‘Blogology’: Towards a Theology of Blogging, Part 1 (@Byers_Andy) #BigBible

– June 30, 2012Posted in: BigBible

Technological development expands and grows at such a rapid pace that we hardly have time to process our use of it theologically. Many Christians are reluctant to embrace all this newfangled techno-stuff. Others jump aboard as soon as the latest program or product has hit the Web or the Apple store. The motivations behind both the reluctance of some and the eagerness of others should have some biblical, theological grounding if we are Christians, right?

In this post, I am inspired by Dr. George Morley’s farewell piece in which she shared some reflections on blogging. Her questions about the practice warrant the need for some careful theological thinking about the nature of a blog as a means of communication.

So, what could we say towards a “theology of blogging”?

In the digital realm, blogging is public “speech.” That means that the Bible actually has a great deal to say about our use of social media because the Bible has a great deal to say about what we say. The wisdom literature (think Job, Proverbs, some of the Psalms, the New Testament letter of James, etc.) offers quite a number of warnings that should ring loudly in the ears of those of us who blog. Here are a few blurbs (roughly within range of fitting in that Twitter box with the blinking cursor!):

“Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov 29:20).

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion” (Prov 18:2).

“How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness” (Jam 3:5-6a).

And this may be the most frightening statement in Scripture that should give us pause before clicking “Publish”:

Jesus: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak….” (Mt 12:26).

These are stern, frightening warnings. But should they silence the blogosphere? Not necessarily… but they should certainly temper the blogosphere, or at least shape and guide the way we digidisciple(s) are creating blog posts. In response to the warnings above, we learn that Christians who blog should…

Resist being hasty with our words (Prov 29:20)

Write to understand, not just to vocalize our unreflected opinions (Prov 18:2)

Use our speech to inspire rather than to inflame (James 3)

Refuse to offer any words that are careless (Mt 12:36)

These warnings are so urgent because public theological discourse is actually a central discipline for God’s people. We are familiar with what Jesus hailed as “the greatest commandment”: love the Lord your God with absolutely everything (with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength—cf. Mk 12:29-30). But we are less familiar with the context of that greatest of commandments—Jesus was quoting from “the Shema” of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (“Shema” is from the Hebrew “to hear,” the command that opens Dt. 6:4). Love the LORD your God with everything, we read, AND:

“…these WORDS that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (emphasis added).

The context of the greatest commandment is public theological discourse that spans every sphere and every cycle of our lives! So the strong warnings above are not to dissuade bloggers from blogging, but to ensure that if we are going to utilize a blog as an avenue for the centrally important discipline of public speech about God, then we need to do so in absolute excellence and with great care.

Now, the Shema does not demand that every Christian sign up for a WordPress account. As we will see in upcoming posts, the Church’s public theological discourse occurs through the varied members of Christ’s Body through varied formats. The point of this post is that blogging is a contemporary mode of an ancient biblical practice that is therefore subject to biblical guidelines.

So bloggers, blog. But not with careless words. And blog for the sake of discussing the wonder and glory of God when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you surf the digital realm of the Internet.

Any thoughts from bloggers or blog-readers out there? How are blogs both dangerous and helpful in damaging or promoting the Church’s discourse about God?

Topics for upcoming reflection: the “unordained” blog (the voice of the blogger is not commissioned by an ecclesial body—how does this affect its authority and legitimacy?); the “anointed” blog (is blogging a “spiritual gift”?); the “prophetic” blog (is the blog a suitable format for God’s prophetic voice in church and society?).

Tags: Blogging, Deuteronomy, Gospel of Matthew, James, Job, Proverbs, Psalms, Theology

About AndyByers

An American living in England and working on a PhD i narrative theology in John’s Gospel at Durham University. I have an MDiv from Beeson Divinity School and a ThM from Duke. My first book is about cynicism toward the church and disillusionment with God—Faith Without Illusions: Following Jesus as a Cynic-Saint (IVP Likewise, 2011). The next project underway is with Cascade Books, tentatively called ‘TheoMedia.’ I am also serving as the theological editor for the UK’s Big Bible blog.

Penelope Swithinbank

A wise and thought provoking comment – and definitely a word in season. Thank you for making me stop and think before pressing the publish button. I hope – AND PRAY – to make my blog relevant, inspiring, helpful, to others in their daily journey. So I want to avoid anything which might cause damage. I fear it’s not the content so much as the need to promote which may give others reason to be irritated, for instance. If I write, and want to write for others’ benefit, how do I avoid the need to let them know I’ve written it without causing offence in the nature and frequency of saying ‘it’s here, please go and read it.’
- Bene23
  
  That seems a fair question, and relates to the opening sentences: the eager and the reluctant, who will welcome news of a new blog entry, or become irritated.
  Subscribing to a blog clearly helps, but to widen your audience ..? Does wit have its place here..an amusing invitation, rather than too bald a statement, would fall within the spirituality guidelines!
http://twitter.com/tim_hutchings Tim Hutchings

Great post, Andy. But what counts as a “careless word” when we’re blogging?
- Andy Byers
  
  Great Q, Tim. Sorry for the late reply. I think recognizing the nature of the blog as a media format for public theological discourse means that we take the “discourse” part seriously. In other words, a blog is not the sort of medium for producing doctrinal treatises or ecumenical creedal statements. They are discursive, meaning that we are in some sense conducting a conversation, right? This means that words can be challenged and corrected, perhaps not unlike the way prophetic words were tested by others in the community in 1 Cor 14:29.
  
  This is not to promote carelessness in speech. But I think blogs are contexts for thinking aloud in community, which means we are not necessarily making definitive statements for the church. How does that sound to you?
  
  ~Andy
Mark Howe

So far this looks to me like a theology of not blogging, or of pretending that blogging as a genre doesn’t actually exist.

“The point of this post is that blogging is a contemporary mode of an ancient biblical practice that is therefore subject to biblical guidelines”. Well, if it’s that simple, it’s that simple… and we should get back to the serious business of giving our sandals to each other to show our sincerity and of rendering social services redundant by not mowing up to the edge of our gardens. After all, that’s surely the simple application of the book of Ruth, isn’t it?

Blogging obviously has something in common with ancient biblical practices and with lots of other forms of communication throughout the centuries. But it’s not just “a contemporary mode of an ancient biblical practice.” Reducing it to that is obviously going to make Christians happy, because it means they don’t need to learn any new skills and can feel superior to all those carnal people writing blogs that break Christian etiquette and actually change the world. But it’s a cop-out.

Blogging is not a journal. (Although, incidentally, have you read John Wesley’s journal? It’s full of random jibes, arbitrary prejudice and personal attacks. Which, I would suggest, might be one reason why people read it…)

And 2012 is not 1800 CE or 1200 BCE. We no longer live in a culture where we expect children to die for shaming their parents, where words were rarer and the written word was precious just because it was so rare. The Christian blogosphere is full of people writing with extreme care because of all the people that will never read their blog, precisely because completely balanced, worthy treatises are precisely what blogging is not about.

With blogs, and even more so with microblogging such as Twitter, the medium is all about responding rapidly, wittily, openly, honestly, memorably and concisely to issues people actually care about. If you need a week, or even 24 hours, to meditate on the right words, it probably isn’t going to matter that much what words you write, because the discussion will have moved on.

If Christians are going to engage effectively with new media, we need to find a spirituality that can embrace soundbites and controversy. Sure, there are risks in doing that. But I maintain that those risks are no more serious than the far more popular error of turning blogging into some sort of monastic pursuit and then whining about why more people don’t read our blogs.
- http://twitter.com/aligledhill Ali Gledhill
  
  I found your comments really interesting, Mark. I loved your comment about the need for a spirituality that embraces soundbites and controversy – surely the Bible is the most controversial and sound-bitten collection of literature in history?
  
  I’m concerned by an active desire for controversy and un-nuanced, un-measured comments, though. Although our means of communication have changed over the years, the Biblical principles behind how we ought to communicate have not. To add just a few ‘soundbites’ to Andy’s blog:
  
  ‘The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.’ (Pr 12:18)
  
  ‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.’ (Eph 4:29)
  
  ‘My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…’ (Jas 1:19)
  
  You’re completely right that social media are fast-paced and we have to engage with them on those terms. But I don’t think that necessarily means compromising our Christian integrity as we do so. The challenge for Christian bloggers is surely to uphold God’s good principles of loving communication in a feisty, immediate environment.
  
  If that’s done badly, I agree, the result will be the whining of the ‘monastic pursuit’ you refer to. (Goodness knows I’ve seen enough of those blogs in my time.) Done well, though, blogging gives us huge opportunities to honour God by loving others and acting wisely as we communicate online. I think it’s right that we think through how to do that – that’s why I’m looking forward to the rest of Andy’s series.
- Brian H.
  
  @google-91ea6ce75ec5b12b7f4f3fdea7c0b59e:disqus
  
  Your analysis of the blogosphere and social media is correct. It is fast-paced and people do expect quick answers. I would argue, though, that what people want more is something thoughtful and content that gives something to them. I personally don’t come back to any books or blogs that doesn’t give me something. For some people, they might be able to give readers or followers something quickly while “keeping up” with the conversation. I assure you, though, that most will stick with someone who is thoughtful if that person writes something that resonates and is useful to them.
  
  Also, I find that the conversation in Christian circles doesn’t just “move on.” We’ve been talking about the same things for the past 2,000 years. We’re not chasing fads or trends here. Nothing moves more slowly than theology and the church.
  
  With all that, I would say nothing moves so quickly that it can’t wait for you to sleep on it and post in the morning. As someone who speaks poorly off the cuff all the time, taking the time to consider others is wisdom. The Apostle Paul reminds us to run this race with endurance, not with our hair on fire.
@drgeorgemorley

Really enjoyed this post, Andy. I think the reminder that this is public discourse is v helpful – blogging etal can be so chatty that it seems like intimate/private space. Public-private boundaries are so strange in our society at the moment (Hello/celebrity/reality stuff as well as socmedia) that we need to be doing all we can to think together about how we function in the public sphere.
Will look forward to what you have to say on authority in due course! I am fascinated by the ‘having of opinions’ and the stridency that can accompany them, and really intrigued to see how the notion of authority is developing…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=656235160 Bex Lewis

Thanks for all these comments. As there’s quite a lot of complicated content in here, Andy is intending to respond with another blog post. We’ll let you know when it’s up…
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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=656235160 Bex Lewis

Andy has responded here: http://bigbible.org.uk/2012/07/blogology-part-2-the-blog-as-a-non-biblical-genre-for-a-biblical-practice/
Pingback: Blogology, Part 2: The Blog as a non-Biblical Genre for a Biblical Practice
Pingback: Blogology, Part 3: Un-ordained Voices…? (@Byers_Andy)
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