Imagine no Blog Heaven

"Now, recently Paper Frog was put on hiatus, so it made sense that over at Blog Heaven (from Beliefnet) that PF would be dropped from the list of active Buddhist blogs. And it was. Which only left Woodmoor. But now Woodmoor is gone, and so there is a heading for a section listing examples of the best of the Buddhist-themed blogs, but there are no listing. At least not last night or as of this posting. I have no idea why Woodmoor would be removed, but it and/or one or two of several other blogs (Danny Fisher, Lotus in the Mud, Green Clouds, The Buddhist Blog, etc, just to name a few) would also be right at home in the list. I guess we'll see what happens (as always)" - October 1st, 2006.

More accurately, imagine no Buddhist blogs in Blog Heaven. After some of the heavier topics of late, I thought an entry about blogging, particular blogging Buddhism, would be a good change of pace. Several months ago I noticed that there had been some revision at Blog Heaven, which included but was not limited to the removal of the original two entries under the Buddhist category. I am not suggesting any kind of bias, even though there are seven Christian blogs and five non-Christian faith blogs combined (not counting Beliefnet's own blogs). I am curious though why they still have the Buddhist section labeled.

After all, there are currently no Hindu blogs and no Hindu blog section. I also wonder what the criteria are for deserving entry into Blog Heaven. I am not hoping to find out so I can try to pass off this site as a Buddhist blog worthy of such consideration, but surely there must be some blog somewhere which meets the standards and expectation that are matched by the others listed at that page. And not just Buddhist blogs, but other Muslim and (general) Spirituality blogs as well. Maybe even a Hindu or Pagan blog or two?

Or maybe not. Maybe there just aren't enough religion and faith blogs out there that possess the right attributes, which from the current entries would seem to include excellent and accessible writing style, regular updates over the long term, and a tight focus on the issue around which the blog centers. That's too bad. Given the number of religion and faith blogs that are out there, I find sites like Beliefnet very useful for identifying worthwhile sites. (And despite the seeming negativity of this entry's title, it is just catchy, not hostile.)

Maybe one day another Buddhist blog will make it to Heaven.