In my political soup post the other day I included a link at the bottom to a Time article by Joel Stein called, “How Trolls are Ruining the Internet.” It’s a good read and he mentions all my favorite subjects, free speech, bullying, the red pills, culture, and the alt right.
Many bloggers have been writing about these things as well and the word has spread and now some mainstream writers are having a look at it all. I’m grateful and I find this encouraging, an answer to prayer indeed, because I’ve been blogging about the red pills, internet abuse, and the alt right for a few years now.
I really am an absolutist when it comes to free speech, free thought, BUT, just because you can say it, doesn’t mean you SHOULD say it. I’m a mom, all it takes to kick my maternal instincts into overdrive is watching a bunch of haters attacking a young teen ager on the internet, ugly words, psychological abuse, bullying. Do they know who they are actually harassing? Not always, no, but sometimes people just don’t care. Hatred is ugly to bear witness to.
I don’t have a solution in a secular sense, a policy or a law. I love the freedom of the internet. There’s two sides to every issue, I’ve been labeled a troll and a hater myself. I don’t think you can regulate behavior on the internet, it’s a heart issue, not a legal issue.
However, when it comes to Christians promoting hatred or behaving horribly all bets are off. I have no problem calling that out, wrong, bad, not okay. We are Jesus Christ’s ambassadors in what is often hostile territory and we are called to represent Him to the best of our ability. Heated, sharp words are one thing, everyone looses their temper, but claiming His name out of one side of our mouth, while promoting hatred and abuse out of the other, uh,uh, not okay. We will be held accountable for our words, every one of them, even those said on the internet. If you want biblical proof of that, try reading the instruction manual, it explains everything.
I speak mostly of people like Vox Day and Dalrock, and some of those who comment at those sites. There are many others, too. There are Christians on facebook too, who do not consider their words and the impact they can have on people. When is it okay to say something like, “God thinks you’re human trash?” How about never. Not ever.
We need Christians on the internet to lead the way, to set the tone, and to stand up when they see something ugly being done. I encounter people doing just that all the time and they are like an oasis in a cesspool, set apart, different, representatives of a better way. Encountering them is like a gulp of fresh air or a drink of cool water.
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” -James 3: 9-12
See, there's this thing called biology... 
Grab my hand, IB! I’m going to save you! All knights should rescue queens. Though queens should try to stay close to their kings in the first place so you must promise this daring knight you’ll stick with your husband.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! Very cute. The world needs more charming knights. I hardly ever need rescuing, but you watch my back and I’ll watch yours. 🙂
Hubby just thinks the internet really is a cesspool and sure to be the downfall of us all. I can’t say he’s wrong, he makes some good points.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You have a good husband who takes care of you. A kind of man I strive to be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Be sure to tell him that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He really is a good man. I won the husband lottery 🙂
There are a whole lot of good men in the world, some that don’t even realize it. If I had my way, they would all come to see themselves as God sees them, as having such worth and value He died to save us.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“There’s two sides to every issue…” I know what you meant by those words, and I agree with your meaning. However, most issues have more than two sides. Arguments begin with person A sees one side and person B sees another side and they don’t appear to fit together. If A and B saw some of the other sides, they might understand the connection between the two sides they happened to see.
On the other hand, sometimes person B is flat-out wrong. J.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a really good point, there are many sides to an issue. I like to look at all the a parts and how they relate to one another, observe the cause and effect going on.
Just the same , you’re right, sometimes person B is just flat out wrong in which case the simple applies here. I often joke about “the simple,” because I’ll be wrestling with something complex and my husband will come along and say, “it’s simple, they’re a lunkhead.” 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The garbage on the net just reflects the garbage IRL IB. How else would one explain Trump? 😀 Your calling to address those using Christ and God’s name is rare and I wish you divine assistance.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Good word!
LikeLiked by 1 person
great message
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great points. I see it too; the hatred. Right now it seems like a its a giant whirlpool spiraling through the internet and pulling in all kinds of people, even those I never would have expected. It goes beyond criticism, beyond pointing out things that are wrong. That is okay, and should be done, but to go beyond that to hurt for the sake of hurting because that person has another opinion, and claim to do so in the name of the Lord, that is not wisdom, and it does not do anyone any good. Those types of people are not trying to save or guide anyone. I often wonder if this is part of the false prophets. People claiming to be Christian, and spouting terrible things; much like individual versions of the Westboro “Baptist” Church.They turn people away by wrongly confirming in those minds the false narrative that many in the media portray Christians to be.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes, I believe it is. I’ve been unfortunate to witness a few prove themselves to be exactly as our Father describes false teachers in the NT and most recently one who the Lord also pointed me to 2 Timothy 3 to see he ‘disqualified himself as Jannes and Jambres…” It’s heartbreaking when you know the offenders first hand and wanted heaven for them on a
personally connected level. But it’s hard on people in general when it’s someone influential or when a bad teaching is widespread. That’s all I can come up with for some who are currently following after some very bad stuff in politics or in specific local or personal situations they face and will likely come to
regret it. 😦 may we all bear witness to lots of repentance and rejoicing in heaven later!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow, a million ways you could have went with a title like that 😉
You make some.good points here, especially that Christians should behave as if they are actually Christ followers in what really is cesspool.
On occasion I loose my cool, as everyone does, but I think bad behavior online is the norm rather than the exception for too many Christians.
LikeLiked by 3 people
So, I wonder what’s behind this kind of “Christians” bashing Christians, or atheists, or people of a different religion or pretty much anyone they disagree with. Is it that they need good pastors to teach them God’s word? Do they not read the Bible? Or are they pretend Christians, dressed up as sheep, but actually letting their inner wolf show by what they write?
What’s the answer? Challenge then to care for God’s word? To learn it, to grow to love it, to live it faithfully? Or to out them as wolves we should run from?
It seems like in either case we’ll be accused of being “judgmental,” the favorite charge against Christians. Or is that label reserved for “hypocrite”?
A bit tongue in cheek here at the end of that last paragraph, but still interested in what you and others think is the right approach.
Becky
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great questions! Those are all things I wrestle with myself. I don’t think the answers are so easy. Sadly in the US, there really are a lot of cultural Christians, so people who don’t really read the bible, don’t really go to church. I think speaking out is important, as kindly as possible, but we really are called to look out for one another. So if someone is engaging in something rotten, overt racism, outright hatred, we have to say something, we have to try to point out that it’s is not okay. The same with false teachings, debate is one thing, but there are also some pretty recognizable wrongs that most of us would know if we saw them.
And of course, everybody is probably called to deal with things in different ways, so I would always suggest we ask God, pray about how He wants us to handle certain things. I have been told to walk away a few times, even to be quiet, but I have also been told I better speak up. So, different circumstances probably call for different responses.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Things I have read on the internet – 51 | clydeherrin
I hope another million will read this. Enjoyed it, thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice blog, good stuff here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for reading. 🙂
LikeLike
No prob! I have a Christian blog of my own, and so it is nice for me to go around other WordPress blogs and check them out.
LikeLiked by 1 person