I read an article in the New York Times about the popularity of tweets (Twitter posts/updates for those non-users) from Christians who post inspiring or supposedly meaningful phrases in 160 characters or less. The article, entitled “Twitter Dynamos, Offering Word of God’s Love” appeared in the @nytimes June 2, 2012 print copy and online in their technology section.
The tweets that have gained popularity are those that are uplifting or inspiring. Often, popular religious Twitter users, who gain massive amounts of “followers,” quote lines from the Bible that resonate with Christians or really any human who is seeking some type of fulfillment or encouragement. The idea of Twitter and personal fulfillment is quite interesting. What is it that people find rewarding from feel-good and cliche phrases that are often more empty than fulfilling?
Don’t get me wrong. There are short proverbial phrases that are valuable and various social media outlets can be good tools for communicating and networking. I use Twitter and other social media outlets to ask questions, pose thoughts, or connect (as shallow as it may be) with other thinkers and writers around the earth. Twitter is my primary source for links to news, video, information about publications, book releases, direct trade coffee, and European footballers’ contracts, strategies, and statistics. My concern is that the modern, popular expression and understanding of Christianity becomes cheapened to quotable one-liners that promote the acceptance of a therapeutic form of religion that does not represent the person of Jesus.
One other danger rests in the act of reading about Christianity and social justice initiatives and a consequent feeling like we’re somehow involved in the goodness of the world. How might we use social media outlets as a means of connectivity and resourcing while not compromising the call to be followers of Jesus, representing compassion and enacting theology? Is it possible to responsibly engage in Christian formation via Twitter? How might we most effectively shape our culture in a world of instantaneous, mass, online-social communication?
Love the challenge presented here Travis. Even though I also rely on Twitter I appreciate the pushback on pursuing a therapeutic religion that makes us feel good instead a robust understanding of how God desires us to engage our world.
Perhaps posts need a response other than a post. i.e. A friend may post “hope I can get my roof fixed before the storms next week” and we volunteer to help them out. Love is a verb that is more that a posting. If someone post, “i’m at the ER, will give details later” perhaps we need to go the ER to check on them or if they are in another city send a friend—– “Hey, I ‘m a friend of _____, he sent me here to check on you”
I like what PK is saying here. I, personally, don’t use Twitter… I don’t really find much use for it if I don’t have a mobile device that can at all times be connected, which I don’t. But, I think Twitter feeds into the selfishness that resides in our culture… on one side people want to be heard, and then on the other people just want to be filled and entertained. This is probably a huge reason why the quotes we see are uplifting and encouraging… but you don’t see things like Matthew 15:19 “for out of the heart come evil” – BUMMER! I wonder why they call it “social-media” if the attitudes and behaviors that people show when participating in things likes Twitter become so anti-social. The missing link, like PK is saying, I think is response and interaction.