Should you review and rewrite the past?

As I’ve recounted in my summer goals, I’ve been conducting an audit of the Tiny Bible Bits which I’ve written over the last decade.

Bloody hell it’s been a big job.

Currently, I’m midway through 2012, having back-catalogued all but the last 150 of nearly 1500 posts.

Frankly, some of the things I have written have been fairly pedestrian.

A few have been boarder-line lazy.

Most are somewhat-solid thoughts based mostly upon scripture.

More than I would have suspected are quite insightful.

The experience has been frustratingly insightful.

First of all, I’ve - quite independently - recycled a lot of input. I haven’t crunched the data yet, but I look forward to finding out which passages have been the most revisited.

Second, I’ve written some things which I’ve since softened on. Like some things in this blog, while I may not disagree with what I’ve previously penned, the tone I’ve used has sometimes been... overly self-assured.

Honestly, most of the things I’ve written have been completely wiped from my memory and I would never have rediscovered the hidden gems if I hadn’t trawled back through my previous posts.

I wonder what ministers would find if they did the same thing?

What would they change about their previous sermons?

What points in bible studies may they now disagree with?

While the foundations of the faith should be constant, over the years, experiences will dictate that your personal faith will change/develop/grow.

So, what do you do with the old info?

Do you amend it?

Do you publicise that you no longer hold this position, or at least have softened your stance?

Really, the problem only exists for those who have their prior thoughts recorded - such as in a blog or searchable sermon catalogue - but with the internet, as they say, everything is now permanent.

How many ministers in their 40’s will be haunted by what they said or wrote in their 20’s?