The Blog of Hobbes

Steadfastness in believing doth not exclude all temptations from without. When we say a tree is firmly rooted, we do not say that the wind never blows upon it. [The Golden Book of John Owen, Part III.]

I have from the beginning resolved not to persist in any controversy, as to the public debate of it, when once it begins to degenerate into a strife of words and personal reflections.

The Golden Book of John Owen, Part III.

This is surely excellent advice - particularly for the blogsphere, which seems at times to be an inexhaustible source of strife and “personal reflection”. There is a certain kind of controversy that becomes so unnecessarily contentious that it is our duty to step away from it. We must be aware of the danger of becoming so embroiled in a controversy that our participation becomes more harmful to the cause of Christ than the controversy itself.

HE that puts forth a [blog] sentences his reason to the gantelope:¹ every one will strive to have a lash at it in its course; and he must be content to bear it.

On the Death of Christ, Works of John Owen (1829), p249

¹ i.e. Makes it run the gauntlet.