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Jesus Would Tweet, and Warn of the Temptation of Technology
Are social media tools a blessing or a curse for people of faith? Should we use digital technology to commune with the divine? Does God tweet?
Jesus spoke in tweets before tweets became cool, if by tweets one means short messages.
Think about his most memorable messages: Jesus' moral imperative translates into only 34 characters: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
His Golden Rule ran 47 characters: "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."
His challenge to judgmental moralists was 57 characters: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."
His call for peacemaking was 61 characters: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
When he announced his moral mission, he read from a text in Isaiah that was only 248 characters, too long for Twitter but still acceptable as micro-blogging.
He used less than 300 characters to teach his disciples the model prayer, the most memorized prayer in Christian history. Known as the Lord's Prayer, it was recorded in both Matthew and Luke, albeit a longer version in the former gospel.
Simplicity and clarity were hallmarks of his communication, unlike much of contemporary Christianity that favors brain-numbingly wordy theology, indecisive dissertations of moral obfuscation and long-winded, self-righteous prayers.
Had 21st-century technology existed in dusty Palestine, Jesus would have encouraged the use of Twitter as a tool for the discipline of simplicity and clarity.
But he would also have cautioned about the threats of technology. He would have warned about the temptation of technology to supplant God and to replace authentic community, the dangers of idolatry and false human connectivity.
Technology can be a blessing or curse. If micro-blogging fosters spiritual and moral discipline, then it may be a blessing. If it becomes a rival god, a retreat from community or a vehicle for hate speech, then it may be a curse.
By
Robert Parham
|
August 11, 2009; 2:42 PM ET
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Posted by: Dermitt | August 15, 2009 2:59 PM
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Luckily, god does not equal jesus. If jesus existed and we accept the bible as his teaching, then his teaching is rehashing euphemistic platitudes. Depth of spirit and thought and love and action and being, and reality, does not come by tweet, not by book reading, not even by simple contemplation. It is a lifelong communing with the Truth as it is. One may be inspired, twiterpated, but that is not the end or goal of religion (more one of prositutes which the economies makes of many churches). A tweet does insult to the depth of true communication (likewise using parables that can be interpreted a hundred different ways fail to teach anything). A tweet, a parable, is an idolaty of truth. God communicates with me directly through the living truth of which I am a part - a billion tweets per second.
This question is a playful one on behalf of the post, but one would hope for a deeper meaning (not a bird brained regurgitation with sound effects).
hariaum
Posted by: Navin1 | August 12, 2009 11:02 AM
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I-M-A-G-i-N-E:
(as OUR great's Prophet/Father he'mself once insinuated & which saith [Albert Eisnstein [pbuh] ,is sometimes Imagination is better than knowledge...la la la)
'The "RELIGION of everything before the SCIENCE' of everything"?
Well, OUR Dear American-Brethrens & Dear Si{stars; WELCOME to the Holy Cosmic, but Pre-Baptised already, "NEBULA-BUILT" S.pace S.hip Earth FEELERS FAITH; a Belief, like a Religion , Yet Better!, aka opposite MYTH (TRUTH)!!???
Posted by: homeland1 | August 11, 2009 10:43 PM
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If it does somebody some good somebody is going to make some money with it. Money, it's a hit. Do justice, love mercy and make others happy and you will see business improve. Capitalism and progress beat the alternatives. The money is better so keep hitting it or keep missing it. Losses are offensive and profits are defensive. Technology is in the middle. Hit it in the middle, make a million dollars and hit it again. There's too much hit and miss at times. Sometimes you can't miss. Keep it together.