A Christian’s Guide to Social Media

Anyone who has spent any length of time engaging in debates on social media will know that it's a war out there. The old adage “the pen is mightier than the sword” has proven true, in ways that its 19th century originator could never have thought possible. While the heart of man has always been desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9), it has never been easier for this wickedness to spill out from one heart into the broader society than it is today.

Social media nonetheless provides a tantalising opportunity for those who have an important message that they want to share with the world. I am talking about Christians who want to reach as many people as possible with the good news of the gospel. Social media reaches far more people than the old methods – distributing tracts, visiting people in hospital or prison, preaching on street corners, or spending time talking to colleagues and friends about the Lord. A popular or controversial tweet or Facebook post can reach thousands of people in a matter of minutes, presenting an excellent means of reaching people we would otherwise never meet.

In my professional life, I have written about controversial topics relating to nature conservation (the prime example is trophy hunting) and had to defend my stance on public platforms like Facebook and Twitter. I have also thought long and hard about getting into debates relating to moral or religious matters that frequently come up on social media.

Here, I share some of my observations from my professional engagement that may be of assistance to Christians. I will not, however, tell you whether or not you should start or stop using social media to engage in debates. There is simply no one answer to that question for any individual, and the answer may differ from one debate topic or group to the next. If, after reading this, you feel that you should engage more – pray about it and do what you feel the Lord wants you to do. If you feel that you should leave social media altogether, or avoid all discussions on contentious moral or religious topics – pray about that, too, and act accordingly.

I certainly don’t have the final answer, and even though I frequently engage in debate for professional reasons, I am far more hesitant to do so on topics relating to Christianity, morality or religion. The purpose of this article is merely to inform you about the obstacles and pitfalls you will encounter, based on my own experience – what you do with this information is between you and the Lord.

The first major hurdle is communication. Even when our intentions are perfectly good and we feel nothing but love for the people we interact with online, things can go badly wrong. When engaged in a face-to-face conversation, we constantly read one another’s expressions and tone of voice, which help us communicate thoughts and ideas quite clearly. Furthermore, we most often have conversations with people we know or in social settings that come with certain inherent rules of engagement (e.g. going for a coffee with your friends vs. a job interview). While even this form of communication can be misunderstood, it has a much higher chance of success than an exchange of short text messages between total strangers on Twitter or Facebook.

Communication on social media has become the norm for many people and, particularly during the lockdowns we have recently experienced, it is not unusual for us to talk to many more people using these media than in real-life conversations. There are fewer pitfalls to text communication when the exchanges are between people who know each other in real life, although even these can occasionally go wrong. The more dangerous exchanges take place with total strangers or people one knows very slightly – like those one-time acquaintances you have ‘friended’ on Facebook, or total strangers you encounter in a public group or Twitter thread.

Communicating effectively online requires writing skills that are honed with practice. The skills needed to enter a debate are also different from those required to write an article. Articles like this one (for an example of one dealing with a contentious matter, see here) can be as long as they need to be to make your point clear and to set the tone of the argument. You then have time to go back and reread what you have written, editing out or adding things as you see fit. In this way, a conscientious writer can greatly increase the chances that their audience will understand what they are trying to say and the way they are saying it.

Debates on social media are different. On Twitter and several other platforms, each comment is limited to a certain number of characters (e.g. 280 for Twitter). Although there is no limit on Facebook, comments are usually short – a paragraph at most. There is little or no space to develop your argument or set the tone of what you want to say. In an effort to ensure that you are understood, it is often necessary to get into a conversation – you state one short point, the other person asks a question or states their opposing point, you clarify or respond to their point, and so forth. These debates can become heated and acrimonious, and it takes enormous patience and a different level of writing skill to maintain a fruitful, courteous discussion.

Besides the challenges of miscommunication, social media is a hive of falsity. I know many honest (mostly older) users of these platforms who share their thoughts and lives as though they are chatting around a table with friends. In a perfect world that is what these platforms should be like, but as we know, the world we actually live in is fallen. Social media tends to bring out the worst in people. Some become hypocrites, while others become bullies.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day would have loved social media – it has never been easier to project a righteous, caring and religious image to the world than it is today. You can live an entirely fake life online – posting Bible verses, photos of yourself doing good deeds, coming out in ‘righteous anger’ against the latest tragedy or political issue – without actually living the life you portray. While this may seem terrible, it is actually extremely easy for anyone to fall into the trap of living two lives – one on social media and one in reality. One of the consequences of this falsehood is that even genuine people who are trying to have honest conversations and contribute good things to the online community are viewed with suspicion and cynicism.

From the hypocrites, we swing to the other end of the spectrum – the dark underbelly of bullying and strife that are totally unfettered by social cues and basic civility that one has come to expect in real life conversations. It is like entering a war zone as an unarmed pacifist – even if you are trying your best to bring peace, you will be targeted at one point or another. The main ammunition used in this war of words is offence. While some people deliberately try to cause as much offence as possible (a behaviour so common online that it even has a name: trolling), others take offence at the slightest things in order to cast their opponents as bullies (i.e. trolls) and therefore silence them. On almost every public thread of online engagement that deals with a controversial or popular topic, there are people offending and being offended by each other day and night.

Into this milieu the modern Christian steps, bearing one of the oldest and most offensive messages of all time – the gospel. Although the gospel is the good news of salvation, it is also the bad news of sin (2 Cor. 2:14-17). Before anyone can receive the good news, they have to understand why they need it – that they are sinners who have disobeyed their Creator and will one day be judged according to His supreme moral law (Ps. 14:1-4). The very concept of an objective moral standard offends many people, let alone the details of that standard that have been entirely rejected by society. Defining sin necessarily condemns people as sinners, which is the first (yet most offensive) step towards salvation (Luke 15:10 and 18:13-14; 2 Cor. 7:10).

Bringing an offensive message into an environment of continual offence is extremely hazardous, to say the least. Those who are offended by the message may very well use the tactics I mentioned above against the well-meaning Christian to silence them. Christians who stand up publicly for Christ may be shamed for being ‘intolerant’ of sin or accused of trying to force our moral standards upon others. While the nature of the accusations may have changed, our response must be the same as it was in the days of the early Church: do not seek to change the gospel to make it more palatable, but stand firm in the face of persecution (Matt. 5:11-12; Acts 5:40-42; 1 Peter 3:13-17).

While the nature of the gospel message itself must remain unchanged, there are many things we can do to make it more offensive than necessary. Because offence is the main ammunition used on social media, we must be even more careful of not adding unnecessary offence to the gospel on social platforms than during face-to-face conversations. We must remember that people cannot see the expression of love or mercy on our faces when we are pleading with them to leave a life of sin. Many times, they cannot even tell if we are in earnest or being sarcastic. If we lack the writing skills required for short-sharp debates, then we may give a totally wrong impression to the person we are trying to win for Christ and instead turn them away in anger.

While offending someone isn’t a good outcome even during debates on secular topics, the stakes are so much higher when addressing spiritual ones. A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle (Prov. 18:19). Debates on spiritual matters have eternal consequences. Someone you have offended online due to the words you chose or the tone you used (intentional or not) may be even harder for someone else to win to Christ during real-life interactions.

On the flip side of the coin, we may encounter online trolls who would like nothing better than to break you down mentally and even destroy your faith in the Lord. Especially when their argument is logically weak, they will try the many online bullying tactics – attacking your character, misrepresenting your argument, saying things that are deliberately offensive, or even publicly defaming you. Dealing with this sort of offence is perhaps the most common persecution we will face as Christians living in free societies. Just like the persecuted early Church, how we deal with these offences will speak greater volumes than anything we post online.

Given the extent of falsehood and hypocrisy that one encounters on social media these days, just portraying yourself as righteous through the types of things you post is unlikely to win anyone over. Yet not taking offence when you are clearly under severe, unmerited attack can be a powerful witness. If someone starts attacking you personally, you can respond by trading insult for insult, by defending yourself, or by ignoring their insults and keeping your focus on the issue at hand. Which option you choose is critical.

The key is to stand firm in your defence of the gospel, yet say little or nothing to defend yourself. While the person attacking you will probably carry on, others who are ‘watching’ the conversation (either ‘liking’ comments or interjecting occasionally) will recognise the bully and start to pay more attention to your message. In this way, even within the fraught world of social media, Christians can still shine their lights in dark places.

Not taking offence when someone is repeatedly baiting you with insults is, of course, easier said than done. Insults work 'best' on people who have a glowing self-image and who esteem themselves highly, which describes most of the people you will encounter online (evidenced by the many self-absorbed posts). As Christians we are called to esteem others more highly than ourselves (Phil. 2:3), to view ourselves as the foolish and weak of the world who have no reason to glory (1 Cor. 1:26-31), and indeed to reckon ourselves to be dead to the world (Gal. 2:20)! You cannot insult a dead person, so if you feel yourself reacting strongly to an insult, you just need to go back to the cross and get some perspective.

Social media can be a field ripe for the harvest of our Lord, but it can also be a minefield. I do not believe that every Christian is called to enter this field, just like not everyone is called to the foreign mission fields. But if you feel that you are called, go with caution and after much prayer. Although the online world seems so phoney, there are real people out there, even those hiding behind fake accounts. Jesus Christ died for these people and they need to know that. If you can reach them in the real world (i.e. people you actually know) that would be a much better option, but some may only be reached through the Internet. If you engage online in a manner that is as inoffensive as possible and refuse to trade insults or get offended, yet you are still attacked or abused, remember Peter’s encouragement:

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:13-17).