So I just had a bit of a look around the internet after some book-shop catalogue browsing. The situation with what could be called ‘Christian Lifestyle Media & Products’ continues to delve into more and more perplexing areas. (Water Bottles with ‘On Wings Like Eagles’ anyone?)
Vitamin Z posts exerpts and comments on a blog by Jared Wilson entitled In Praise Of Low Minded Christians which expresses some thoughts inspired by reactions to the advent of Christian Chirp, ‘The Christian Alternative To Twitter’.
I visited Christian Chirp, and can’t tell if it’s serious or not.
What is it about Twitter that makes it something that Christians would avoid?
What is it about Twitter that makes it something that Christians avoiding it would require an alternative for?
Is it another step in the retreat of Christians away from the public arena into areas that people who aren’t Christian can’t or won’t be found?
Personally I’d prefer that Koorong, Word and all the like would disappear if it meant that all the material they sold to Christians would then go through other booksellers where non-Christian folk would see it.
It’s like the annual chart presence of Hillsongs latest album, based pretty much on preorders through Christian retailers. If those sales all went through Sanity and HMV they’d probably think about stocking more material by artists from Christian backgrounds. (Like Katy Perry. Oh well, you can’t win them all.)
Wilson makes some telling points about having a knee jerk reaction against things like Christian Chirp. There’s not much difference between the ‘dorky’ (Wilson’s term) expressions of Christian life like Christian Chirp, water bottles, Puppy Ephesians 5:19 Calendars and even Testamints when you compare them with the ‘cool’, jaded, cynical, snarky and judgemental attitude that other Christians have toward these things and the Christians who promote and use them. Both attitudes aren’t a great witness. (Yep, I’m aware which of these is my personal snare.)
Now there are questions that need to be asked and a discussion that needs to be had.
I don’t think that ‘Christian Chirp’ is Christian. It’s Twitter used exclusively (apparently) by Christians. Koorong and Word are not ‘Christian Bookstores’. They are book stores that are run by Christians and stock books and materials by (overwhelmingly predominantly) Christian authors.
The answer to the temptation toward snark is not to just embrace the goofiness, it’s to suggest a positive path that Christians can trod. But if others won’t take that path, well, different strokes. Jesus died for that that Christian who will use their Puppy Ephesians 5:19 calendar with delight every day next year.
Z picks this up quite nicely in his post. Snarky (blogging Christians aren’t just another group to look down on. All Christians need to look on each other with familial affection.
That’s what we’ve been saved into.
And I still want a John Calvin Bobblehead. If K-Mart stocked them I promise I’d buy one there.
HT: Z
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