Oct 19, 2010
Blog Sniping… like an internet porn addiciton
Posted by Pastor Todd Murphy in | Comments (45)
Dane Ortlund has a great post on how the craving for controversy in the blogosphere is not unlike an online porn addiction. He points to . . . an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people . . . --1 Timothy 6:4b. I thougth this was really inciteful. What I like so much about this post is his emphasis to start with self. This is something that Jesus of course also began with in telling us to not look at the splinter in our brother's eye, but the beam in our own. For those of us at SJC who have been participating in the Emotional Leadership Development class, this is anoher important Gospel truth that is also rooted in the Systems theory of family therapy we have been using, namely the need work on on'es own emotional reactivity, not fix others. Some of the other great observations he makes are:
#4 Some bloggers are acting out of controversy under the false persasion of standing for truth
#6 The reason we want the last word is a form of self justification and lack of embrace in the Gospel I was a little humbled by this one regarding my responses in my blog on Reformed and Calvinism which you can see here. While I was trying to restrain my responses, I think I am guilty of the "last word" issue after all. see that blog here: http://sjchurch.org/blog/details/rightly-dividing-what-i-means-to-be-reformed-reformed-or-calvinist/
#8 Blog sniping is very much like a porn addiction where a man tired not feeling quite himself logs on to his computer seeking something to fulfill his half hearted emptiness (my words).
To read the whole post here is the link: http://dogmadoxa.blogspot.com/2010/10/1-timothy-64-and-blogging.html
I think I would just like to add that all blog controversies are really a form of anxiety and reactivity. It is "lizard brain" thinking rooted in our most base impulses for self protection, self justification, and leveraging ourselves over our fellow man. It is not based in "you shall love your neighbor as yourself," but rather in loving the self far about our neighbor.
To stop thinking and responding to anything that irks us with anxiousness, we need to first recognize we have a problem. I have recognized this in myself for a long time. In the recent dialogue with a friend on my Post about being Reformed or Calvinist I found myself being far more thoughtful and sober about my actually responses, but I still see a great deal of room for improvement. Wasn't I pushing for the last word, however kindly I may have responded each time? When did I stop and ask myself, "Todd why do you feel that you can't let it go?" This was brought to me a few days later when a new visitor to our Church, someone I respect very much, Facebook messaged me confused by the dialogue wondering why it was so important to me. He asked a very genuine question that was sobering to me: "Do I need to be as worried about this as you if I am a Christian? (not his exact words) I had to ask myself some probing questions. I am the type of guy you is usually on the other end trying to get the rowdy five point calvinist types to settle down and show charity. But I see how my ungarded moments could easily be setting the wrong impression or example for others. I have to do some more self-assessing in this department, and probably some repentance too. If we are all honest, most of us probably do as well.
Posted by Pastor Todd Murphy in | Comments (45)
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