My dear readers,
Without any explanation or alerts, I closed this blog several weeks ago. Quite a few of you contacted me about gaining access to what appeared to be an invitation-only website. Unfortunately Blogger does not have a simple "Closed for Self-Reflection" sign that one can post on the front door; no amount of invitations would have helped anyone gain access here. The door was shut, and Blogger automatically tossed up the invite-only shingle.
I am quite torn about blogging. I wrote to some of you about why I had withdrawn. It was interesting to learn how many of you understood my position but felt I should continue despite my concerns, my self-doubts. I appreciate not only everyone's kind words, but also the sincere interest everyone has in what I do here and even who I really am. Thank you. And thanks for being patient with me.
My prevailing sense is that I am adding to the epidemic of distraction coursing through society. Our many forms of digital media have created, in my opinion, a culture of shallowness. We have become skimmers, no longer able to be, or caring to be, deeply and intentionally attentive (or so I fear). Readers who have been reading Contratimes since the beginning know that I've worried about this since I first clicked the "Publish Post" icon. But a book I recently read (and highly recommended to several of you) informs what I've just written here (in fact, I am probably lifting whole phrases). For a very good read, please check out Maggie Jackson's Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. It is a very compelling work (though imperfect). I cannot recommend it highly enough. While I have reservations about Ms. Jackson's final chapter, and while I wish she had more completely explored the perils of the impending dark age, I can say that, for me, the book is powerful, trenchant, and engaging. It offers great food for thought. I would love to hear what you all think after reading it for yourselves.
All this to say that I am thinking about Being again. And I am also thinking about when God is lost in sound.
Peace, always.
BG
Without any explanation or alerts, I closed this blog several weeks ago. Quite a few of you contacted me about gaining access to what appeared to be an invitation-only website. Unfortunately Blogger does not have a simple "Closed for Self-Reflection" sign that one can post on the front door; no amount of invitations would have helped anyone gain access here. The door was shut, and Blogger automatically tossed up the invite-only shingle.
I am quite torn about blogging. I wrote to some of you about why I had withdrawn. It was interesting to learn how many of you understood my position but felt I should continue despite my concerns, my self-doubts. I appreciate not only everyone's kind words, but also the sincere interest everyone has in what I do here and even who I really am. Thank you. And thanks for being patient with me.
My prevailing sense is that I am adding to the epidemic of distraction coursing through society. Our many forms of digital media have created, in my opinion, a culture of shallowness. We have become skimmers, no longer able to be, or caring to be, deeply and intentionally attentive (or so I fear). Readers who have been reading Contratimes since the beginning know that I've worried about this since I first clicked the "Publish Post" icon. But a book I recently read (and highly recommended to several of you) informs what I've just written here (in fact, I am probably lifting whole phrases). For a very good read, please check out Maggie Jackson's Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. It is a very compelling work (though imperfect). I cannot recommend it highly enough. While I have reservations about Ms. Jackson's final chapter, and while I wish she had more completely explored the perils of the impending dark age, I can say that, for me, the book is powerful, trenchant, and engaging. It offers great food for thought. I would love to hear what you all think after reading it for yourselves.
All this to say that I am thinking about Being again. And I am also thinking about when God is lost in sound.
Peace, always.
BG
