Running head: Blogging is the new town square
Blogging is the New
Town Square: Understanding Why Christians Blog
Regina Burgess
Spring Arbor University
Blogging is the New Town Square: Understanding Why Christians Blog
Web
logging or blogging began in the 1990s as personal expressions of opinions in a
vast arena of subjects. In 2006, there were more than 36 million blogs (NeilsonWire,
2012), and today according to Neilson Wire (2012), approximately 181 million
blogs exist in the virtual space called the blogosphere. Most bloggers are
women, with more than half being moms, and all bloggers are well educated with
seven out of 10 having at least some college. Bloggers are active across social
media with a blogger being three times more likely to post or comment on message
boards and in forums. Chen (2011) studied the needs that drive women to blog;
and how blogging met those needs. The results of this study caused me to
question why Christians blog, and what Christians thought about the ethics of
blogging. I chose the study by Martin Kuhn (2007) as a focal point for my study
on Christian bloggers. I expected to find one of the needs that drive
Christians to blog is the Great Commission; and I expected to discover
Christians use biblical principles as the plumb line for blogging ethics. I was
not disappointed.
Theoretical and Ethical Framework
Chen
(2011) discovered the data collected supported that women need to express self-disclosure
and their voice to influence others; and that these two interconnect in women
bloggers. However, it is not the full story. The time spent blogging correlated
with the need for affiliation and the need to influence slightly. This lends
support to the thought that “needs do not operate separately, but may work in
concert as need for self-disclosure and need for affiliation were found to do”
(Chen, p. 179). Christian bloggers have exhibited an approach to blogging that
does not challenge traditional sources of authority (Campbell, 2010). The themes
of blogging in recent years have risen similar to those of Thomas Paine’s cry
of “give me liberty or give me death.” The essential component of secular
blogging is opinion, be that political, pundit, or agenda related, however
Christian bloggers have a grip on factual truth and bow to God’s authority
(Campbell, 2010). Over the years, the Internet has been able to traverse
boundaries and level hierarchies; and to furnish voices to those without voices
(Pullen, 2000). Campbell discovered that instead of resisting traditional
authority, Christian bloggers are more likely to affirm that authority with
“affirmation of religious leaders the most common followed by religious text,
theological ideas and religious structures” (p. 269). In her study, Christian bloggers
used references to scripture with God being the most common referred to
authority followed by many Christian authors such as John Piper. Christian
bloggers will journal about their spiritual journey and offer up apologetics
with the most common theme being the daily practice of Christian principles,
with the education of others being the central purpose (Cheong, Halavais, and
Kwon, 2008). Many Christians use their blogs to give a glimpse into their
religious roles such as the pastorate, or other church roles (Campbell, 2010)
along with encouraging words.
Social presence theory lends a
strong explanation for why Christians blog. Biocca, Harms and Burgoon “provisionally define social
presence succinctly as the ‘sense of being with another’” (2003, p. 1). This
aligns with Walther’s (2002) discovery of a strong relationship between the
online communications and personal perceptions of the one being communicated
with to the point of strong intimacy. Norton (1986) identified 10
communication styles that can be associated with online communications (making
an impression, litigious, open, dramatic, dominant, precise, relaxed, friendly,
attentive, and animated). Christians have that sense of being with the highest
authority, God, and with each other. However, the secular blogger is basically
behind John Rawls’ veil of ignorance in that no one truly knows who is being impacted
by what is being said. The Christian blogger has a greater knowledge of his
position in Christ and the work He prepared for each Christian to do even
before time began. Christians are
behind the veil of ignorance because the mind of Christ places them there; and
because the Great Commission perspective of viewing from the worst-off members
of society (the lost) is magnified:
And Jesus came and said to
them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the
age." (Matt.:18-20, English Standard Bible)
This is one reason Christian bloggers cling to
God’s authority.
Methodology
Procedures
Once I had my thesis questions pinned down,
I searched for a previous secular study with questions that aligned with my
hypotheses in my own field study. Martin Kuhn (2007) probed into the question
of ethics in blogging. It was the closest to Biblical principle questions I
could find. His questions about why the blog was started also gave insight into
my question of what needs drove Christians to start a blog. Therefore, I
prepared a questionnaire using his exact questions; and sent them to about 300
of my LinkedIn contacts of whom I was fairly certain were bloggers. I also
posted the questions on my blog, and in my LinkedIn group called Christians
Authors, Editors, Publishers, and Bloggers. I compiled all responses to each
question and combined like responses. The respondents were asked to rank in
order of importance six values with 1 being most important and 6 being least
important. The values guiding each blogger were compiled according to how often
a value appeared in the top two positions, and then the top three positions.
Participants
Within
two weeks I had received 30 responses, and in another week I had received three
more responses for a total of 33 respondents. Of those, only 24 responses were
from Christian bloggers. Eight were from men, and 16 from women. Two women had
more than one blog, but the others submitted one. The median age was 36 with
the youngest being 24 and the oldest being 68.
Results
RQ1: What drives a Christian blogger to
blog?
The
common response was reaching out to Christians to offer encouragement and as “Lynn”
phrased it, “focus on Bible-based beliefs…to promote good press and Good News”.
The underlying need was to help others better understand God and His purposes.
“Sylvie” is concerned for those who are questioning their sexuality and who
“debate God and homosexuality”. She lived that life for more than 14 years. She
seriously takes God’s directive to reach out to the gay community as she said, “to
give God the glory by being in His service. With that as my guiding principle, I
try my best to do so as Jesus would, since my topic is the gay lifestyle and
the truth of Christ and free will—you are not hard wired.” She went on to note,
“Blogs are the new town square,
where people can meet to express their views. Today, blogs break news, provide
advice and solutions, support and have become a trusted source for information.”
Mark expressed the common desire of the respondents this way, “I want
the blog to reflect the personal work of the Holy Spirit in my life, the
transformation he is doing in and through me, and to share insights into
culture that may enlighten others.” Kristine said, “I wanted to share my
experiences as I walked my Christian journey. I wanted to inform Christians
about the dangers of the occult which they might not be learning from church
leaders or popular media.”
As Cheong, Halavais, and Kwon (2008)
said, “In some ways, religious blogging reflects the standard interests of
bloggers everywhere. There is a focus on documenting personal experience,
followed by interest in teaching and learning, as well as monitoring and making
sense of the mainstream news” (p.117). However, as a whole, this study’s
results support Campbell’s (2010) findings that religious blogging affirms
traditional religious authority which, in the minds of these respondents, is
God. Overwhelmingly, the purpose of their blogs relates (either directly or
indirectly) to the Great Commission Jesus commands in Matthew 28 stated above. They
use their blogs as the Town Square where people can exchange opinions, build
community, and have a safe place to build relationships.
RQ2:
Are Christian bloggers’ values Biblically based?
I chose the values that were ranked
from Kuhn’s blogger ethics study. The findings are not all that dissimilar. The
secular bloggers in Kuhn’s study mentioned factual truth most often as most
important, the next two most important were transparency and minimizing harm. I
received the same results.
Factual Truth 15 #1-2
Transparency 10 #1-2
Minimizing Harm 13 #1-3
Accountability 9 #1-3
Free Expression 7 #1-3;
Etiquette 2 #1 & 3
Factual
truth was ranked either first or second fifteen times; transparency was ranked first
or second nine times, and so forth. The disparity of numbers occurs due to the
double and triple positions in which the value appeared. The values of truth,
honesty, and minimizing harm all have multiple related Bible verses which
include: Jesus is the Truth (John 1:17 & 14:6); Honesty (Luke 2:35); and
harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).
I
also asked what things a blogger must do to be considered a good blogger. The
most common responses included abstaining from plagiarizing, lying, and copyright
infringement, as well as a commitment to fact checking which aligns with the
value of truth and transparency. One response was simply, “Employ the Fruit of
the Spirit.” Honoring God, respect for others, community building aligned with
minimizing harm to others are values Christian bloggers consistently employ
incorporated within the Agape ethics mentality adhering to Jesus’ command to
love your neighbor as yourself.
Not
so surprisingly, in answer to my question about what things a blogger should
never do, the respondents stayed true to their mission and values of truth,
transparency, minimizing harm by remaining true to God, and additionally never
compromise His word. A common theme was to not take criticism too seriously,
“have rhinoceros skin”, but to invite feedback and use it to facilitate
discussion. Only one person mentioned never “[d]ivulge personal information about themselves or others (their
whereabouts, security stuff).” Another mentioned, “Privacy for a response to some readers is important. I won't air
their pain and hurt in public or betray their confidence in me,” which is an
example of minimizing harm. The nurturing nature of Christ is abundantly
apparent in His body of bloggers.
Conclusion
This study has
affirmed research already conducted which is encouraging. The dearth of
research on Christian bloggers is slowly being filled. Christian bloggers are
taking God’s Great Commission seriously, using blogging as a way to seek out
disciples, teaching them Jesus’ commands, and also using their words to lift up
the weary and disheartened with the consolation of God’s word. This study asked
two main questions the first was: What drives a Christian to blog? The common
theme was obedience to God’s call. What they are accomplishing is the Great
Commission to the lost and to the Body of Christ.
The other
question: Are Christian bloggers’ values Biblically based? The interesting
answer is that ethical concerns no matter the religious affiliation are the same
in the blogosphere. These values are Biblically based, and that is what is so
interesting. Kuhn’s results highlight basic principles which drive people who
are writing publically are based on the values truth, transparency, and
minimizing harm. Those values come from God’s word. This study’s results
support a deeper perception of God’s ambassadors to bear His image and to make
Him proud that Christians who happen to be bloggers are being obedient to Him.
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