I've offered a fair bit of commentary and advice from fellow bloggers. We shouldn't forget, though, that there are strong Scriptural bases for these ideas. Let's start with the words of Christ Himself and then listen to St. Paul.
"I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine; all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one…I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me." – John 17:9-11,20-23 [emphases mine]
If we fail to show love to one another and are not unified, we are failing to faithfully show God's love to the world. If our deeds do not match our words, we misrepresent the Gospel.
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump…I wish those who unsettle you would mutilate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousn
ess, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another." – Galatians 5:9,12-26 [emphases mine]
Ouch. I don't I need to add anything to what St. Paul said. ๐
"I…beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift….And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love…Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." – Ephesians 4:1-7,11-16,25-32 [emphases mine]
Again, St. Paul has said what I want to say with far more eloquence and force. Now, how should we apply these teachings to our internet endeavors? How do maintain unity, build each other up, and impart grace with our words? Richard Hall has a suggestion.
"Christians should conduct all their conversation with what has been called 'interpretive charity'. It may well be a familiar turn of phrase to you, but it’s a new one on me and I’m grateful for being introduced to it. It means beginning with the assumption in any disagreement that your opponent is not only sincere but is also rational and holds those opinions for sensible reasons. She is not being wilfully stupid. Secondly — and this is by no means easy — it means restating those views to yourself in the most persuasive way that you can, which for Christians always means seeking their Biblical basis. In other words, the task is to take your opponents strongest argument and really listen to it so that you can restate it even more persuasively. It means looking at others in the best possible light."
That ought to sound awfully familar to someone familar with Scripture.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." – 1 Corinthians 13
What relation does this have to interpretive charity? Well, the Greek word for love that's used here, agape, is used in Scripture to denote sacrificial love, such as described in John 15:13, and is sometimes alternately translated as charity. Let's try giving each other some slack and loving each other as Christ commanded us.
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Actually, I though Archbishop Lefebvre was pretty funny.
At first I did, too. I think he crossed a line, though. I’m not the only one that feels that way (and, no, they’re not limited to those insulted by him).
This looks terrific! Lots of good ideas to help promote civility, something our society needs A LOT more of. I’ve only been able to skim the post so far, but look forward to giving it a close read. And I’m definitely linking to it from my own fledgling blog. This one’s a keeper!
I wonder if “cyber-disinhibition” has its counterpart in “cyber-intimacy.” Many people in chat rooms, for instance, experience a sense of knowing their conversation partner far more closely than is actually the case. I once knew a woman who met a man on a Christian internet dating site (in itself not a bad way to meet someone in a world where traditional social institutions have eroded). They exchanged emails and instant messages for months and fell deeply in love — only to encounter blatant differences in temperament, etc., when they met in person.
This doesn’t just happen in dating relationships, either. Married people have been known to engaged in emotional affairs — often just as wounding as sexual affairs — with someone online.
I’d love to see some substantiation to the claim that all sarcasm is “evil” or ungodly.
Found you through a link at Adrian’s blog.
Welcome, to the conversation, centuri0n. ๐
“I’d love to see some substantiation to the claim that all sarcasm is “evil” or ungodly.”
I don’t recall saying that. That’d be a pretty odd thing for a sarcastic guy like me to say. ๐ I also happen to believe Jesus, Paul, and likely several other biblical figures used it. I do think that sarcasm needs to be emploted judiciously. I think more often then not it’s used to break people down instead of building them up. I can’t recall the verse, but I’m pretty certain Paul warned against harsh speech that disparages.
BTW, I dig your gravatar. You Pyromaniacs have some cool graphic design mojo working for you.
Very nicely done.
I don’t know that we ever had the plot, I know we wish we did, or that we’d like to believe we do. This is a come back to post, lots of good reminders in it, thank you!
May I point something out?
I don’t know that Christian journalist has any more meaning that Christian lawyer, hydro worker, Wal-Mart clerk or Christian IT specialist. Journalist, lawyer, hydro worker, Wal-Mart clerk and IT specialist who are Christians is more realistic.:^)
sarcasm – (noun)- witty language used to convey insults or scorn -the lowest form of wit.
’nuff said.
Thanks for dropping by, Bene. I’m glad you like the post. ๐ I hope it has a lasting impact on folks who read it (including myself). There are so many important lessons that I merely pay lip service to. ๐
General Interest The General Interest folks get a free pass from needing to disclose denominational affiliation, since if it’s really general interest, everyone should be able to appreciate it. Ales Rarus asks Have Christian Bloggers Lost the Plot?
??? Great moments in parenting… they don’t usually look like Norman Rockwell paintings… they often look a lot like this. HT: Thoughts and Reflections ??? Here’s this week’s version of”what’s wrong with Godblogging and how can we fix it?”. It’s probably healthy to revisit this once in awhile and this is the most encyclopedic effort I’ve seen to date. Lots of constructive criticism and helpful ideas here, courtesy of Ales Rarus. ???
Funky Dung of Ales Rarus confesses “When it comes to the kind of acerbic and caustic blogging that I believe is poisoning the Body of Christ, and the rest of the world for that matter, I too am guilty.” He offersHave Christian Bloggers Lost the Plot? to help remedy the situation. In The Allure of Toys: You May Want to Play With Them, But They Don’t Want to Play With You, Shaun Nolan at Postscript Posthaste suggests that parents take a greater role is deciding which toys our children play with.
“The Ten Commandments for Homeschooling Moms” at SpunkyHomeschool brought back a few memories. The wisdom contained therein is applicable to non-homeschool families as well. A long, rambling post on the way Christian bloggers blog,”Have Christian Bloggers Lost the Plot?” by Ales Rarus, has some interesting points. You may need to bookmark it and come back to it, though. There’s more there than you can digest in a single reading, IMO. My contribution to this week’s Carnival is
ย asks Christian bloggerAles Rarus If I had to summarize in one sentence the main reason I blog and how I choose what to blog about, Iยd say that Iยd like to help people stop begging questions, talking past one another, and calling each other silly and rude names, and start
about her personal journey toward God. Bloggers (typically) love books and Nature and Mission of Theology feeds us with great quotes from the book of the same title by Pope Benedict XVI. From Crusader of Justice.Have Christian Bloggers Lost the Plot? Ales Rarus is trying to help people stop begging questions, talking past one another, and calling each other silly and rude names, and start thinking critically, listening to one another, and treating each other with, at minimum, the same love theyยd
[…] Ales Rarus – A Rare Bird, A Strange Duck, One Funky Blog » Have Christian Bloggers Lost the Plot? […]
[…] Full post, with lots to ponder whether you’re a blogger or merely a human being. […]
[…] Far too much air is expended, too much ink spilled, and too many pixels lit in battles over orthodoxy. Why don’t we spend a little more time talking about orthopraxy? I addressed a specific aspect of this topic, civility in discourse, in an earlier post. There’s more to being Christians than just being civil, though. That’s not meritorious behavior, just what is expected of us. There are poor, lonely, hurt, angry, sick, and otherwise needy people in this world. Let’s try spending a little more time caring about them, and leave theology to the theologians once in a while. It’s fine to have a rousing debate once in a while, but it doesn’t fulfill our duties as Christians, as people commanded to love to the point of laying down our lives. Instead of being quick to label each other heretic and refuse to have dealings with each other, let’s work together to spread the love of God. Even nonbelievers can do that; Jesus said so. […]
Well said. Much needed. Thanks!
I second Bene’s definition of sarcasm. While it is certainly not always wrong to use, and sometimes even needed, it is often just the first blunt instrument that comes to hand.
Great post!
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Moby Blog, or A Short Anthology for the Blog-Obsessed…
Since I re-entered the blogosphere last fall, I’ve been collecting links to blog posts about blogging as a sort of anthology for personal use. I didn’t start out to make it comprehensive or even a “best of” collection; it’s just examples of writi …
[…] Is NFP Just Another Form of Contraception?Why Is Prostitution Illegal?Investigating NFP: PrefaceApology Due to Michael Schiavo?The Church in the Modern WorldSenator Specter’s Snake OilHave Christian Bloggers Lost the Plot?Yet More Adult Stem Cell AdvancesLiturgical Soapbox: Humility, Contrition, and Petitions in the Tridentine and Novus Ordo MissalsShut Up and Fill the Prescription Featured Posts Engaged Encounter Part I: House of God?Investigating NFP: Pius XIIs NFP Just Another Form of Contraception?Salvation, Discipleship, and PrioritiesReligion as Sacred and Science as Profane Recent Posts […]
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