About eighty percent of the reason why I started to blog on ProgressiveU is not because I want to blog, but because I need the money from the scholarship. If I wanted to blog, I would take time to write about my fondness for the platypus. Unfortunately, to my understanding, in order to win this scholarship I need to write blogs often, write comments often, get comments often, get high rates, and win the featured blogger of the week award (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Writing blogs often and giving other's comments on their's, I can do on my own. Get comments and high ratings on my entries, I need the support of the other respected users on ProgressiveU. Therefore,if i want those comments and high ratings, I cannot write about a platypus. Sure I'll the points for writing the entry, but who will comment on the content of what I write unless it were to critique me or to make a humorous joke about the platypus. So I can get the comments, maybe. High ratings? I doubt it, who wants to read a long entry about a man's love for an animal he's never seen (and probably will never see)? I can't even describe a platypus except from research I find on google and wikipedia. Even then, those descriptions wouldn't be mine. They would be the internets, and i would be repeating everything the internet has already said. That's not the purpose of a blog. The purpose of my blogs is to share with you how I feel, so instead of sharing with you of my adoration of the platypus, I'm sharing you reasons why I (and everyone else that wants the scholarship) should and cannnot write about a platypus. That would hurt our reputation worse than if we were a senator that slept with a prostitute. "Hey, did you hear about the senator?" "Yeah, I did. But did you see that blog by Tim Cho about a platypus? Who writes about a platypus, he's so stupid." Get my drift?
This brings us to the question, "what CAN we write about?" Anything that would get mass attention I guess. Talk about sensitive stuff like LOVE, HAPPINESS, RACISM, ABORTION, and ETC.
BORING. Write about something no one else could write about. Like about the time you had to watch a movie with your mom. You were embarassed but the movie parallelled the torn relationship between your mom and you, and because of that humbling movie experience, you decided to have a better relationship from now on. Also, when you write, make sure you make sense and think about what you're writing.
Why do I bring up that last note? Make sense. That's obvious, we should make sense or our entries will be utterly pointless and it'll result in low ratings. That not good. Well I was reading some other posts today and seeing which ones I would want to comment on and which ones I didn't want to comment on. I came upon a touchy topic (out of the 2384239487 I saw all over the screen.) This blog was addressed to Christians. It was an entry asking Christians to justify many things of this world; questions like "Why is there bad in this world?" "Why doesn't God fix everything." (those were direct questions from the blog. Can anyone tell me if that's illegal, I'll change it right away). Those questions are all legitimate questions that a non-believer would ask and would want answers to. Am I wrong? Christianity seems like a belief that contradicts itself to many believers outside the faith. I almost wanted to respond, but something else caught my eye. In the introduction of the blog, it asks Christians to answer the questions but to use as few Bible verses as possible.
You'd think, "Oh. This is a cool way for Christians to justify their beliefs with answers we can relate to." There's the catch. By asking Christians to defend their faith by not using the Bible (or using it minimally) is asking Christians to rid their faith in Christianity altogether. Why? The Christian faith is DEPENDANT on the Bible. Without the Bible, our faith and our way of life means nothing to the world. Without the Bible, we wouldn't know God, we wouldn't know Jesus, and in this case, we wouldn't know the answers to those questions. Nah' mean? It's like asking an American to explain free market and a Bill of Rights to a Communist without using the Constitution.
I don't know why I went on that subject for so long. It did bother me, but yeah. That's why I didnt' bother leaving a comment to that blog. Anyway, I think I've written enough for today. Hopefully, by not writing about a platypus, I will gain more comments and higher ratings.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Well, your entry was entertaining. And I understand where your coming about the faith thing as well.
Why? Why do you NEED the bible to explain the most basic tenents of the Christian faith? Surely Christianity is just faith and love???? You don't need a book to explain them surely??
BTW platypi are interesting. Go ahead, dare to be different and blog about them. After all originality is more likely to make people want you on their buddy list, which almost certainly guarantees more reads and more comments. Try it out see how it works for you. After all it can't be worse than reading another 9/11 conspiracy theory, anti-homosexuality, anti-Christianity, pro life / pro choice blog.... Can it????
Cathii
-------------------------------------------------------
Those who know everything have learned little from life.
Without the Bible, we wouldn't know what to believe in. Christianity is a faith and does consist of love, but without the Bible we would not have anything to have faith in (BIble teaches us about God and all his teachings). Without our science books or our science teachers, we wouldnt' be able to believe that we are made up of cells. Surely, belief that we are made of cells is faith, but we wouldnt' have faith in that unless we learned it from our science books and teachers. Just as we wouldn't be able to have faith in molecular cells, without the Bible, Christians wouldn't be able to have faith in God.
And as for our duckly, mammally friends, maybe and entry will honor them in the future.
It certainly makes it easier to have the bible, I will grant you that, but essentially between the life of Christ and the compilation of the bible was a few hundred years, and quite a few hundred more before the bible became a widely accessible document. During those years, faith and devotion were handed down from generation to generation and learned from attending church. Reading, quoting or citing the bible was an unnecessary act. The understanding of Christianity was (and in my mind still should be) more important than the words contained within that book. Christianity should not be about printed words, it should be about the feelings and the motivation that faith gives you.
Just a point to ponder should you be asked the same question again.
:)
Cathii
-------------------------------------------------------
Those who know everything have learned little from life.
"Unfortunately, to my understanding, in order to win this scholarship I need to write blogs often, write comments often, get comments often, get high rates, and win the featured blogger of the week award (please correct me if I'm wrong)."
while you do need to write fairly often (although there's a difference between often and spamming, which will actually result in less reads), you don't need to get a high rating or a lot of comments in order to get points. actually, a lot of points come from leaving comments on other people's blogs (you don't get point for the comments on your blogs, just the number of reads)...and you definitely don't need to be a featured blogger (although that would help with the number of reads you get, but other than that, no, it's not necessary) in order to win.
but hey, another user recently wrote a post on how much she loved salami and that post got a huge response, so go ahead and write about the platypus all you want, you'll probably get a lot more (positive) attention than you think you will.
--stacie
Actually, the person who wrote that is Christian and it was adressed to Christians and Atheists.
Oh, and if you write about a platypus, I promise I'll read it. You don't get points from us commenting, only reading.
"Every man makes a god of his own desire."
-Virgil
i actually replied to the post you're talking about here, from a non-religious perspective...
i think what the poster in question meant is for people not to directly quote the bible at her, but instead to succinctly sum up their beliefs. a christian person should easily be able to answer a question like "why doesn't god just fix everything?" without actually quoting the bible, which, again, is what i think she meant.
--stacie
You got the highest rating from me and it is because of this statement right here:
"You'd think, "Oh. This is a cool way for Christians to justify their beliefs with answers we can relate to." There's the catch. By asking Christians to defend their faith by not using the Bible (or using it minimally) is asking Christians to rid their faith in Christianity altogether. Why? The Christian faith is DEPENDANT on the Bible. Without the Bible, our faith and our way of life means nothing to the world. Without the Bible, we wouldn't know God, we wouldn't know Jesus, and in this case, we wouldn't know the answers to those questions. Nah' mean? It's like asking an American to explain free market and a Bill of Rights to a Communist without using the Constitution."
I was really convicted by this paragraph of your entry because sometimes it is so easy to want to explain genuine faith without using the Bible. I tend to think that when I use sources other than the Bible, a secular audience will be able to understand better where I am coming from. But then I am not trusting in God's Word, which is completely capable to stand on its own. The Holy Spirit will choose to move in people's hearts whom He chooses and what better way to prompt the moving of the Holy Spirit than by the very words of God!? This post was a real eye-opener for me...and quite honestly kind of a "duh" moment. Thank you.
"If imperfections are what make us beautiful, then I must be a total babe!"
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/missionsminded-maiden
I wrote about a platypus.
I'm a rebel.
read my blogs!
ProU
Not ProU
Some mistakes can't be undone/ it'll never be like it was/ and wishing for it only makes it worse
Rocky Votolato
So I think you just prove this post wrong. Way to push the boundaries! You're crazy like a platypus.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
sawaboof: Pushing boundaries since 1983
I so need to go to bed.
read my blogs!
ProU
Not ProU
Some mistakes can't be undone/ it'll never be like it was/ and wishing for it only makes it worse
Rocky Votolato
You guys have me in tears! The little kids keep asking me what I'm laughing at, but they don't seem to think that the platypus is very humorous at all.
I live to entertain. Spreading joy and laughter and platypus facts all around. ;-)
read my blogs!
ProU
Not ProU
Some mistakes can't be undone/ it'll never be like it was/ and wishing for it only makes it worse
Rocky Votolato
I really love your blog! You really are a great writer and you should REALLY show sawaboof up and write an even BETTER blog about the platypus! LOL!!! (No offense sawa!)
well, it's hard to take offense where none was given...
but... there's only room in this town for one true platypus post. I was surprised I beat everyone to it. Not really. :-P
read my blogs!
ProU
Not ProU
Some mistakes can't be undone/ it'll never be like it was/ and wishing for it only makes it worse
Rocky Votolato
Nonsense! I am sure there is much more about the platypus to be blogged about!
My imagination is still running rampant on the 25 sex chromosomes fact.....plenty of blog-worthy material in that fact alone!
that was my feeble attempt at challenge talk. :-P
I would love to see your future blog on 25 possible platypus genders. ;-)
read my blogs!
ProU
Not ProU
Some mistakes can't be undone/ it'll never be like it was/ and wishing for it only makes it worse
Rocky Votolato
I started my research yesterday!
Let the games begin!