Ripples

Ripples

By Hendrik van der Breggen

SOME HAPPY NEWS ABOUT MY BLOG

Here is the official blurb on my blog: “APOLOGIA is a blog in which I address topics having to do with faith, science, ethics, logic, and (sometimes) politics, and in which I try to use careful reasoning and evidence to seek—and defend—what is true. APOLOGIA is also a place where I provide links (in the margin) to my books and other writings.”

And here is the happy news: This week the number of pageviews at my blog APOLOGIA surpassed 1,000,000. ONE MILLION. Wow!!!

I know that several of my friends and acquaintances write and publish much more than I do, and that their work is read much more than mine, and that their work is top-notch in terms of truth, logic, and clarity. For their work I am truly grateful. Their work also makes me realize that I am a very tiny fish in a very large ocean! Still, I am amazed—and pleased and humbled—that the words I have written have reached such a large audience.

My ongoing prayer is and has been this: that truth and goodness prevail and that the plans (e.g., bad reasoning and lies) of evil-doers be thwarted. May my blog play a positive role in this.

I also pray that my blog will bring glory to God—not glory to some unknown God or to some fictional “god,” but to the true God. That is, the God who took on human flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, was killed by crucifixion, and was physically resurrected, thereby showing us via historical evidence and careful reasoning therefrom that we can rightly ground our faith in him as Lord and Saviour.

To this I say: Gloria in excelsis Deo! And: Amen!

SOME HISTORY, AND A LESSON

My blog began in August of 2008. At the time, I was teaching undergraduate philosophy at a small college/university in rural Manitoba, and I thought the blog might function as an extension of my classroom lectures in philosophy and critical thinking. My in-class students were (and remain) precious to me, but I wanted to reach people who were not in my classes. With a hope I believe God gave me, I hoped to share the fruit of my years of philosophical study—study I believe God called me to do—with more people. At least a few more people.

My blog’s purpose was to provide critical thinking tools to readers who wish to improve their skills in truth-seeking, argumentation, and knowing. I believed—and continue to believe—that these tools are crucially important for our time. In fact, many people today have lost sight of what truth is, lack proficiency in the art of argument, and are skeptical about knowledge. The result is that we live in a culture of falsehoods, fallacies, and fog. My work has been—and continues to be—an attempt to shine light into the darkness.

In other words, my work has been—and continues to be—an attempt to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5), that is, to evaluate every claim in such a way as to discern whether or not it properly reflects the Logos and Truth.

I recall being pleasantly surprised in 2009 when the pageview number on my blog reached 3,000. Then in 2015 I was happy to announce 100,000 pageviews. Then in 2020 (a year after my retirement), I was delighted that the pageview count reached 200,000. Then in 2024 it reached 500,000. Then in 2026 (a few hours ago) it hit 1,000,000. Again: Wow! The blog has reached “at least a few more people” indeed!

According to my blog’s analytics page, readers from all over the world have visited my blog. The top 19 countries/territories are as follows (in order of highest number, second highest, etc.): United States, Canada, Singapore, France, Brazil, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong, Viet Nam, United Kingdom, India, Ukraine, Sweden, Portugal, China, Bangladesh, Philippines, The Netherlands, and “others.”

My blog writing has slowed down significantly since my retirement in 2019. I am getting older and tiring more easily, and my brain is not as quick as it used to be. Happily, however, what I wrote in years past—when I was younger, had more energy, and could think more deftly—is now reaching a much larger readership than I ever imagined when I first composed those articles. In fact, even though my blog output has decreased significantly since I retired, during the time since retirement the number of pageviews has more than quintupled, from less than 200,000 to more than 1,000,000. It turns out that many of my “old” articles are finding a fresh readership and are being read daily.

There is more.

Over the years my blog articles have also been republished in various online magazines (and not counted by my blog's pageview counter): Political Animal Magazine (based in Toronto and Chicago), The Stream (Texas), Mercator (Australia), Gript (Ireland), Life Issues (U.S.), and others. Two even appeared in Spanish on a bioethics website (based in Spain).

In addition, several of my blog articles have been republished in various newspapers (also not counted by my blog's pageview counter): The Carillon (our local newspaper in Steinbach), Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Sun, Ottawa Sun, Toronto Sun, etc. I recall that in 2020 one of my blog articles, which I submitted to a newspaper in Winnipeg, was picked up by the Postmedia network and appeared on the websites of over 50 Postmedia newspapers across Canada. I didn’t track whether this may have happened with any of my other blog articles that I submitted to newspapers.

And add to this the fact that since my retirement many of my blog articles have been compiled (by me) into several paperback books which I published and sold via Amazon KDP: 

1. Untangling Popular Pro-Choice Arguments: Critical Thinking about Abortion (2020)

2. APOLOGIA: The Columns: A Defence of Mere Christianity (2023)

3. Truth, Logic, Knowledge: Articles of Critical Thinking (2023)

4. Untangling Popular Pro-MAID Arguments: Critical Thinking about Medical Assistance in Dying (in Canada) (2023)

5. Untangling Popular Anti-Israel Arguments: Critical Thinking about the Israel-Hamas War (booklet) (2024)

6. Untangling Trudeau: MAID, COVID, ABORTION, LGBTQ+ (2025)

7. A Defence of Israel: Critical Thinking about the Israel-Hamas War (2026)

Not only have copies of my books been sold online (via Amazon) but also some have sold in brick-and-mortar bookstores (Steinbach, Winnipeg, and Vancouver). In addition, a kind soul purchased over 400 of one of the above books (on abortion) and she and her husband sent a copy to each of Canada’s Members of Parliament (338) and Senators (105). Another kind soul purchased 80 other books (on MAID) to help educate Canadians about euthanasia. Copies of each of the books were also donated to a dozen or so college and university libraries across Canada. While browsing the internet, I noticed that one of my books even ended up in a university library in Nairobi, Kenya!

I don’t mean to toot my own horn here (well, OK, I confess: there’s a wee bit of such tooting happening). Rather, in all seriousness—and with much gratitude—I am truly amazed at how my blog articles have spread.

In sum, there have been over one million pageviews on my blog, plus perhaps millions more via republications. All this happened because God gave me the hope (and the prompting) to share the fruit of my years of philosophical study—study I believe God called me to do—with at least a few more people than were in my classroom.

Lesson: Even if we feel insignificant in our work to make a difference—like, say, a tiny fish swimming in a vast ocean—we should persevere in doing what God has called us to do. Why? Because God has called us to do so. And because God may turn our tiny ripples into waves.

POSTSCRIPT

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my precious wife. Carla, your unfailing support during my studies and writing projects has been a blessing to me—and no doubt to many others. I love you!

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Hendrik van der Breggen, PhD, is a retired philosophy professor who lives in Steinbach, Manitoba.