You’ve read her columns in WORLD Magazine; now you can read more of what’s on Janie B. Cheaney’s mind at her new blog, The Uncommon Place. In her most recent post, Janie ponders:

So what’s light?  Electromagnetic energy.  And if E=mc², then matter and energy are interchangeable.  Therefore, couldn’t “Let there be light!” be, in its way, a scientifically accurate account for the beginning of the universe?

Read on here, as Janie discusses a forthcoming book titled The Genesis Enigma: Why the Bible Is Scientifically Accurate, written by, according to Amazon.com, “a Royal Society University Research Fellow at Oxford University, and one of the eight ‘Scientists for a New Century’ selected by the Royal Institution (London).”

Several longtime commenters on WorldMagBlog have been talking recently about the history of this blog, trying to recall such things as when it all started and who was in charge of the blog before Lynn and her scepter came along. (Here’s a tougher one for you: Who came before the person before Lynn? And who was it before that?)

Thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, we can go back in time and visit threads that we thought we’re long lost. So if you have some time this weekend browse through our history and relive some old memories. (I even found my very first post.)

Here’s a screen capture from late November 2003, WMB’s first month in cyberspace:

We’ve made it through the election season (whew!) and in the process we’ve attracted quite a few new blog readers and commenters to this site. To all you newcomers: Welcome to WORLDmag.com and WorldMagBlog.

Although I’m sure that many of these newcomers find the conversation here stimulating and thought provoking—and we welcome and encourage their contributions to the ongoing discussions—a lot of them I expect are turned off by the name-calling and immature behavior that often encroach upon the comment threads. And I’m talking about commenters from both sides of the ideological and theological fences. This behavior turns off a lot of “regulars” as well, as some recent emails we’ve received attest. So let’s try to show each other some R-E-S-P-E-C-T, as Aretha would say. And remember: Just because someone calls you a name doesn’t automatically give you the right to reciprocate. Let’s all try to remember the Golden Rule. OK?

And speaking of “rules,” I ask all of you—newcomers and old-timers alike—to CLICK HERE and familiarize yourself with our website policies. One way we’ve come up with to help our small staff enforce these policies is a new feature that I’m sure many of you have noticed: the “Report this comment as offensive” link, which has been attached to every posted comment. Please use this feature judiciously: It’s mainly designed as a means for you to report to us obscene, profane, or racist rhetoric, including unnecessary personal attacks. However, it is not there for you to gripe to us about someone’s ideas or beliefs.

As we state in our website policy, that although we present a Christian worldview perspective in what the editors and writers post here, we welcome and encourage the diverse point of view of others in the comment threads. Our free speech goals parallel the view enunciated many, many years ago by the Puritan poet John Milton, whose 400th birthday we celebrate in two weeks:

“Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?”

So let’s continue to openly grapple with ideas, but let’s check the insults and innuendo at the door.

Don’t force us to ban you from this site, because if we have to, we will. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

ADDENDUM: Some of you complain and criticize the blog staff for not being more actively involved in the comment threads, and it’s a legitimate concern on your part. In the past year, this blog has grown significantly in traffic and in the number of comments per post. Therefore, the staff, which is small and has many more WORLD-related responsibilities beyond the blog, depends heavily upon you to behave yourself and to some extent police yourself. It is our hope that the “Report this comment as offensive” feature will serve as a deterrent to bad behavior as well as a means to direct us to problem spots quicker. Again, thank you in advance in helping us make this a civil place to debate topics that arrive at the intersection of Christianity and culture.

Abraham Piper (John’s son) is encouraging pastors to blog, and he gives six reasons why they should:

1. …to write.
2. …to teach.
3. …to recommend.
4. …to interact.
5. …to develop an eye for what is meaningful.
6. …to be known.

Piper, who fleshes out these reasons here, points out, “It will give you access to your people’s minds and hearts in a unique way by giving them a chance to know you as a well-rounded person.”

My pastor blogs (or at least he has a blog, but he hasn’t been posting much lately!), does yours? And for all you pastors out there, what are your thoughts on blogging or not blogging?