I didn’t realize what courage it took for those bloggers who have posted the beliefs they hold so dearly until I am now trying to myself.
I was raised in the protestant church - southern Baptist and nondenominational. And in my later years had experiences in the Assemblies of God and Presbyterian (PCA and USA) churches.
I believe in the tenets of the Apostle’s and Nicene Creeds and believe the Bible is the Word of God given to us for guidance, inspiration, truth and hope as we live our lives here on earth.
So much of me lately wants to get down to the basics, I guess you would say the basics of Christ’s teaching – love God, love others, give, live simply, let today and tomorrow take care of itself, take care of the poor, the widow and the orphan. It’s so simple and so powerful.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Revisiting Blog Standards and Expectations
When I began this blog, I did so for a variety of reasons. The main motivation was to create a forum through which I could process and share my beliefs. The intention of the function then was that those close to me would have a deeper insight into who I am and what I believe. This was never intended to be a platform through which to propound a particular belief. My hope was that, hopefully, in time others would share what they believe as well. Here is a quote from my first blog that reaffirms my original intended context for this blog.
"This [blog]is not intended to be place of argument [or polemics] but rather a place of sharing what we believe or are thinking. This page is set up on the presuppostion that those who contribute realize that they have not arrived. By this I mean they concur that knowledge has not reached its culminating point in the now past 20th century. They concur that knowledge and understanding of the physical and spiritual world around us is fluid and never reaches that point where it is absolute in its shape."
What is written on this blog should be written introspectively, not as an attack on what someone believes. A person should feel safe to post their ideas without retribution through harsh accusatory language. Not safe in the sense that all written here will match up with your beliefs or be necessarily comfortable.
Over the past few months, many people have wanted or requested to be able to ask questions in respect to blogs I or others have posted. In concession to this request I put forth some new guidelines which created room for questions to be posted in the comment section. The spirit of this was that a blogger could look at the question in the comment section and choose to or not to create a new blog in response to posited questions. After time had passed and few people were contributing to the blog, I pushed the envelope and opened up the comment section to anyone online.
To be fair to Anonymous, I have okayed every one of his posted comments. I did this mainly as a way to achieve a greater diversity in the views posted on this blog. I should have monitored the attitude of these posts more closely, but I did not. Some people may feel more comfortable posting using an anonymous but it should only be in the form of a simple question or in the form of a statement of "I believe" belief.
In the future a writer should write only about what they believe from a first person perspective. You should attempt at some level to explain your beliefs, if possible. The hardest part of this blog is that it requires one to put into words their beliefs. This is not easy task. Asking questions about someone else is much easier than saying what you believe, hence the obvious temptation to always respond with questions. My challenge to all participants now is that you only reply to a person's comment or blog with a blog that states your beliefs introspectively. This can be equally effective at posing other points of view. Do not approach this site as a way to persuade someone to a new point of view or as a mode of persuasion. Let a person read your beliefs and decide for themselves. I will post new guidelines soon to the right where my beliefs are currently posted.
"This [blog]is not intended to be place of argument [or polemics] but rather a place of sharing what we believe or are thinking. This page is set up on the presuppostion that those who contribute realize that they have not arrived. By this I mean they concur that knowledge has not reached its culminating point in the now past 20th century. They concur that knowledge and understanding of the physical and spiritual world around us is fluid and never reaches that point where it is absolute in its shape."
What is written on this blog should be written introspectively, not as an attack on what someone believes. A person should feel safe to post their ideas without retribution through harsh accusatory language. Not safe in the sense that all written here will match up with your beliefs or be necessarily comfortable.
Over the past few months, many people have wanted or requested to be able to ask questions in respect to blogs I or others have posted. In concession to this request I put forth some new guidelines which created room for questions to be posted in the comment section. The spirit of this was that a blogger could look at the question in the comment section and choose to or not to create a new blog in response to posited questions. After time had passed and few people were contributing to the blog, I pushed the envelope and opened up the comment section to anyone online.
To be fair to Anonymous, I have okayed every one of his posted comments. I did this mainly as a way to achieve a greater diversity in the views posted on this blog. I should have monitored the attitude of these posts more closely, but I did not. Some people may feel more comfortable posting using an anonymous but it should only be in the form of a simple question or in the form of a statement of "I believe" belief.
In the future a writer should write only about what they believe from a first person perspective. You should attempt at some level to explain your beliefs, if possible. The hardest part of this blog is that it requires one to put into words their beliefs. This is not easy task. Asking questions about someone else is much easier than saying what you believe, hence the obvious temptation to always respond with questions. My challenge to all participants now is that you only reply to a person's comment or blog with a blog that states your beliefs introspectively. This can be equally effective at posing other points of view. Do not approach this site as a way to persuade someone to a new point of view or as a mode of persuasion. Let a person read your beliefs and decide for themselves. I will post new guidelines soon to the right where my beliefs are currently posted.
Positive Prospects - Part 4
I believe the first time I began to realize in a real tangible way how life in the greater world did not parallel my experiences in America occurred during my travels to St. Vincent Island in the Grenadines. Here I witnessed severe poverty. The indigenous people, earning dollars on the month, were living in tin-roof lean-to's with no electricity and no running water.
These people clung tightly to my group of visitors, and in just a few short weeks I learned of the hard lives these people--under the Queen--have grown to endure as a normative experience. The disparity between the indigenous people in the rural portions of the island and the wealthy people in the urban areas was striking to me. I sympathized with these indigents and appreciated their desire to feel valued and important. This trip, I believe, was the cornerstone of my belief in social justice.
A second important experience in forming my beliefs about social justice occurred during my freshman year in college at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. Here I spent time on a weekly basis at a juvenille delinquent holding cell facility. Here students waited to stand before a judge or to be transferred to a more secure facility.
During my time there, I engaged in activities such as playing cards, lifting weights, playing basketball, and simply talking with these delinquents. During these interactions I encountered many deliquents who over time became to me a people faced with many hard choices to make on a daily basis. These hard choices were in the midst of an environment that did not necessarily include models of making good decisions if models existed at all. The demographic of this hodling cell at that time was nearly 100% African American. I grew to understand that the story that brought these children to this place in their lives was not a simple one dictated simply by wrong choices. This experience began to set in stone for me the a strong belief in a society that strives to be intentional about creating opportunities for African Americans. Because of this experience, I have a deeper intuitive understanding that the blessings I have in life are not simply deserved due to my own hard work and good choices. My circumstances and the accident of my birthplace have had a lot to do with it.
These people clung tightly to my group of visitors, and in just a few short weeks I learned of the hard lives these people--under the Queen--have grown to endure as a normative experience. The disparity between the indigenous people in the rural portions of the island and the wealthy people in the urban areas was striking to me. I sympathized with these indigents and appreciated their desire to feel valued and important. This trip, I believe, was the cornerstone of my belief in social justice.
A second important experience in forming my beliefs about social justice occurred during my freshman year in college at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. Here I spent time on a weekly basis at a juvenille delinquent holding cell facility. Here students waited to stand before a judge or to be transferred to a more secure facility.
During my time there, I engaged in activities such as playing cards, lifting weights, playing basketball, and simply talking with these delinquents. During these interactions I encountered many deliquents who over time became to me a people faced with many hard choices to make on a daily basis. These hard choices were in the midst of an environment that did not necessarily include models of making good decisions if models existed at all. The demographic of this hodling cell at that time was nearly 100% African American. I grew to understand that the story that brought these children to this place in their lives was not a simple one dictated simply by wrong choices. This experience began to set in stone for me the a strong belief in a society that strives to be intentional about creating opportunities for African Americans. Because of this experience, I have a deeper intuitive understanding that the blessings I have in life are not simply deserved due to my own hard work and good choices. My circumstances and the accident of my birthplace have had a lot to do with it.
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