{"id":4250,"date":"2010-11-24T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-24T08:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/11\/why-i-blog.html"},"modified":"2010-11-24T08:58:00","modified_gmt":"2010-11-24T08:58:00","slug":"why-i-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/11\/why-i-blog.html","title":{"rendered":"Why I blog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

As I\u2019ve said, I more or less started this because some folks suggested I write about the history lessons I teach.\u00a0 Not being a professional writer in any stretch of the imagination, I decided I should do something to force my otherwise lazy fingers to start putting down in words what my thoughts are on various subjects.\u00a0 This keeps me at least somewhat disciplined.\u00a0 Hopefully it helps me get a little better.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Truth be told, most posts are just observations or thoughts off the top of my head.\u00a0 Due to years of schooling, writing sermons, writing articles for church newsletters and other sources, and generally writing this or that, I\u2019ve developed a rather speedy typing ability.\u00a0 So I can sit down and pop off a two page reflection in about a minute or so.\u00a0 I will typically do a spell check, and that\u2019s about it.\u00a0 So they are often very raw thoughts.\u00a0 Down the road, I may reduce the number of posts and work more on developing the ideas, as well as doing a little more editing.\u00a0 Right now, the more things I write, the more folks come by to see what\u2019s here.\u00a0 It\u2019s the best way I have \u2013 being an otherwise nobody that has no other avenue into the public forum \u2013 to get my blog out there (unless you visitors like to promote my blog to others \u2013 hint, hint).<\/p>\n

But in all of this, one surprising benefit of the blog has come to my attention.\u00a0 It\u2019s the comments people write.\u00a0 Yes, even the ones that call me to task.\u00a0 Sometimes they point out that I may have said something in a hasty way, as a visitor named Alex caught a few weeks ago.\u00a0 Sometimes they give insights to me as a blogger.\u00a0 And sometimes they just hit one out of the ballpark and give me something to think about, reflect on, and build on for future thoughts and posts. <\/p>\n

Take this little gem.\u00a0 I had posted on the Archbishop Pietro Sambi\u2019s call for us to evangelize, praising the emphasis on outreach that my Protestant gene often years for.\u00a0 Then one of my readers, S_Cobbler, posts this in the comments section:<\/p>\n

And yet when we show any sign of taking our morality seriously, it\u2019s called phariseeism.<\/p>\n

Dunno whether that plays into this or not, but I think you may count me in the group that says we have to start by reevangelizing the Catholics. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking on that since the post.\u00a0 I\u2019m still formulating a response to that.\u00a0 I\u2019ll do that sometimes.\u00a0 A reader some months ago asked me to elaborate on the Church\u2019s teachings on justification, and I\u2019m still working that one out.\u00a0 Despite my tendency to pop things off the top of my head, there are times when I take a little extra to make sure things are correct \u2013 especially where theology, doctrine, or history are concerned.\u00a0 Things I tend to take seriously.\u00a0 \u00a0I\u2019ll get back to this.\u00a0 It hits, I think if I\u2019m reading it right, on a subject I\u2019ve noticed since becoming Catholic.\u00a0 When I\u2019m ready, I\u2019ll post my thoughts.\u00a0 But all because of this comment I\u2019ve been able to revisit some ideas and think of new things, realize there are others who may agree with me on some topics, and generally (and hopefully) become a better Catholic thinker because of it.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Bring on the comments!\u00a0 They\u2019re the best gift I get from this blog, and what really has been that hidden blessing I wasn\u2019t counting on when I started the whole thing.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

P.S. This also shows that any correspondence to me, whether by email or in the comments, is fair game for any future posts.\u00a0 Though in most blogs that usually understood, I thought I\u2019d mention it for\u00a0future reference.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I\u2019ve said, I more or less started this because some folks suggested I write about the history lessons I teach.\u00a0 Not being a professional writer in any stretch of the imagination, I decided I should do something to force my otherwise lazy fingers to start putting down in words what my thoughts are on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As I've said, I more or less started this because some folks suggested I write about the history lessons I teach.  Not being a professional writer in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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