By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I witnessed a Facebook controversy where a local restaurateur’s accusations went viral worldwide, then collapsed under video evidence. The episode illustrates social media’s power to spread gossip, destroy reputations, and implicate hearers, urging Christians to remember God’s omnipresent witness and use words only to edify others.
Continue reading “The Algorithm of the Tongue”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I lament rising social-media conflict, highlighting Beth Moore’s recent divisive comments as an example. Reflecting on Christian discernment, I emphasize that teachers’ actions must match their words and that pursuing long-term holiness, especially in speech and conduct, is essential for evaluating true faith and character.
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
The ongoing theological controversy between Arminians and Calvinists, highlighted in 1771, underscores the struggle for unity among Christians. John Newton’s pastoral advice to a minister engaged in debate emphasizes compassion, humility, and self-reflection. He advises writers to focus on love and truth, avoiding pride and contentiousness, in order to promote understanding and spiritual growth, advice we can well adopt today.
Continue reading “John Newton’s Advice on Engaging in Debate”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I discuss the concept of social media as a form of theater, highlighting how users often present curated versions of themselves to avoid exposing their own sin and to manage perceptions. While recognizing the dangers of social media, I mention its potential for positive engagement, especially in sharing the Gospel and promoting truth, urging wise and intentional use.
Continue reading “Social Media: The Theater of Our Lives?”By Elizabeth Prata
Social media, man. What are you gonna do? It is a blessing, a curse, a minefield, reality, unreality. It is a window into the world that allows the Gospel to propagate, and it offers the sinful multiple ways to be hypocrites.
We’ve seen the rise and hopefully fall of the “trad wife” phenomenon, the microbakery revelation controversy, and tons of influencers who turn out to be totally fake just out to get your money. They weren’t living the life they said they were living, they weren’t experts in the thing they claimed to be experts in, or their entire persona was AI generated with an account full of bot farming and paid commenters in order to inflate numbers. There is a LOT of money to be made! You have no idea how much.
From the article, How influencer cartels manipulate social media: Fraudulent behaviour hidden in plain sight
Influencer marketing has become a key part of modern advertising. In 2023, spending on influencer marketing reached $31 billion, already rivalling the entirety of print newspaper advertising. Influencer marketing allows advertisers fine targeting based on consumer interests by choosing a good product-influencer-consumer match.
Phew. Glad you’re a Christian where at least the online persona you’re following is safer. Right? RIGHT?!
Nope.
The hypocrites, the fake information, the unrevealed truth, the sly manipulation, their curation of only what they want you to see, the lack of authenticity, is also rife within the Christian community.
There are many false teachers, something we are not surprised at because God’s word repeatedly informs us of the danger. We must be wise but innocent, trusting but verifying, testing all through the purity of God’s word.
The ladies listed below claim to be focused moms and wives, some saying they are stay-at-home mom, but all have busy careers, small children at one time while they were in the throes of their careers, and teach errant doctrine in one form or another. They’re all hypocrites. They put one face on social media but are actually living a different life than the one they curate to the world.
To write exactly why they are hypocrites here and give the examples and proofs would make this blog novel length. I’ve included links of each woman if you care to see the examples of why they SAY they are a submitted wife and mother but really are not. Each one is violating one or more tenets of the Bible by their life and their doctrine.
Raechel Myers (founder of She Reads Truth).
Diana Stone (formerly writer for She Reads Truth, conference speaker, magazine founder, writer for newspapers and periodicals, world traveler).
Joanna Gaines (HGTV star of Fixer Upper, author, CEO of myriad corporations all named Magnolia Something).
Priscilla Shirer (author, speaker, preacher, actress).
Beth Moore (author, novelist, speaker, preacher, celebrity panelist)
These women by now after decades of teaching false doctrine and living an unbiblical life are the grandmothers of ‘ministry’ – AKA career. They were the trailblazers, showing the young women coming up how to do it. How to curate an image. What to say to keep the conservative segments of the faith off your back (pssst, say you’re ‘speaking‘ at a church, not preaching!) Actually, they have been at it so long that an entire generation of women have grown up seeing their lifestyle and hearing their doctrine and have internalized and normalized it.
They showed us how to carefully curate an image, they proved it was possible to live a double life, they walked the line between authentic and inauthentic.
Ladies, I have two points here. First, test everything, not only doctrine, but life too. If a woman claims to love Jesus and be a family mom, but is CEO of a dozen corporations, is on TV, authors books, goes on book tours, does interviews, sells real estate…is she living the Titus 2 motherly life in Waco that she claims? It does NOT stand to reason. Ladies, think. What they say and what they do must match up. Test their life.
Secondly, social media is only a tool. As with any tool, it is neutral. It can be used for good like a hammer pounding in a nail to hang beautiful art. It can be used for ill as a tool that murders someone. It’s the same with ALL social media. It can be used to edify with scripture or to comfort, or it can be used for slander or propagating false doctrine. It can be used to present a false picture of someone’s life.
Be wary about what you see from a Christian leader on social media. We think the best of people but we also accept that deception comes in many forms.
Hosea 14:9, Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But wrongdoers will stumble in them.
Further resources:
Just a few days after I published this essay warning about people identifying as Christians but leading double lives online vs real life, we read this sad tale of the once well respected J. Brandon Meeks, AKA No Jesuit Tricks, who spun tales of living in the south so well written he gained a huge following. His declarations of being a thelogian in residence and earning an advanced degree in Scotland discovered to be patently false (at least the Ph.D from Aberdeen U was false, maybe the rest of it was too). He had a huge online presence, but was lying about a lot of it. In real life, the situation was sadly…worse. Here is the story-
By Elizabeth Prata
The title is a euphemism. I’m not speaking of actual countries.
Another brouhaha erupted on TwittX this week. That is not abnormal, sadly. But no one likes a fight. It makes all of us sad when people act badly in public. Ugly words are said and it’s just disheartening to watch it unfold. I won’t mention the names of the man and the woman involved because I do not want to give the bad actor in this any publicity (and there was only *one* bad actor- the woman. The man involved was fine).
It was started by a woman professing to be a Christian. The woman was the bad actor. She needs strong discipline from her pastor. She says she attends church. Hopefully she is not self-deceived about her status in Jesus.
Her words were mean, harsh, unnecessary, and hurtful. The tweet she replied to was not even aimed at her or about her. She simply intruded and said some awful things.
Have you noticed that a lot of these quarrels are started by women? Women professing to be Christian?
Even though no one likes a fight (and let me be clear, the ‘fight’ was one sided, the man in this behaved biblically), there are some things we can take away that are positive.
First, look at 1 Corinthians 11:19 which says, For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
Note, “must”. Also note “among you.” Not all who profess Christianity are actually saved. But the tares lurk among us. How people behave when there are divisions, people lined up in a fight, one side supporting one side and the other supporting the other shows us a lot. Is there self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23). Kindness? (Galatians 5:22-23). Is grace being extended? (Ephesians 4:29). Is there gracious speech? (Proverbs 16:13, Ecclesiastes 10:12).
Or is there unwholesome talk coming out of the mouth? (Matthew 12:34). Hardness of heart? (Mark 3:5).
To mature Christians, the bad-acting side might as well hang a sign around their necks because it becomes so evident who is approved and who is not. Ultimately this is helpful.
Secondly, in addition to discovering who is approved and who is not approved (based on biblical standards), during a public fracas we can be encouraged by mature men. A lot of ink is spilled about the lack of maturity in men these days, even mourning over so-called immaturity in Christian men. But it is not so. People gravitate to and remember the bad, and tend to forget the good more quickly. Mature men are all over Christ’s church. It’s encouraging to see self-restraint, humility, and grace in action. Praise our Lord for raising up so many good men.
If we are unfortunately witnesses to a fracas in real life, the words rush by and it’s hard to remember who said or did what. On social media, the adage “the internet is forever” comes in handy. We can see who said what, pray over it, ponder it, compare the words to the biblical standards outlined for us in God’s word. We can make measured and proper decisions about it, whatever those decisions may be.
Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. (Titus 2:2).
At the very least, we can simply scroll on by and not view or absorb that which would make us mournful or upset.
Last, though quarrels may be recorded forever online for anyone to see and comment on, for standards to be judged and decisions made, there is another recording of it. The LORD is recording all our deeds in His book. Some are recorded in the Books plural. Others are recorded in the Book of Life. On Judgment day, the bad actors in a fracas, the quarrelsome women, the foul mouthed harridans, will stand before Him and BOOKS WILL BE OPENED.
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (Revelation 20:12).
So observing a quarrel online helps to know who is approved, helps to remind US to behave according to biblical standards, displays true ugliness in all its black nastiness, and reminds us that Jesus sees all and our words and deeds are recorded in the Book of Life. Or the other book.
If online fights upset you, avoid them. I don’t get involved in Facebook Groups focused on doctrine for this reason. Twitter doesn’t bother me as much, becuase I carefully curate who I follow. If a fight pops up, I usually scroll by. If it involves someone I know and love, I watch for the above reasons. I can practice restraint, charity, grace, and self-examination. If I get involved against my better judgment and say something I regret, I can repent. All good things.
While nobody likes a fight, think on how many New Testament books record one. Even Peter and Paul got into it. Paul and John Mark. Jesus and the Pharisees. The quarrelsome Corinthians among each other (1 Cor 1:11). The unruly Corinthians and Paul. Our global church is full of self-deceived unforgiven sinners, forgiven sinners, mature Christians, immature Christians…it’s bound to happen. We are blessed with the word of God to know what to do when situations like a quarrel pops up.
The best we can do is hope and pray for the day when these things will be no more. Someday we will all be at peace. What a day that will be.
PS: After a few days of fighting, the Appalachian bad actor woman deleted her Twitter account. Good.
By Elizabeth Prata
I saw a new book come across my screen and it piqued my interest. It is called “Taming the Fingers: Heavenly Wisdom for Social Media” by Jeff Johnson.
The book blurb says,
“While social media has many benefits, it often serves as a breeding ground for divisiveness and hostility. Hidden behind our screens, we are often tempted to type things we would never say aloud. With wisdom from the Proverbs, Pastor Jeff Johnson offers five practical questions that can help us cultivate heavenly wisdom in our use of social media: • Am I controlled? • Am I calm? • Am I careful? • Am I compassionate? • Am I conscientious? Read Taming the Fingers to turn social media into a tool for God’s glory.”
Intrigued, I purchased it and have read the introduction and first part of chapter 1. It’s a very short book, only 71 pages.
I am old enough to have lived a good part of my adult life prior to the invention of the internet. I was 37 years old when the world wide web came to my house. I wasn’t saved yet but as a life-long writer and a lover of research, I was thrilled I could self-publish and overjoyed not to have to drive 45 minutes in the freezing Maine snowy weather to the library and look stuff up from the card catalog.
Now, information was available at the touch of a button. Communication with loved ones far away was instant. Finding answers to burning questions such as ‘what is the diameter of the sun?’ or even niggling questions like when you’re watching a movie and you can’t quite remember the actor’s name, ‘what was that guys’ name??’ – just go to imdb.com.
It is a huge blessing to have this tool. Don’t take it for granted. It’s become such an embedded part of our lives and several generations have now been born after its invention, that we forget what a boon it is.
Then 6 years later I was saved. What joy! To be able to spread the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ at the touch of a button. To witness, evangelize, proclaim. To hear sermons from long dead or still alive preachers! To read Spurgeon’s sermons. To look up Puritan books online. To make friends with internet Christians.
The internet can be a wonderful tool.
It also can be a satanic tool.
In fact, the first line of “Taming the Fingers” book is:
“Sin does not operate independently of tools.”
It wasn’t long before doctrines of demons began percolating on the www (world wide web). Before long, a mixture of genuine Christians, false Christians, and non-Christians began muddying the doctrinal waters. False teachers like Joyce Meyer or Beth Moore grabbed ahold of the internet right away to spread their brand of evil.
False Christians and atheists know how to push buttons. Righteous indignation rises and before we know it we’re blotching our pure witness with unrighteous anger or secular snark or other behavior we are sorry for later. That’s the flaming fingers, having typed something you realize you either inadvertently worded poorly, or was drenched with some sort of sin you regret exposing to the world.
On Twitter (sorry I just not used to “X” yet, a curious name for a social media) D. Michael Clary, a Reformed conservative pastor of a church in Cincinnati, wrote the following on his Twitter stream the other day and I liked it. I thought it matched well with the above comment about the book Taming the Fingers I was preparing anyway, so I asked Mr Clary if I could repost it. He said yes.
Michael Clary @dmichaelclary said
The Twitter/TikTok generation should take heed of Proverbs 12:16.
“The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.”
People naturally want to talk about the things that make them angry. An insult. A betrayal. An injustice. An evil.
They quickly vent their frustrations online and others will cheer them on in agreement.
This is foolish. Anger can make you irrational and impulsive. Social media rewards our foolish impulses in all the worst ways.
If you’re angry or upset about something, don’t vent about it online. Everything you say on the internet is instantaneous, global, and permanent. There’s nothing good that will come of it, but plenty of bad things that can come of it. “An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips” (V13).
Proverbs urges discretion. Don’t be rash with your words (V18). The “heart of fools proclaims folly” (V23). Ignore the insult (V16).
There are times to speak out about evil in the world, even on social media. But not as a self-serving emotional release. There are many pitfalls. “A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly” (V23).
There are times to speak out about evil in the world, even on social media. But not as a self-serving emotional release.
Jeff Johnson, “Taming the Fingers”
In Proverbs, fools just talk-talk-talk all the time, venting their hot takes, contradicting themselves, lying, slandering, and confidently asserting nonsense. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes” (V15).
The wise pick their moments. They hold their tongues (or their thumbs), and speak when it is wise to do so. They “conceal knowledge.” They see things and know what’s going on, but don’t weigh in on everything. But in the right time, they’ll speak up and make a meaningful contribution.
“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment” (V19). ——end Clary comment
I’ve tried to abandon snark entirely online. I know, Paul was sarcastic, so was Elijah once or twice. I’m not them. I think just being nice and polite is enough. Mocking and anger have to go too. They don’t result in a gentle witness. With so much of our lives not on screens, taming the fingers is more important than ever. Proverbs and prayer can help with this.
If social media is getting you down, then there are a few things you can do.
–You can scroll by and not read or engage in comments that rile you.
–You can do a cleanse of the accounts that upset you with their comments by muting or blocking.
–You can say ‘No thank you’ to invites on lists or Groups that will occupy your time negatively.
–You can delete the particular social media that tempts your witness.
–You can take a break from social media for a period of time.
–You can delete social media altogether.
I’ve deleted a few social medias, such as MeWe and Pinterest, mainly because I felt overloaded with too many platforms. I’ve said ‘no thank you’ to invites on Facebook into Apologetics groups and Reformed groups. I don’t join Twitter ‘Lists’ or formulate them. I do not have a Youtube Channel. I haven’t even looked up TikTok or Blue Sky.
For me, I feel Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and my WordPress blog allow me to express my thoughts about Jesus and His word well enough. And that is the point. We can use social media for entertainment, sure. But if you use it for proclamation of the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ, then we should work in taming the fingers so we can maintain witness that satan cannot point to with accusations. God’s glory is the chief end of man.
By Elizabeth Prata
A friend was permanently suspended from Twitter recently. He is a pastor, boldly unashamed of the Gospel. So, you know what happens next…Twitter, intolerant of religious views of Christians, suspended him. I’m not sure which tweet sent Twitter over the edge, probably something about judgment and eternal death. The world isn’t fair to Christians and we don’t expect it to be.
By Elizabeth Prata
I’m a lay person, a Christian woman, who happens to write. I’ve made my living from writing in the past and I’m thrilled to be able to use the talent God gave me for His glory now, writing as a Christian about biblical things.
I’m older and I distinctly remember life before internet. As a writer wanting to publish, bumping up against the monoliths of the Madison Avenue publishing companies, and the chokehold of the magazines and literary journals, (and the publishing rejection letters) having a free platform in which to share one’s thoughts and words with the world was a revelation. I took to it instantly and with glee, going online in 1996 and becoming an Amazon.com customer in 1997. Finally, an equalizing global conversation could be had.
I don’t think young people have a well-developed sense of just what a privilege it is to have global access to speaking one’s mind on any topic. I remember the frustration of rejection letter after rejection letter, of seeking the underground, mimeographed ‘zines as they were called then, of a regular person not having a voice. Or seeing the ones with voices squander them or limit them or censor them. Conglomerates purported to speak for the masses, and more often they didn’t, but their lobbyist money did speak to the corruption. Journalists were supposed to speak for the voiceless but more often they were kowtowing to Corporate. Benjamin Franklin felt the same frustration so he started his own papers and printed them on his own presses. The Second Amendment gave the promise of free speech, but never made any promises about how or where. No platforms were ever promised. That, one had to figure out for one’s self.
Of course all my words back then were unfettered into in the civic or personal/creative realms, but were wind and chaff to God because they were not for His glory.
I converted to Christianity late in life at around age 42. Until then I’d been occupied with writing for my weekly newspaper and curating its online version. When I sold the paper in 2006 and moved down south I needed to fill the void left by not writing intensively, so I started my personal blog The Quiet Life in August of that year. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a decade since I founded it. What a joy to play with the Layout format, press ‘publish’ and one’s thoughts and words could be seen by the world. Of course, back in 2004-2006 blogging exploded and there were a million blogs starting a day, it seemed. How to make one’s own blog rise to the top amid the sea of cacophonous voices also clamoring to be heard was something left to one’s creative problem solving. Now we had the platform, but how to make people listen…
As the Holy Spirit solidified my faith and grew me in sanctification, I founded this blog in January 2009, and once again it’s hard to believe it’s been 11 years since then. Though I write intermittently on The Quiet Life I am committed to using the gift of writing and proclamation and exhortation for the Lord and I’ve been faithful to write daily on this blog since the beginning. Though I’ve been writing longer at The Quiet Life and there are 70 pages over there, there’s double the amount here, containing about 3,600 essays. And fortunately, I don’t have to stress over about whom to make listen. The Holy Spirit takes care of disseminating the message to whom He desires.
I joined Facebook in 2008, and joined Twitter then also. This year I added another Facebook page, The End Time. Online newspapers and journals enabled comment sections. People from the great to the small posted their email address, allowing direct conversation. Cell phones, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Flickr, Podcasts…Suddenly, there were platforms everywhere and it seemed like the cacophony grew but so did the possibilities for getting the Gospel out.
The question today is, just because social media exists, does that mean it is wise, profitable, or even safe to enter the fray?
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
That is a question for each Christian to answer and there are different considerations if one is a parent, a missionary, or is living under a restrictive regime or just to personally consider in the face of doing our utmost for His highest (to paraphrase O. Chambers).
Here are some thoughts in my experience, in my opinion, and remember I’m just one lay-woman with a small sphere of influence. There have been pros and cons with being so present on social media. Just as with anything, there are considerations and there are joys.
So, you see, the pros and cons are similar to laboring in any other medium or any other sphere. No better, no worse, just different considerations to consider.
Unlike other people who have expressed distrust or disdain over social media use to share a holy Christian witness, I don’t believe social media is the devil. It is merely a vehicle into which we can pour our energy and message depending on what the Lord has called us to do. Some pour their message into children through motherhood. Others who are not called to motherhood became missionaries and brought the message to orphans overseas. Some who were writers without the advantage of social media got the message out anyway using the vehicles of their own day- hymns.
So be mindful of the medium you choose to employ to spread God’s message, from your own tongue in real life to the cold virtual reality of a laptop keyboard, to… whatever else. As a matter of fact I’ve always held that the internet is one of the world’s great inventions. The Gospel message can be disseminated in podcast, tract, devotional, online bible, visually through art and animation, Youtube, the ancient writers’ work is spoken alive online to new generations or can be read anew for those who can’t afford the precious tomes but can afford the lower price of an online connection or even free at a library. Wow!
Through online blogs and sermons and devotionals I was strengthened by John MacArthur’s preaching and discovered the Puritans and Reformers. I connected with solid doctrine at The Master’s Seminary and learned of Paul Washer’s fire. I learned that I, too, had a platform that may strengthen even one woman seemed too good an opportunity to pass up- as long as I kept my priorities straight. But that’s like any ministry, it’s life, isn’t it? It is all a struggle and no matter the sphere or means the Lord provides, the devil will attempt to corrupt it.
So make your decisions about social media with your husband or pastor or family. Decide how “out there” you feel led to be, and which means to use. Elisabeth Eliot, Gladys Aylward, Eliza Spurgeon, Fanny Crosby, Katharina von Bora (Mrs Martin Luther) all used the means at their disposal and through obedience to the Lord to influence those in their spheres. How large or small or what that means the Lord will use through you within that sphere is a personal decision. But don’t let scary stories or condescension about social media taint your view of how useful it can be to getting the message out there. Just be safe, be wise, and the Lord will take care of the rest.
By Elizabeth Prata
In January of this year, after Joe Biden was inaugurated and it was clear that Washington DC would get clear of President Trump, the purge began. Social media was expelled of conservative voices, organizations, and accounts – wholesale. Many people reported their accounts were suddenly and without warning suspended. It was as if a rock was thrown onto an ant pile and the ants had to scurry for a new home. Religious and conservative voices were no longer welcome, this much was clear.
Lots of people, including me, were not only shocked at the simmering hatred that oozed to the top of the bottle and overflowed, but were chagrined at how we had taken social media for granted. It was as if we thought it would always be there. We’d become so used to the gift of being able to exchange spiritual concepts, discuss theology, and proclaim Jesus’s excellencies on all these free public platforms, we felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under us. How would we get the word out if we were denied opportunity to Facebook, Tweet, or Instagram?
Continue reading “There’s always the Coconut Telegraph”
the-end-time.org 