Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon - How to Engage Online

Episode Date: September 1, 2024

Alan provides three tips for how to properly engage online.

How should you, as a Christian, engage online? Well, that's what I want to consider in this episode of my podcast, Thinking Out Loud with Alan Schliemann. Well, I think posting and engaging online should be a privilege that one must qualify for, not a right that is automatically granted. Now, I'm actually not actually advocating for some sort of test, but I do believe it's a problem that basically anybody can post. In fact, the bar is embarrassingly low. I mean, pretty much it's like if you can fog a mirror and get a keyboard, then you're welcome to write anything you want. Now, doesn't that sound like a recipe for disaster? Well, it is, right? I mean, it's far too much trash that passes for online dialogue, especially about spiritual matters. Much of it, in my opinion, is rude, hostile, and condescending. And if it were up to me,

getting the privilege to engage online would be at least as arduous as getting a driver's license, right? I mean, wouldn't that be great? I mean, here would be the steps that I would invent in my sort of fictional, you know, Alan Schliemann runs the world kind of scenario, right? These are the steps that I would have. First, I'd say, look, you have to get an education. And what that education is going to tell you is, or you're going to learn is the rules of engagement. You'll learn basic logic. You'll learn basic courtesy, right? And then after you've learned all that, you're going to have to pass a test to obtain a permit, again, just a permit, that allows you to engage online.

Then the next step is going to be like a probationary period, right, where every post you put out is going to be monitored. And someone with experience is going to read everything you write. And what they're going to do is they're going to give you feedback, correction, tips, and kind of other guidance. And then finally, you'll be able to take a test where you have to kindly

and thoughtfully respond to 100 people who curse at you, who malign you, who mock your core values, and throw every logical fallacy at you, who malign you, who mock your core values and throw every logical fallacy at you. Okay. And then if you pass all that, then and only then would you be granted unfettered freedom to kind of post on your own, right?

Now, of course, such a solution wouldn't, you know, eliminate all bad posts, but I think it would mitigate the problem quite a bit. Now, just to be clear here, it isn't just the online engagement of secular people that I think is a problem. I actually think it's the posts of Christians that I'm most concerned with. In fact, the majority of what I see and witness of Christians posting is unbecoming of a follower of Jesus Christ. And even posts that contain truth or have some sort of appropriate correction, right? In other words, they legitimately are addressing something significant. Those posts often lack grace, kindness, and humility. And I don't think impolite posts are somehow justified just because someone

else started it, right? And rudeness isn't a right if the other person is trolling. And so you don't have to just quip like, oh, troll much? Even those kinds of snarky comments, stop it. Just let it go. It's as if Christians feel obligated to address every instigator, every false claim, and every invitation to debate. Right? And so the Christians thought of some sort of clever and sort of funny retort. And they're eager to invite their followers who are all following them on social media to a ringside seat as they deliver some sort of decimating smackdown. And so what I'm suggesting is this all needs to stop. And I'm really calling on Christians to resolve to do better.

So before you post that next reply, consider these three things. The first is, I want you to consider and remember that you represent Jesus when you post. Remember, the Bible teaches that every believer is an ambassador for Jesus Christ. Right? This is in Corinthians 5.20. Which means everything you say and do, online and offline, represents Jesus. So shouldn't that identity then affect what you post and the manner in which you engage? I think it should, right?

Ask yourself, what would Jesus think of your reply? Would he approve of the tone? Would he think that you're treating your interlocutor, who's a fellow image bearer of God, with respect? And if not, then don't post. Now, at Today in a Reason, we actually have something called the Ambassador's Creed. And I would encourage everyone, if you're a believer, to go to our website, go to the About STR section and just read this Ambassador's Creed. All right.

And I think it'll help you to think about how you should be behaving when you're engaging online. to think about how you should be behaving when you're engaging online. Now, I recommend paying special attention to the last four characteristics of what it means to be an ambassador. So I'll mention what those four are. The first one in the ambassador's creed says that you should be humble. And by that, we mean be provisional in your claims, knowing that your understanding of the truth is fallible, right? I mean, you're not God. You could be mistaken about some point you're making, right? So don't press a point beyond what the evidence allows, all right?

Second comment we have here, or second sort of kind of characteristic that we have in the ambassador's creed is for you to be patient. In other words, don't quarrel, but try to listen to the other person so that you can understand them and their view. And then with gentleness, seek to respectfully engage those people who disagree with you, right? The third characteristic of the ambassador's creed is to be fair. And what we mean by that is to strive to be sympathetic and understanding towards others and acknowledge the merits of contrary views. And I think that when we give credit where credit is due, especially to some person who's making an argument against our position, when we give them credit where credit is due, we come across as fair-minded.

When we give them credit where credit is due, we come across as fair-minded. And then the fourth character trait of an ambassador that we have there on the website is to be attractive. And by that, we mean act with kindness, with grace, and have good manners. In other words, don't dishonor Christ in your conduct. Okay. So again, first thing, when you think about engaging online is to remember that you're an ambassador for Christ and you represent Jesus when you post. All right. Second thing, you don't have to respond to every post, right? I mean, every day there are millions of posts and many of them contain content that you probably disagree with, or it's just simply false. All right. I know that's the

case. All right. And that's okay. You don't have to respond every time to every post. In fact, you don't have to respond to any of them. You are also, by the way, free to ignore posts by friends and family, right? You can let them all go. Just think about the amount of stress that you will eliminate from your life. And you might even extend the duration and the quality of your life. Okay. And then a third point that I want to make about engaging people online is this. If you still think that you should be posting or you still think that you have to post in response to somebody else's comment, do this.

Ask someone to review your post first, right? Now, to this day, right? And I've been online as long as everybody else has been online, right? Since social media and online stuff started, right? But to this day, I often ask my wife to read my replies before I post, okay? And that's because I want someone who has different sensibilities than me to kind of check my post for snark, for contempt or for condescension, right? Because I'm not going to always be mindful of that when I'm just kind of using my own words and my own thinking.

I might not notice it, but somebody else might, right? And so I try to find somebody else. In this case, my wife is really good with that. And I don't know who that's going to be in your life, but I would encourage you to do the same, right? Because I don't want to bring shame upon the name of Jesus. Now, when my children were young, we had a magnet on our refrigerator and the magnet said, think before you speak. And the word think was all capital letters because the word think is an acronym, okay? So we're trying to encourage our kids to be, you know, kind to each other and to other people, right?

And so this think before you speak magnet, it was basically a reminder for them to ask themselves if what they're about to say met the requirements of the think acronym. And what think stands for is to ask yourself, is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? And is it kind? So before you speak, ask those questions, right? And what I'm suggesting is, hey, before you post, ask those questions, right? And if it's not those things, if it's not true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and kind,

then perhaps don't say it or don't post it. Perhaps you could think before you post or find some other kind of similar system to just sort of filter your replies through. And again, when in doubt, don't post. There's no requirement to reply. No one's requiring you to do this, okay? Remember, though we live in the world, we shouldn't conform to it, right? One of my favorite verses in the Bible, it's Romans 12, 2, do not conform any longer to

the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, right? Look, I understand that most online engagement is rude. I understand it's snarky. It's kind of sending, look, I get it. I experienced that myself almost every single day, right? Because I post online and I post controversial stuff online and I get all kinds of responses back to me, right? And many of them are like that. But even though people respond in a hostile, aggressive, snarky way, that's no excuse for us to behave that way as well. We're supposed to be salt and light, right? We're supposed to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We're not supposed to return evil for evil, but rather return good for evil. So don't succumb to the pressure to act the same as everybody else, right? It isn't just your reputation on the line, but every believer's

reputation and most importantly, Jesus's as well. All right. Well, that's all I have for you today. If you've enjoyed this episode, I'd encourage you to share it with a friend who also might appreciate this content. And also don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you don't miss an episode. And thank you for listening. I look forward to thinking out loud with you next time. Thank you.