jahertz wrote:And then, there are some of us, like the Old Testament prophets, who do not believe words and images issued to an adulterous people are "empty," and who, like Jeremiah, if we kept our silence, would find the unspoken words of Yahweh burning through our bowels. Furthermore, most people I know who feel that way are also doing much beyond "merely" speaking.
Let's celebrate others who seek to do God's work with the same objectives we have, and not demand that they all use our favored methods.
I'm of two minds on this. I also notice that some people who have used political memes seem allergic to the use of memes to make a religious point that seems biblical. When are memes prophetic? When are they just trolling? How can you tell the difference between prophetic witness and trolling? After all, isn't just about every Internet talking point presented as though it were prophecy straight from the mouth of God?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of using memes online? What kinds of memes are particularly destructive? Are some particularly constructive? What guidelines would you suggest for the use of memes?
Here's one advantage of memes: People read them. They draw attention. And writing a long, carefully reasoned scriptural exegesis often doesn't grab attention in the same way.
In the thread this came from, I can't help thinking that some of the difference in people's reactions involves (1) how easily they laugh at themselves, and (2) whether they interpret the meme as mockery or as an admonition to be consistent with what they believe. Are there other things that explain the difference in reaction?
mike wrote:There seem to be a LOT of self-styled prophets online these days.
Isn't prophecy a desirable gift =).
Before one gets busy proclaiming they have spiritual gifts, it’s best to assess how much spiritual fruit there is. (I may be biased from having spent too much time around self-proclaimed “prophets”.)
mike wrote:There seem to be a LOT of self-styled prophets online these days.
Isn't prophecy a desirable gift =).
Before one gets busy proclaiming they have spiritual gifts, it’s best to assess how much spiritual fruit there is. (I may be biased from having spent too much time around self-proclaimed “prophets”.)
Whenever people self proclaim their gifts a lot it makes me a little queasy.
joshuabgood wrote:
Whenever people self proclaim their gifts a lot it makes me a little queasy.
I would agree with that. I've heard people claim that they are great judges of character and I'm supposed to take their opinion of others as solid truth. And more often than not, that opinion is quite negative and many times they have nothing good to say about anybody.
Those same individuals usually know everything about everybody (gossip!) but rarely do they have it right.
Josh wrote:
Before one gets busy proclaiming they have spiritual gifts, it’s best to assess how much spiritual fruit there is. (I may be biased from having spent too much time around self-proclaimed “prophets”.)
Agreed. When I hear people "toot their own horn" on spiritual gifts and on other matters as well, I think of the verse in,
1John 3:18
"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."
I know the verse is about love, but I also think it applies to other areas. "By their fruits you shall know them".
Some of the things Jesus said seem meme-like to me.
Straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel. That's pretty funny if you try to visualize it, and I see Jesus delivering this with humor, not solemnly intoning it.
A camel going through the eye of a needle. I know the explanations about the needle being a gate, and maybe they are correct, but I'm inclined to say this is a simple physical metaphor to illustrate something basically impossible without God's help.
Many of his parables have a flavor similar to that of the best of memes. Of course, not all memes are the best. I suspect we might want to approach memes like any other communication - reflectively and carefully.
Relying on visual communication indicates a collapse of conceptual thought life and an inability to communicate effectively using words. It is interesting that both Jesus and Paul relied almost entirely on verbal or written rhetoric - although sometimes accompanied by physical acts, including performing miracles.
But they did not use drawings or images to communicate, that being associated by the 1st century as being the hallmark of heathens by Judaism at that time.