Top 2023 Posts

12/31/2023

I used to rely on Google Analytics for blog stats, but they changed their format this year, and I didn't sign on for the changes, so I no longer have a clear idea of how many people visit the blog, how many hits a particular post gets, and so on.

In all honesty, I don't particularly care. This blog was never about numbers. One way or another, I believe the posts will find their way to the people that might benefit from them.

With that in mind, I present my top three 2023 posts, in terms of the benefit they provided me in writing them rather than in terms of views or hits.

1. As With Everything, When It Comes to Christian Blogs, Motivation is Key.
2. Regret and Repentance Are Not Synonymous
3. Being a Christian Today Entails Having Faith in the Faith Jesus Has in Us

Although I wrote some solid posts from time to time, I don't feel that 2023 was a particularly strong blogging year for me overall, as evidenced by the months I took off from blogging in the spring.

Here's hoping 2024 will be a bit better.

6 Comments

bruce g charlton

12/31/2023 17:47:53

I went back and re-read those three posts - and they are all excellent and well worth thinking through a second time.

The third one, about the faith Jesus had in us, hit home particularly strongly. Among other things, it confirms that the characteristic modern consciousness had begun, at least among intellectual Westerners (if Russia counts as West) two centuries ago. Christianity has had many generations in which to respond to these changes - the novel and true insights they bring, and the possibilities which have been closing-off ever since.

It's a pity that even the most basic level of this understanding, quite aside from what we should do about it, continues to be denied.

To rephrase something you said in comments yesterday: If church-based traditional Christianity is our ONLY means to apprehend spiritual realities, then we may as well stick a fork in it.

Francis Berger

1/1/2024 15:40:06

Thank you, Bruce. The "faith Jesus has in us" was a bit of a breakthrough for me, coming shortly after having reread the Fourth Gospel.

The positive motivation, inspiration, and sheer joy that overwhemed me when I stopped to consider that Jesus does indeed have faith in us -- He wouldn't have done what He did if He didn't possess such faith -- is difficult to describe.

And I stand by these thoughts:

"Simply put - it is spiritually impossible for Christians to have faith in Jesus if they reject the faith Jesus has in them.

It is spiritually impossible for Christians to have faith in Jesus if they believe that He set the bar too high.

For me, a big part of Romantic Christianity involves having faith in Jesus's faith in us. It involves recognizing that the bar He set is not "too high." "

I'll focus more on this theme in 2024. In fact, I may end up screaming it from the rooftops.

Tobias

1/1/2024 02:41:22

There were a whole bunch of posts I liked. Thanks. I want to quote from two.

From your January post, 'The Tradition the Prince of Lies Does Not Know", which resonated with me

" ... But if they had to deal with a vigorous, energetic tradition that embraced dynamism and creativity because it embraced the obvious truth that the Holy Spirit is dynamic, not static; if they were faced with Christians who understood that God, Creation, Christianity, and man are not "finished products" -- well, I daresay they would find themselves on the back foot, scattered and confused in territory they could have never imagined, let alone studied and learned."

From your September post 'That's a lot of souls'. I think I had been sometimes wondering how to someday find a way to talk to atheists about free will's effect on the universe, and there it was. A way to.

"Anyway you estimate it, that’s a lot of souls and a lot of specific spiritual purposes."

1/1/2024 15:23:16

Thanks, Tobias! After rereading the passage you have excerpted from "The Tradition the Prince of Lies Does Not Know", I came to the conclusion that I could have easily included that post in my top 3.

Anyway, I am humbled and pleased to know that some of thoughts resonate with you.

Lucas

1/1/2024 04:03:15

I happened to save three posts from you this year, so I guess that's my top three.
Altruism is not Christian Love
Losing the Culture War May Be Good for Christians
Memoirs - Abbot Wendelin
Guess I'll reread them all at some point.

1/1/2024 15:28:24

@ Lucas - The Wendelin posts were very meaningful for me because the abbot was a native of my village, and his tribulations taught me much about the true nature of spiritual freedom. I also think the abbot also signifies a sort of demarcation line between pre- and post-Vatican II Roman Catholic clergy, at least in terms of spiritual quality.

I wanted to include "Altruism is not Christian Love," but for some reason I thought I had written that the year before.

What can I say? I'm getting old.

Regardless, it's good to know that some of the posts resonated with you.

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