Today a plethora of teaching is fully available at the stroke of keyboard, we need to be wise as women of God to where we get our encouragement and teaching from.
In the past year, I have received several "warning" emails from women concerned about the influence of bloggers online.
"I am concerned that younger blogging moms who are not sharing the Word of God correctly. They share from their own "experience' and not from the Word of God. They are leading flocks of women astray with false teaching and leading women to rely on how they "feel" and not what the word of God teaches."
"I have visited a blog of several woman who are mixing in "New Age" into the teachings of Christ and many woman do not see it for what it is, but yet they has a large following of Christian women. I am afraid they (the followers) do not know their Bible well enough to recognize false teaching--there is evidence of it in all the writings..."
"I found that women bloggers that are teaching the scriptures are quoting from resources from false faiths that do not embrace Jesus Christ or teach a false Christ. This can be confusing to the general reader who does not know that these false faiths promote also a false salvation. How should I approach the blogger to warn them?"
"The Christian standard for women is being lowered. It is subtly being done through the writings of woman bloggers who want to please man with their writings and get followers instead of teaching what the Lord truly desires of us."
As a Christian blogger, I know that there is much information to wade through out there. We definitely need to be wise when we land on someone's site and not just assume that the person that is behind the site or blog is teaching everything correctly. First off, we are all imperfect creatures and therefore it is possible that we mishandle the word of God--if that is so, we do need to be gently and lovingly corrected and brought to the truth. We must remember to have love, mercy, and forgiveness if we do this. They honestly might not know any better.
Secondly, we need to check who is the person behind the blog. What is their religious background? Do they even have a religious background? Are they new in the faith? Should I accept/allow myself to be influenced by this person?
Thirdly, protect yourselves because there are those that will lead you astray. You need to be on guard--kind of like "defensive driving", but we need to practice "defensive reading"! I was once on a site where Christ was shared and then found a few post backs where witchcraft was promoted!
The Bible is the final authority on all things. We need to remember to be like the Bereans and search the scriptures. We fall into a dangerous trap if we are looking at the blogging community or Facebook to be our spiritual compass instead of Christ and God's Word.
Remember, in the end times people will listen to what their itching ears want to hear:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 1 Timothy 4:3
False teachers will be among us and times will get more wicked. We need not be drawn to numb insensitivity to the truth especially through the world online or elsewhere. We will not be like the frog put into the water and being unaware of his surroundings, being boiled to death!
"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves."
And remember to have grace to those that are growing in their walk. None of us are perfect or have arrived--and we need God's love to show us the way.
Please navigate wisely and be discerning, dear friends!
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*This post was from the archives from November 2011.
27 comments:
Oh, June--my heart has been thinking on this so much the last couple days--I almost put up a post myself on the fallibility of human wisdom, including my own. There is only one infallible source of wisdom, God's Word. Therefore, everything we read/say should be examined by scripture.
Great post!
I have been thinking about this topic - blogging is more of a responsibility than I first thought!
I make sure that I only share resources that I trust - like in the giveaway that I am having at the moment. I feel that I have a responsibility to check the books and magazines if I am recommending them to others.
Excellent post! I appreciate the high road way in which you presented your concerns and advocated to readers --I had similiar thoughts & wondered about this as I am soooo very new (about 4 weeks} at this blogging thing and observed the very points you raise. When wisdom is shared it helps define a standard many wihs to uphold.God bless you. By the way, I so love your site --it is so joyful, peaceful and inspiring. As a working wife/mom trying to find balance in caring for by hubby and kids, I was seeking devotion time and bible study -- your site has given me just what I was look for -- I did not realize how thirsty in the word I was!! I'm reading up on how to create a blog so I can link with others --in the future. For now, I so look forward to logging on here each day to fill my cup and keep going. You are a Wise Woman and a blessing! I appreciate you! Have a blessed day!
Lisa
I so appreciate the wisdom and grace you bring to such relevant issues. It is a tremendous encouragement, isn't it, that God's Word is infallible and applicable to every season of life, and in any moment of history? If we are reading through the lens of Scripture, the devil and his subtle attacks to weaken or ruin our faith will most definitely be snuffed out.
On a more personal note, it is truly a pleasure to read your blog. I have yet to discover something that is contradictory to what God has revealed in His Word. For me, your site is a wonderful "safe haven," and I'm filled with encouragement every day here. Thank-you, June!
A great reminder to search the scriptures and not take mans word for it. Just as the Berean's did.
I LOVE this! The main reason I began my blog is because I found the "encouraging" blogs to mothers (even Christian ones) were all about trying to make ourselves feel better about actions that we know are wrong. Promoting the "it's natural" attitude and causing women to fall into a pity-party of "my life is so hard" rather than focusing on our calling. After my first post I came under strong attack from an atheist and her friends (which was strangely encouraging to my message) but then to have Christian mothers say the same exact things was heartbreaking! I'm so glad that after becoming a blogger I have found wonderful women bloggers who DO take the call seriously! GREAT post! Thank you!!! We cannot expect to act the same as the world and still have God's light shine through us!
This is truly timely. I was just thinking how easy it is to get our daily bread from blogs and forget to even open our Bibles. It is so easy for me to sit and read through blogs, gleaning from them, when the hard works comes in being a doer of the Word and I can only do that by spending time with God, not spending time with blogs. I believe there must be a balance which is challenging. I also stumbled upon a homeschooling blog recently that spoke of God but also promoted praying to others who have gone before us and when I addressed this to the blogger, with as much grace as possible, she wasn't willing to publish my comments. I prayed for her but also acknowledged what I'm learning in my 1 John Bible study - that there are false teachers and we must rely on our teacher, the Holy Spirit, to guide us into all truth! I pray to also handle God's truth correctly on my blog. Thank you for your blog!
I heard Kay Arthur say that before we check our Facebook we need to check HIS BOOK. So true!
It is so very difficult in this fast-paced world we live in, to take time out just to sit in the presence of God. And so very easy to grab the computer "to check something". No wonder the Word warns that even the most elite will be led astray in the end times. What a great post to serve as a reminder to not neglect the importance of reading the Bible, to have it as the authority in our lives. Thanks for sharing.
This entry is SO timely. I have noticed this a lot recently. Especially while exploring Link-Ups. I frequently click on the link-ups posted on favorite blogs thinking they are like-minded. To my surprise, many are blogs where women promote practices and faiths that are HIGHLY unbiblical. It worries me that someone who is struggling in their faith or a new Christian may falter when seeing these link-ups.
I think your post is right on. We should be studying God's Word FROM God's Word, not from the words of other writers. I would like to think that I know this and am very discerning, but it's a good reminder to always guard what I let into my heart and my home and not cruise on auto-pilot when reading blogs and articles (even my favorites!).
In a similar vein, a visiting pastor recently brought up something that has also been heavy on my mind while blogging--as wise women, we should be getting our advice and help from wiser, more experienced, Titus 2 women--NOT our peers. And if offering advice, we should be offering it from our true experiences. Sharing our experiences is one thing, giving (and taking!) advice is something else.
Dear Living Dead Girl,
I agree with the caution of being wise while perusing through Link-ups since anyone can and might link up we need to use discretion before allowing the writing to influence us. I have had to delete posts in the past that were linked up here that I felt might be more harmful than helpful, however it is up to you, the reader, to make sure everything you read balances out with scripture. Perhaps I should put a disclaimer on the linkup as a reminder. :)
Thanks so much for sharing!
Many blessings...
This is the very reason I put Scripture on every post that I write. I want my words to be backed up by His Words. My words are empty. His words are powerful to save.
Excellent post, June! As a new blogger, I have to be very aware of this as well! In every situation, think and pray on what God would have us learn and search the scriptures! Then and only then can we share it with others!
One thing we need to be aware of as well though that has been very apparent since my blog began just 1 month ago, is that we need to be careful as readers to make sure that we are not becoming defensive and allowing Satan to plant seeds of condemnation and harm in what God could use to be conviction and encouragement! We need to make sure we are reading the post for what it is and not what we are making it out to be...
that said we also need to make sure we have a strong base in Scripture so we can judge everything rightly according to that. Sometimes I get the most out of posts that are not Biblically sound because it challenges my beliefs, makes me question and study, and in the end grows me in my faith!
This was very useful, June. As a new blogger, this warning is for me too, to never forsake the Word of our Lord when writing. God bless you!
I really like the implications of the title of this post. We must use wisdom and discernment to decide what is worth reading and what is not. Just because a person does not share every belief with us does not mean they have nothing of value to share. Sometimes our fears keep us distant when reading a personal blog from a person of another faith can help us to better understand them. In my experience we often have exaggerated ideas of what a certain belief system is all about. Learning about those who are different can help us reach out and love them as our Savior intended. Of course we must be cautious. Holding tightly to the word of God as we venture into the world (even the cyber world) helps keep us safe from those who seek to decieve.
We also can't ignore that each blogger is entitled to her/his views and if we don't like them/agree with them, then stop reading the blog. It is also important that Christian stay-at-home-mums are not critical of Christian working mums/wives as if they are lessor Christians. We are all sinners in one way or another.
As to Christianity - we all read the Word of God, however the interpretation can vary considerably - what one Christian may believe another might see it differently but both say they are conservative Christian women and are completely convinced it is what the Bible says. You have to decided based on your faith alone. It is up to God alone to decide this question.
"Well Said"!!! Thank you for those WORDS OF WISDOM!!! Isn't it so true that even if ALLLL else fails... His Word will stand through-out eternity!!! Terri
Thank you for this post. It is writen with love and admonishment. I also worry about the time blogging (reading and writing) takes from mothering and homemaking. I myself know I have to watch this. We have so many things we can be doing to help our husbands and teach our children. We don't want to turn to what is "good" and forget what is "BEST"
Blessings,
Carla <><
Thank ou for the reminder and feel free to correct me at any time if I say something wrong! I hope that my blog, small as it is, is still an influence for God!
Thank you for so graciously addressing this sensitive -yet scary - trend.
Thankyou for addressing this with so much wisdom and grace. I am very careful as to what blogs i read and feed from. You are so right about checking out who is the source. Many times it only takes reading something that does result in glorifying the Lord to know I am not a site that is a true line on line Bible believer.
You're so right, June. Thank you for the reminder and admonishment to be like the Bereans.
Big hugs,
Jasmine
I have never heard of the Bereans so I looked it up! What an amazing concept...one I wish I had known so I could have plugged those scriptures into my daily study of the Word post!
While this is a very good post, I feel that something is missing. If your husband is a christian, then it would be a good thing to discuss any "new" ideas you may come across on a blog etc. Be sure not to quickly accept other's "wisdom" above your husband's (or father's if you are single)! Men seem to be especially good at catching onto these things. :)
Great post!
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