tackled by Bryan Chapell over on The Gospel Coalition. It’s quite a lengthy piece, but thought-provoking. I found the following particularly pertinent:
I recognize that the ethics of the internet favor the democratization and equalization of all commentary. A wiki-mindset assumes that the larger the universe of opinion, the greater the likelihood that truth will bubble up. But the Bible does not judge truth by consensus or establish morality by popularity.
[.....]
A blogger may contend that he or she is not responsible for what others say in such open forums. But this defense can be compromised by the blogger’s self-interests. At sites known for their edginess, shutting down or refereeing incendiary comments may damage the popularity of the blog.
The “cock-fight fascination” that draws visitors to religious controversy creates ethical pressures for Christian bloggers who believe they best fulfill their mission by garnering more attention for their point of view. The Bible calls them to seek peace, but they have to multiply controversy (or allow commenters to do so) in order to keep their blog visitable and viable (Rom 12:18; Heb 12:14-15).
We will not have means to navigate these issues unless we again agree that the Bible applies in the blogosphere (Ps 24:1). With that agreement, we can examine biblical responsibilities that we personally assume when we post on the internet.
The biblical ethic that primarily should bind us is not maximizing pageviews but faithfulness. If faithfulness should require our failure to succeed in worldly terms, then loyalty to heaven’s priorities demands that we fail rather than disregard Scripture.
October 7th, 2012 at 8:31 am
“A wiki-mindset assumes that the larger the universe of opinion, the greater the likelihood that truth will bubble up”
Yes. As the saying goes, ‘eat ****, a million flies can’t be wrong’. And if Wikipedia, the encyclopedia of the people, said the Earth was flat everyone that uses Wikipedia would start believing it was flat simply because Wikipedia says so, and woe betide anyone that dares to dispute the voice of the people.
“A blogger may contend that he or she is not responsible for what others say in such open forums. But this defense can be compromised by the blogger’s self-interests. At sites known for their edginess, shutting down or refereeing incendiary comments may damage the popularity of the blog.”
Absolutely, and seen enough of that myself on some blogs.
October 7th, 2012 at 8:45 am
I knew you’d like the Wiki comment, I actually thought of you when posting it
October 8th, 2012 at 7:43 pm
A tremendous article, with all sorts of good stuff in it.
And yes, if the Wikipedia cabal said the world was flat, the weenies would believe it, those who tried to correct it would be told to “build consensus” instead of changing it, and would probably be banned, and media journalists would write articles parroting it.
The Wikipediocracy forum is well worth visiting for examples of Wikipedia idiocy.
October 8th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
[...] Echurch Blog asks what biblical principles should guide bloggers, referencing a tremendous (if long) article by Bryan Chappell over at Gospel Coalition. It’s full of good things: [...]