How To Read Blogs

Rule Number One: Use your eyeballs.

Sorry I haven’t p-p-p-posted in like chika-chika-4 days. I have been white-water rafting in the grand canyon, killing bald eagles, and dressing in their skin. Actually I was at Franciscan University, which really amounts to the same thing, meeting new people, (including some fellow bloggers, like the ever wonderful Michelle who writes at Catholic Unveiled, and deserves your attention, AND support, for she is heading off to Mexico to live the Catholic missionary life) getting my dorm, picking my classes (Milton, English Renaissance, Creative Writing, Latin and English 102) and reading Truman Capote in the car. Have you read that guy? He’s great, like a nihilistic, homosexual man version of Flannery O’Connor on drugs. Then I went to New Jersey to see Dispatch, and read C.S Lewis’ The Four Loves and George Weigel’s Letters to a Young Catholic, which is worth reading for the opening chapter alone.

But Marc, you say, idly eating your gerbil, this post is entitled How To Read Blogs, not My Life, and I say yes, way to be that guy and point it out in front of everyone. So I shall inform you:

Reading Catholic writers – in general – should take into account why they are writing in the first place. And it’s a very simple reason: to convert the entire world to Catholicism. This is especially true of blogs, for – being so small and insignificant – their writers naturally have a massive Napoleon Complex, and thus the most unattainable goals. So upon reading a darn good blog post, and in particular an assertive, controversial or argumentative post, I suggest rule number two:

Rule Number Two: Send disagreeable posts to those who might disagree with them. If Brantly Millegan brilliantly craps all over Calvinism, well then, send his brilliance to some Calvinists, or else what’s the point? If Shea writes that Corapi is full of corapi, what good is it to the world to have 700 million comments saying, “Mark, you’re right. Absolutely. I like your beard.” Now, you all have that atheist friend, that heretic sister, that incredibly liberal facebook acquaintance that you can’t unfriend because he’s your mother’s brother’s wife’s massage therapist, and they, like ourselves, need to be set free by the truth. Amen? Obviously, don’t share the truth like a jerk, saying “Hey, this guy shows how dumb you are!” (especially not towards atheists, they’re touchy), but instead with love, real intellectual hunger, excitement for the truth, and vague opening statements like, “Hey, thought of you while I read this…” It will start a conversation, and that’s what we, as Catholics, want. To build relationships that will lead others, and ourselves, closer to the heart of Christ.

So a little exercise. From now on let us make it our goal to share with one disagreeing person any blog post that convicts us as true. Why not? It might convert the entire world.

Anyways, my entire blogging career has been validated. My computer could explode right now and I’d be happy as a clam. Why? A comment on Why Aren’t You Catholic?.

“Thank you for asking this question. Since my answers turned out to be just excuses, I have signed up for RCIA.”- Otepoti

Good luck, Otepoti! I will be praying for you!