On 7000

Another milestone along the way:

Those who know a bit about me might suggest what my title is referring to. ‘Is it 7000 books that you now own?’ No, that number is fast approaching 8500. ‘Is it the number of days in a row that you have not failed to buy a new book?’ Close, but no bananas. ‘How about the number of days straight that you read some book?’ Also close.

But somewhat related to those guesses, it has to do with this being the 7000^th article posted on my website. Given that I have discussed earlier CultureWatch milestones, I might sound a bit repetitious here, but newer readers might be interested in what follows.

Numbers

Although I may not have originally intended this, I now basically seek to daily pen a new piece. Given that I started this ministry early in 2006 – which amounts to some 7100 days – it does pretty much come out to an article a day. Some days I am too busy to write anything, but other days I can pen two, three, or even four pieces.

As to the word count, earlier on CultureWatch articles were a bit shorter. They eventually grew to around 1400 words per piece. But now they can often approach 2000 words – this piece being a clear exception. If we run with an average of 1600 words per article, that means you will find some 11.2 million words on my site.

Plenty of topics are covered. The hundred or so categories and sub-categories found here give you a clue as to the sorts of things I write about. Some general things that I am always writing about include Christianity with over 4500 articles (hey, this site does offer Christian commentary on the issues of the day).

There are 2200 articles on ethics, but that gets broken down into things like 430 pieces on abortion, 300 on transgenderism, and 25 on capital punishment. There are well over 1000 pieces on family, and some 1600 articles on theology.

It is not always hardcore material. For example, “Literature, the Arts, and Entertainment” features 235 essays, while 150 articles are on popular culture – some more cheery and some more serious. I am a bit of a book guy, so there are 845 full or partial book reviews found here. And then there are another 40 pieces on books and reading.

And simply offering lots of quotes can be helpful to some folks, so there are over 300 pieces featuring that. If each one averages twenty quotes or so, that offers you 6000 choice quotes to access and enjoy. Also, there are 1,580 pieces in my “Sermons and Devotionals” section.

Much newer topics keep arising, so I have to cater for those as well. For example, I now have some 40 pieces on AI and transhumanism and the like. On and on it goes. But that should give you a bit of a feel for what is found here.

If I were to double my output at my current rate, you can come back in 2044 to see my 14,000 articles. There are no guarantees however that I will live that long! But enough of the trivia.

Why write?

So why DO I spend all my time writing? I write because I believe truth matters. Good ideas need to be shared to challenge all the media indoctrination, failing educational standards, and the war on history we find throughout the West. Indeed, we are engaged in multi-level warfare.

A major part of this is the war of ideas. Bad ideas have bad consequences, as do lies and falsehoods. Lots of ugly, false and destructive ideas are out there – primarily pushed by the mainstream media, academia, and much of our ruling classes and commentariat – so resisting that is essential.

I seek to counter all this with these daily articles. As William F. Buckley once put it: “Why do I write so much? Because my enemy writes more.” Or as Martin Luther rightly stated: “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.”

One more relevant quote – George Orwell put it this way: “When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.”

And there are other reasons. This is what I do – it is what I am gifted at. Even as a non-Christian I was doing a fair bit of writing, including for an underground newspaper I helped to edit. God had given me this talent or gift even before I became a Christian. I used it for worldly purposes for a while, and then in mid-1971 when Christ rescued me, I started to use it for his Kingdom.

So if you need me to help you fix your car or tend your garden, I will be of no use to you. If you want me to sing in your church choir or work in your kid’s creche, I am not your man. But I can give you a thousand-word piece in 30 minutes.

We are all different, and the gifts God has given to me are not the same gifts he has given to everyone else. What is important is that we use whatever it is that God has given us, and use it faithfully for his kingdom and for his glory. That I will seek to do until I can no longer do it.

And what about you? Are you using what God has given you to help advance the kingdom?

Afterword

When I became a Christian 54 years ago, I had no idea that I would set up a website and pen 7000 pieces for it. Then again, I had no idea I would marry an Aussie and move down under. It is always interesting being on a journey with God.

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