Adrian Warnock lists the Top 25 Christian Blogs (by links). After browsing the list, I’m left wondering what makes these blogs particularly ‘Christian’? There are some that are named in a way which would lead one to believe that they have some kind of biblical focus, but then there are blogs listed like Scott Ott’s ‘ScrappleFace‘, La Shawn Barber’s Place, and Hugh Hewitt’s blog. Most of what I’ve read from ScrappleFace is irreverent commentary on political news and cultural issues. I know that La Shawn and Hugh identify themselves as Christians, but their blogs are more often focused on politics and not on essays about being Christian.
Heading over to N.Z. Bear’s place, and looking at the larger list of blogs that belong to the ‘Blogdom of God’ community, it gets even more confusing. Apparently, bloggers who join the Blogdom of God group are ones who identify themselves as ‘God blogs’. Would The Anchoress really identify her site a ‘God blog’? If so, in what way? She does comment on Catholic issues from time to time, but I mostly see her site as a current events/political commentary blog. Yet, she’s identified as a member of this community. Likewise, Ian Schwartz, better known as The Political Teen runs a site that focuses heavily on video-blogging. His place is the go-to blog for breaking news video clips. I haven’t seen anything overtly ‘Christian’ about the content he publishes, yet The Political Teen is listed as being a ‘God blog’.
And then there’s ‘Dean’s World‘. Last time I checked, Dean Esmay had several articles published on his blog where he identified himself as an atheist. Why is his site labeled a ‘God blog’?
What am I missing here? I’m not looking to start a jihad, and I’m not trying to question anyone’s personal faith. I just want to understand the basis for the makeup of this community. Why would you list your site as being a member of the Blogdom of God if the content you publish doesn’t align with the identity of the group?
What purpose do blog rings like these serve if the member sites don’t necessarily focus on the community theme? How valuable is a Top 25 ‘Christian’ Blogs list when a some of the ranked sites publish content that has little or nothing to do with being Christian?
Amen, Bill.
I am a devoted Christian, but I do not consider my site to be a “Christian Blog.” Instead, I am a Christian who blogs and often includes God in the conversation. Because of this distinction, I wouldn’t enter Gentlemen Prefer Blogs as a “GodBlog.”
Michael
I have always intended for the Blogdom of God to be a list of Christians who blog. Thus you would qualify, as would most of the blogs punditguy has highlighted. However, I wont add you unless you ask!
There are some blogs that have been included by accident. Clearly if deans world is actually written by an atheist he should not be in the BoG- probably my mistake.