I maintain that the book of Proverbs was a collaborative blog, or prototype thereof. (Has any other Christian blogger noted?) For example, short blurbs are the rule. Sometimes just two lines will do it.

"If you are slack in the day of distress,
Your strength is limited" (24:10).

Of course there are groups of blogs, or multiple entries:

- the invitation and blessings of wisdom (chs. 2-4)
- the dangers of harlots and adultery (chs. 5-7)
- the dangers of drink (23:29-35)
- care of flocks (27:23-27)
- the worthy woman (31:10-31)

This early blog also links to other sites, like anthill.org.

"Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise" (6:25).

This blog is collaborative. Solomon has several sets of blogs (1:1; 10:1; 25:1). Then Agur (ch. 30) and Lemuel (31.1-9) chime in. And there are the anonymous posters:

"Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, . . ." (22:17).

"These also are the sayings of the wise" (24:23).

Besides these subdomains, there are page addresses to permanent links. For example, at 15:32, one will always find this entry:

"He who neglects discipline despises himself,
But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding."

Admittedly, these permanent links were not in the original sofware; one had to search through to find the various entries. But they were, for our good fortune, added in a recent update.

And, of course, the search engines. But they are not for everyone, nor for every subject.

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter" (25:2).

"It is not good to eat much honey,
Nor is it glory to search out one's one glory" (25:27).

The first phrase, about not good to eat much honey, may be construed as a warning against staying too long on the Internet.

The original inspired blogger knows how to look at both sides of an issue.

"Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.
Answer a fool as his folly deserves,
That he be not wise in his own eyes" (26:4,5).

And he has great advice about forwarding emails.

"Argue your case with your neighbor,
And do not reveal the secret of another,
Or he who hears it will reproach you,
And the evil report about you will not pass away" (25:9,10).

That last line means your IP could get banned. There is much in this letter about netiquette, now that we mention it.

On this particular blog, you won't hear much about the main author's personal life. For that, you must consult his earlier blog, entitled Ecclesiastes.

Before you open that window, though, the wise blogger invites you to bookmark his site.

"Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts" (8:34).

Year's end provides a great time to evaluate our life and make new plans. Go beyond the plain vanilla resolutions. You might, in your assessment of where you've come up to now, just need to do some old fashioned repenting. (I know I do.)

A good thought for this time of year comes from Proverbs 3:5-6.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths" (NRSV).

May your New Year be wonderfully joyful and glorious.

The year draws to a close. At least one thing we may be able to finish. 2002!

One of my great difficulties is finishing all the wonderful projects I start. Perhaps we need to revise that old saw that says, "Nice people finish last," and make it read:

Nice people finish.

All this reminds us of a line from Solomon's Ecclesiastes, where he got a few things right, including this idea:

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit. (7:8, NASB)

Well, it's the end of my faith I'm looking for, as 1 Peter 1.9 says, the result, the outcome, which he explains as "the salvation of souls." Mine. And, I hope, yours, too.
__________
You can read an expanded version of this on Forthright Magazine.

... of postmodernism:

"After all we are post-modernists and, thus, we are really free to do anything."

Doesn't sound much different from the ancient hedonists to me.

Now you can do it, literally. It is now possible to transplant a human face to another head. So says Dr. Peter Butler of London's Hospital Royal Free. But he says the question is not whether you can, but whether you ought to do it. The morality of putting on someone else's face is the more complex issue, according to the surgeon.

I say, just grin real big and you'll have a whole new face.