On Secular Blogging: “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly”
[Written by John W. Loftus] I've liked this quote by GK Chesterton from the day I read it. Doing something badly is at least doing something productive, if what you're doing is the right thing to do. It's better than not attempting something at all. At least you will learn from your efforts. All of the most important things we learned to do we started out doing them badly, like walking, talking, singing, dancing and riding a bicycle. You improve as you go. You cannot improve until you start. You begin by starting out badly. You have to be willing to fail, sometimes often, to achieve what you want to. So if you decide to do something, anything, be prepared to start out by doing it badly. If you wait until you can do something perfectly you'll do nothing at all.
This more than justifies Blogging by both the secular scholar and the non-scholar. Scholars are focused on gaining the respect of their peers so they may Blog very little, fearing that their peers can see problems in what they write because Blogging is like that. Some objections can't always be dealt with in a short provocative Blog post. Non-scholars may write very little because they feel unqualified to do so.
When it comes to our common goal of ridding ourselves of the influence of the religious right in America take Chesterton's advice: “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” We need all of our voices. Don't be afraid of being wrong. I'm not. That's why I Blog. That's why I am an effective Blogger as well as an effective author. Sometimes I use my Blog to test ideas. Sometimes I merely provoke discussion. But I learn as I go. And I invite all secular people to do the same thing, both the scholar and the non-scholar. Come on people, Blog! Share what you know. Together we are making a difference. Join those of us who are already doing it.
This more than justifies Blogging by both the secular scholar and the non-scholar. Scholars are focused on gaining the respect of their peers so they may Blog very little, fearing that their peers can see problems in what they write because Blogging is like that. Some objections can't always be dealt with in a short provocative Blog post. Non-scholars may write very little because they feel unqualified to do so.
When it comes to our common goal of ridding ourselves of the influence of the religious right in America take Chesterton's advice: “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” We need all of our voices. Don't be afraid of being wrong. I'm not. That's why I Blog. That's why I am an effective Blogger as well as an effective author. Sometimes I use my Blog to test ideas. Sometimes I merely provoke discussion. But I learn as I go. And I invite all secular people to do the same thing, both the scholar and the non-scholar. Come on people, Blog! Share what you know. Together we are making a difference. Join those of us who are already doing it.