Here's a helpful article a friend from church sent me, for Christians to think about how we're communicating online. By a bloke called Bryan Chappell.
I like a lot of his points. But I especially like how he just seems to be applying the principles of godly character that we Christians are to exhibit in all conversations, not just online.
Here is an especially challenging bit for Christian bloggers. He captures a point I feel pretty strongly about now, having been guilty of this a lot in my time:
Responsibilities for Bloggers
...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.
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