A Follow Up To “Are Christian Social Networking Sites Actually ‘Unsocial’”

I have been blogging for about 3 1/2 years and every so often there will be a post that sparks a good amount of conversation. Sometimes it’s because it’s a popular topic, and others because there are simply strong opinions on subject.

A couple weeks ago I posted asking the question, “Are Christian social networks actually unsocial?” the initial response was from people who had similar views as I do, that while there is a great deal of value in likeminded people being able to come together to discuss issues of faith etc., there is a lot of isolationism that takes place. Moreover the question was raised, “is there really a need for ‘Christian’ social networks when there are plenty of already established sites in place or does that simply perpetuate isolationism?”

Well as I said, that was a couple weeks ago I thought the conversation on the topic had come and gone. Little did I know that when I got up this morning I would have my inbox flooded with more comments on the subject. In fact as it stands right now I have 9 pending comments about the topic.

All day I have wrestled with whether or not to post them, not because they are in opposition to my opinion (which they seem to be), in fact it’s my hope that people with varying opinions and insights will post comments (see my post on Rob Bell’s interview with Martin Bashir if you question wether or not I’m willing to have those conversations).

No, I have debated about whether or not to post them because quite frankly they have been antagonistic in nature and I have serious doubts that the conversation would remain civil. The other reason that I have ultimately decided not to post them is because in general they do not address the actual question posed, but rather focus on advocating for the one particular social networking site that I used as an example; the site that actually actually caused me to think about this question.

It is important to understand that the site I used as an example was just that, an example. There are many other sites that I could have chosen instead, however it was this site that prompted the original post.

With all of that being said, at the heart of the comments are some  good thoughts and questions that I would like to clarify my opinions on.

However, before I do so it’s important to make sure everyone understands that the purpose of this blog is to share my own personal thoughts and insights or to share the insights of others that I find to be beneficial to the overal conversation that takes place at 24/7 Life. My opinions are my own and it’s completely fine to disagree with them. However, if you expect to engage in the dialogue either in support or opposition of my opinions or the opinions of other commenters it has to be done in a civil manner.

This site isn’t designed to be a verbal street fight. Name calling, snide remarks and the like on either side of the issue won’t be posted. period.

With that being said, let me address a few of the questions and/or thoughts that seem to underly the comments that came in today…

First of all there seems to be a misunderstanding as to whether or not I personally think there is value in Christians having a place to meet and discuss matters of faith with likeminded people ie. Sanctuarynet.net (which is the site that I used as one example of a Christian social networking site). However, as I stated on multiple occasions in my initial post, I think there is great value in this and from everything I have seen on the Sanctuarynet.net site they do a great job of this.

Yet my question was not about whether or not Sanctuarynet.net or any other Christian social networking site accomplish their mission of providing a place for Christians to connect, my question was is this (Christian social networking sites) a good and/or necessary thing.

In my opinion, there is really very little need for this type of site with the many other social networking sites out there, ie. Facebook, myspace, etc. because from they have the capabilities to provide this type of connection and interaction. And, in my opinion creating separate sites seems to perpetuate the isolationism that is often found in Christianity when it comes to culture, the arts, technology, etc.

In some of the comments that were left this morning, it was mentioned that non-Christians sometimes find their way to these sites and are ministered to and that is fantastic. What I wonder however, is why that can’t take place on the more mainstream social networking sites?

My fear is this type of secular vs. Christian mentality with continue to put up walls between those who know Christ and those who do not and create a very “unsocial” environment amongst Christians and those of other beliefs.

Again I think there is incredible value in allowing people of similar beliefs to come together to talk, fellowship, pray, etc. but I wonder if by creating different sites we actually remove ourselves from the mission field so to speak. It seems to me that this would be the case.

It is quite obvious from the responses this morning that people who use sanctuarynet.net and other Christian social media sites really enjoy the connection and that’s great, I have no problem with that. I simply am curious if this type of site segregation is necessary and beneficial to the overall cause of sharing Christ with others.

As I said before, these are my own personal opinions and if you disagree you are more than welcome to share your opinion via a comment as long as it’s respectful to myself and other others who are engaged in the conversation, speaks to the nature of the discussion and is not inflammatory in any way. Or, if you don’t think that’s possible there are plenty of other sites out there that are looking for a good verbal throw down; this just doesn’t happen to be one of them.

In wrapping this up, I do want to apologize to “Sheri” for not posting her comment. In my opinion it was the one comment that I found to actually be respectful, however due to the  nature in which all of these comments came in, I didn’t feel it would be appropriate to post just the one.

With that being said, Sheri, I hope this post clears up my perspective for you and the others who contributed comments today.