As I'm a big fan of Christian apologetics and love defending the faith, I think now would be a good time to employ "self-apologetics" as it applies to my blog. That is: where do I get off espousing my views on these subjects.
First and foremost, they may be my views, but they are neither original or exclusive. I did not "discover" them as Newton did gravity, and there are a multitude who share them, as I learned through many hours of study over the last several years. In fact, part of my joy in these posts is being able to pass on wisdom from great men of God gleaned from Grace Gems.
This is a marvelous website containing sermons, stories, speeches, from many and varied brilliant Christian men and women from previous centuries. Although there are exceptions, most are from the 17th thru 19th centuries, with the most "modern" being Arthur Pink (circa 1940's). The famous (Spurgeon), to the obscure (at least to me), are represented. The amount of material by some of the more prolific writers alone is amazing. Multiply by the amount of authors and you pretty much cover all subjects: high theological to practical living. It's such a wonderful example of timeless truths as these people deal with so many of the issues we still deal with today.
As Ecclesiastes tells us "...there is nothing new under the sun." It's very interesting seeing this reality when you read of the concerns of these writers from the last 2-300 years. They're the same ones we have today: degradation of society, lukewarm (at best), churches, false prophets, and Second Timothy Christians.
One of the unique qualities of this site is the clarity of thought expressed by those not distracted by modern society. They were not waylaid by cell phones, e-mail, texts, twitter, face book, etc. Pretty much (excepting a letter), you weren't interacting with someone unless they were physically there. Amazing things can be accomplished with uninterrupted concentration. Heck - you need uninterrupted concentration to read their stuff!
Enough of the plug for Grace Gems; let's see if I can pull this post back on track.
The crux of my "right to write" is contained within this sentence. It is my (and yours), right to express thoughts. This is not just reserved for celebrities, highly educated, or "experts". Especially as these people often expound on subjects/issues with little more than opinion, as the areas are outside the realm of their knowledge/experience. Additionally, what constitutes an "expert" can be hard to discern. Which is all to say, everyone has the right to express thought; if it's done in the proper manner. Proper, being a method that is respectful of those who disagree, whereas they can easily avoid hearing or seeing your presentation (i.e., no yelling or bullhorns, bumper stickers, or T-shirts that portray profanity,pornography, or anything else clearly designed to incite. A blog is a great forum as it has to be actively sought out and purposely perused, all the while with the option of "clicking away" at anytime, or leaving a comment.
The blog also allows me to shine some light in the ever-encroaching darkness and spread salt on decaying society; can we ever have too much of that? Yes, to a certain degree, this is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but we are called to do so by Christ. The world is sinking into sin and ultimately will go under, but God commands us to "arrange" as many lives for Christ as we can while we're still afloat.
I must admit to the enjoyment in writing, especially when it is being read by others. In the movie Chariots of Fire, the actor portraying Eric Liddell says "...when I run, I feel his pleasure." Well, when I write, I feel his pleasure. I'm sure my writing is not as world class as Liddell's running, but the principle applies. Hopefully, in time, others too may get some pleasure from my writing.
Chariots of Fire (yes, in my opinion, one of the best movies ever made), has another scene where Eric Liddell is discussing with his sister why he wants to run in the Olympics, and then, go to China for missionary work. Telling her that God made him for a purpose (missionary work), he says that God also made him fast, and to not use that blessing for God's glory would be a sin. Again, not to equate my the quality of my gift with Liddell's, but I do feel a certain compulsion or duty to use it for God's purpose. I don't consider it a gift of evangelism as my blog is directed to believers, but more for encouragement, as my hope is that some will be energized knowing there are others that feel as they do.
Let's continue telling others about Christ, and what it means to be a Follower. For those of us who are actually being salt in these decaying times; never stop. God's mercy through Christians is why there is still much to be thankful for in this terrible world.
