Along with my regular posts at SeanMcDowell.org, I am now featuring some of my former students in the Biola Apologetics Program. This post is by my friend Timothy Fox, who helped me with both the Awana Advocates curriculum and the updated and revised Evidence that Demands a Verdict. He also blogs at Free Thinking Ministries and you can follow him on Twitter at @TimothyDFox. Enjoy!
Why I Blog (And So Should You)
By Timothy Fox
“I’m thinking about starting an apologetics blog, but what can I say that hasn’t already been said?”
I asked myself this many times before I started blogging, and I’ve heard it from plenty of others as well. Also, “Do we really need another blog? Would anyone actually read it?” etc. Well, obviously I do blog, and so I had to answer those questions for myself before I started. So let me explain why I blog, which may encourage you to start blogging too.
Unique Audience
I love William Lane Craig. My mom will never read William Lane Craig. But my mom will read something that I wrote. The same goes for many of my other friends and family members. I can’t rely on the great WLC or other apologists to reach my community - that’s my job. And blogging is an easy way to do that. I simply share my articles through social media and so I can get ideas to people who may never otherwise encounter apologetics or theology.
Unique Voice
Have you ever heard an answer to an objection and thought, “I wish they would have said this instead” or “I would have worded it that way”? Well, blogging lets you do that. Everyone has their own unique point of view. I have a voice that (thankfully) no one else in the world has. Maybe my perspective can shed some new insight or perhaps I can say something in a fresh way to breathe life into a stale topic. Blogging enables me to communicate my thoughts my way.
Gather Your Thoughts
Blogging helps me to focus my ideas. I can gather everything I want to say on a topic in one place, which is especially helpful for those subjects or questions that arise over and over again. Instead of responding anew every time, I can just link to it.
For example, I noticed a lot of people misusing the Old Testament, claiming promises that weren’t theirs or making wrong assumptions about the Law. So I wrote an article about it: “You Don’t Understand the Old Testament.” Now any time I see the OT being abused, I share the link to it.
Think about those objections you constantly see and write your own definitive response. And even if you never share it with the world, writing still solidifies your ideas on a topic and gives you something to refer to.
Talking to People Is Hard
I’m only half joking here. As an extremely introverted person, social situations are hard for me. Whenever I’m put on the spot in a conversation, one of two things happen: either 1) I freeze and can’t think of how to respond, or 2) I say something incredibly stupid. Writing helps avoid this. I can craft an article over hours or days until I get the wording and logic just right. It may begin mean and snarky because I’m in a bad mood but once I’ve calmed down, I can just delete the bad stuff and keep the good. Then, if I’m ever in a conversation and a topic arises that I’ve written about, I can offer to share my article with them. Now this person will read something I’ve thoughtfully crafted instead of hearing an awkward response that I’ll regret later.
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This is why I blog. I hope reading my experiences encourages you to blog too. And even if you never share your ideas with the world, formally gathering all of your ideas into a document will help you to become a better thinker and communicator.