This thought has been roaming around in my head for the last several days and since I believe (like most people with blogs) that any thought I have – well, almost any thought – is worthy of being unflicted upon the unsuspecting world, here goes.

I have been amazed, almost to the point of being speechless (although, obviously, not quite) about the breadth and depth and width and height (heighth?) of general expertise exhibited on scores of Godblogs. I do not have in mind those individuals who are highly trained or very experienced in a particular discipline (such as Dembski or Groothuis) but rather those individuals who do not give evidence of either specialized training or intense experience but nevertheless are able to write with great confidence, authority, and (at times) dogmatism on a wide range of topics.

It truly befuddles me that they can do so.

It would appear that these individuals possess profound knowledge and near-infallible expertise on matters as diverse as

    Second Temple Judaism;
    The Emergent Church;
    Intelligent Design;
    Philosophy (in all its flavors);
    Popular culture;
    Exegetical matters (both Hebrew and Greek);
    The History of the Church;
    Linguistics;
    International Politics;
    Economics;
    Criminology;
    Apologetics, and
    Theology (including the Nature of God, Soteriology, Anthropology, Eschatology, Ecclesiology, and Hamartiology).

I have spent the better part (and the worse part, too, I suppose) of two decades studying and trying to understand the harmonization of what is known about the physical properties of the brain with the human mind, the spirit of individuals, and the Holy Spirit. My dissertation (such as it was: they are almost always embarrassments in retrospect) sought to integrate these matters and find practical application for the church for the purpose of facilitating sanctification and discipleship. In spite of – or perhaps because of – all my study, I would not consider myself to be an expert on this subject. There is simply far too much that I do not know and likely far more than I or anyone will ever be able to know.

So I stand (or sit) amazed at the apparent expertise of these numerous bloggers. They go at it hammer-and-tong (or, as we say in Indiana, “hammer-and-thong”) with writers who have not only dedicated their lives to the study of a particular discipline (e.g., Alvin Plantinga or Douglas Moo) but have been recognized by their peers as experts and authorities in their respective fields.

Such reputations and credentials do not impress, faze, or dissuade the blogging generalists in the least: not only do they reject the arguments of the authorities, they do so with a gusto and bravado bordering on arrogance and hubris. But, I suppose, if one is an expert in all things, one has the right – nay, the duty – to oppose those who have foolishly and erroneously been identified as reputable scholars in their disciplines.

I am humbled by such bloggers as I reflect upon their confidence and boldness. I wonder why I bother to read books or listen to lectures of the identified authorities when so much information and wisdom is available from such universal experts.

Truly the church is enriched and edified by such people. I know that I, for one, have learned a lot from their examples.


2 Cor 1:13