The Social World

Chapter 6: Elephant 2 – The Cyber World

“Clearly, the online world occupies a predominant chunk of our attention and time, and we need to approach it with a spirit of intentionality fueled by a biblical worldview.” –

Brent Crowe

Crowe’s “hook” for this chapter is a hypothetical story about a girl who wakes up in the morning and checks multiple social networking sites, updates her status, plays two different online games, checks her email and sends some texts, all before she gets out of bed. I wish I could say that I thought this was an exaggerated example, but it’s really not. Crowe writes that he has friends who “check their social networking sites almost hourly”  (111). It’s embarrassing to admit that even this is a drastic understatement of how often we (college students specifically) check our social networks…myself included. In fact, the only reason I’ve been disciplined enough not to have checked Facebook since beginning to write this blog post is because the content made me feel guilty about it. (Just don’t ask how many times I’ve checked my iPhone for texts or reminders or emails in my inbox.)

I’ll admit I was a bit surprised to find this topic included in a book about the gray areas of life, especially right after a chapter on such a controversial topic as homosexuality. But I think Crowe’s decision to do this is really admirable and honest. Crowe explains that while some people will maintain that technology is neutral, “no one would claim that the actions taking place inside the medium are neutral. Every decision we make comes out of our worldview,” which determines how we “operate within the world” (108). In other words, Crowe is not saying that spending time on the Internet or social networking sites is evil. What he is saying is that Christ is Lord over even the most trivial-seeming aspects of our lives, and this fact should be considered in our approach to everything we do. We may find that social networking is one of the things that may be perfectly permissible, but not necessarily beneficial.

·      How to Believe: Social Networking

o   Am I representing the attitude of Christ in my social networking? (Romans 15:1-13)

Crowe asks us to ask ourselves, “What’s my purpose for social networking?” He writes that “as we communicate through this medium, we should do so in a way that represents Jesus” (109). We must also be careful not to fall into escapism. I found the following statement particularly insightful: “If you find yourself going to the Internet to escape your true reality, then you must ask yourself if that’s a Christlike attitude. If we’re not careful, we can fall into a trap where the Internet becomes an unrealistic reality for us” (109). I don’t think Crowe is just addressing people who, for example, get caught up in online games based on fantasy realms or their avatar identities. The Internet can become a substitute for our real lives in less obvious ways – like when we escape into Facebook to avoid making eye contact with the person in line next to us at the Post Office, or when we check our newsfeed obsessively and get discouraged by how interesting other people’s lives appear to be in comparison to our own.

o   Are my social networking activities under the control of the flesh or the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26)?

Crowe reminds us that the “flesh wants to pursue sinful self-interests, and the Spirit wants that which pleases God” (109). In the cyber world, we may often be “just one click away from sin,” and we must be especially careful to guard ourselves against this.

o   Does social networking have a positive spiritual impact on self (1^st Corinthians 6:12; 10:23-24)?

Crowe writes that “the most destructive activities for any community are gossip and side hall conversations. If we’re not careful, social networking will present opportunities to tear down or slander,” and we may be culpable for participating in gossip whether we’re the ones writing it or reading it.

The immediate gratification of social networking technology may also “spoil us,” in that we may get into a habit of impatience regarding things that require longer amounts of time (and are worth spending that time on).

o   Will social networking addict (1^st Corinthians 6:12)?

I think it’s obvious that social networking is addictive, whether it’s feeling the desire to post a picture on Instagram of every activity of your day, or checking your notifications constantly to see who’s following your every move on Facebook. Crowe reminds us that social networking should be a “way to communicate, not a place to live your life” (111).

Perhaps the most convicting part of this chapter was the way Crowe incorporated this quote by C. S. Lewis, which I’ve read many times: “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with sex and drink and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us . . . .We are far too easily pleased” (111). Crowe clarifies that he isn’t comparing social networking to lust, sex, or drinking – what he’s emphasizing is that we often get caught up (and addicted to) things that have no eternal value, and they can numb us to “the daring adventure of following Jesus” in our real lives, with our real friends and community members.

The following questions are very straightforward, but no less crucial to consider. They primarily address considerations of whether our online activity is done out of pride, jealousy, anger, or other community-damaging attitudes. Crowe warns against using the Internet as an outlet for gossip or anything that would damage your reputation, writing that we should “never post something you would be ashamed to say in a crowded room” (114).

o   Does social networking go against your conscience (Romans 14:14)?

o   Will social networking disrupt fellowship and damage relationships within the community (Romans 14:15)?

o   Will social networking damage your reputation (Romans 14:16)?

o   Will social networking remove focus from the big picture of God’s Kingdom? (Romans 17-19)?

o   Does social networking further the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1^st Corinthians 9:19-24; 10:33)?

Crowe reminds us that “we must guard our hearts against becoming obsessed with the trivial” (114). “You’ll always face the challenge of rising above the white noise,” Crowe writes; “Focus is never easy” (114). Technology can be a useful way to represent Christ to others, but we have to constantly reorient our approach to technology to accomplish this.

Chapter 7: Elephant 3 – Social Drinking

In this chapter, Crowe defines social drinking as “casual drinking in a social setting without the intention of getting drunk” (119). He makes it clear that he doesn’t think social drinking is a sin, but he does want to address some considerations we should make in regard to our attitudes about drinking with others.

·      How to Believe: Social Drinking

o   Is social drinking within the explicit moral will of God?

Basically, Crowe takes this section to explain that drinking is included all over the Bible, in positive, neutral, and negative ways. “I find it amazing to note how many positive statements connect wine to God’s blessing and love,” Crowe writes. Clearly, he does not think drinking in itself is sinful; it can be a joyful celebration. However, there are also clear warnings against being drunk.

Crowe maintains that whether we drink or abstain from drink, our decision must be made in an attitude of humility and respect for others, not in an attitude of pride or self-righteousness. We should also be aware that our decisions influence others, and we should be considerate of who will be affected by our choices. For example, though we may believe it is fine to drink, we should abstain if drinking in the presence of a “weaker believer” might lead him to sin, to be confused, or to interpret our actions in a way that is harmful to their trust of us. The following questions are used to give an outline of how Christians should approach this issue:

o   Is the decision to socially drink being made in the attitude of Christ (Romans 15:1-13)?

o   Is the decision being made under the control of the flesh or the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26)?

o   Will social drinking addict or enslave (1^st Corinthians 6:12)?

o   Will social drinking hurt a brother spiritually or set a spiritual deathtrap (Romans 14:13)?

o   Does social networking go against your conscience (Romans 14:14)?

o   Can social drinking be imitated by others who understand their freedom (1^st Corinthians 10:33-11:1)?

Overall, Crowe reasserts that it is up to each individual to decide what he or she believes about this topic, but each should be firm in that decision and have made it in an attitude of humility, seeking to honor Christ and others. We should “test everything,” making sure that our actions (whatever they are) help to build each other up and to present the truth of Christianity well.