Freedom from Fear
Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 13, 1943.
©1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN.

[a klog apart propagandart]

The Talmud may have been the first hypertextual document. 

You can see the original text in the middle surrounded by rabbinic interpretation, argument and commentary (much of it threaded) and off-page cross references. Very wiki.

I see similar dialog among bloggers, increasingly about matters of religion, spirituality, ethics, and philosophy. Beyond a place of reflection, the blogosphere is a social medium. Through linking and writing, our intercourse creates relationships.

As the blogosphere grows, real life shines through. Religion especially.

For there are God Bloggers. Defenders of the faith. Scholars who interpret scripture. Some people blog their personal explorations, their tribulations, their palpable experience of the divine in ordinary life. In the writing, they hope to improve themselves. In the sharing, they serve others on a similar path.

A few, clerical bloggers who have God for a job, blog to educate, to coordinate parish work, even to evangelize a little.

None of this is possible without an offline Freedom to Worship. The United States was founded, in part, by people fleeing religious persecution. With the freedom to worship as I see fit, I also have freedom from government intrusion into spiritual life. In this I am fortunate to live in the American republic instead of a theocracy. 

So I ask of you,

Are you "out" on your weblog about your religious thoughts?

Are you blogging your own spiritual education?

Have you connected with others on a similar journey?  

Do you blog for your religious community?

Do you bring your personal values to your blog?

Do you conduct yourself online in ways you would be proud of offline?  

Has your weblog brought you closer to your fellow man?

If your government protects those rights, you have the power to reach out further than ever.  

Blog your way to heaven, one post at a time.

[a klog apart]