Please humor me while I go off on a little rant. Since I’ve joined the ranks of Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the blog world, I’ve encountered a whole new breed of self-proclaimed experts that I call “Facebook prophets.” They nitpick, split theological hairs, harass, and try to sound smart without having the education or credibility to say anything true or meaningful. They show up on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog comments around the world wide web.
A few years ago, when the lovely Janet Reno was the attorney general, she was asked, “What is a cultist?” Her answer*: “A cultist is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the second coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies; who has a high level of financial giving to a Christian cause; who homeschools for their children; who has accumulated survival foods and has strong belief in the Second Amendment; and who distrusts big government.”
Wow. I guess I’m in a cult.
In reality, the definition of a cult is “a religion regarded as unorthodox.” With that in mind, and the fact that we live in a society that preaches cultural relativism (the idea that there is no absolute truth, but “truth” is formed subjectively by cultures and individuals), we are surrounded by millions of one-man cults! And the Facebook-Twitter-Blog world has become their platform. The Facebook prophets have emerged out of such an arrogant society as ours, assuming themselves experts on all things spiritual because they have an opinion. They have nowhere else for anyone to listen to them, so to stroke their egos, they roam the internet as dark crusaders. Yes, indeed, Batman is alive and well, and Gotham is the world wide web.
Please understand, I’m all for a good discussion and think that’s healthy, but these clowns aren’t interested in discussions; just debates or even better, damning opinions they hope will humiliate their opponents. Makes me think of Proverbs 18:1: “The fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his own opinion.”
Here’s some typical traits of the Facebook prophets:
1. Biblically Illiterate
Don’t get me wrong. They may have read the Bible or heard someone talk about the Bible, but most of these people are not students of the Bible. They’re more interested in reading Brian McLaren or Rob Bell books, or analyzing the latest epiphany of a super-prophet than they are in taking the time and discipline required to break down a passage of Scripture and understand it. For that matter, to broaden the field, some Facebook prophets don’t even consider themselves Christians, but are antagonistic toward Christians. These are hostile to the Bible though, of course, they’re still experts on the Bible!
Ever notice that though study and training are required to be considered an expert in just about any other field, anyone and everyone is considered an expert on the Bible? Any opinion will do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say “Oh I’ve read the Bible” as if that’s the end-all. So what! I read a book on quantum physics. Does that make me an expert?
If you’re going to have a conversation about the Bible, study it.
2. No accountability
They may or may not go to a local church, but one thing they don’t have is accountability. There is no one in their lives to correct their pea-brained conclusions, let alone their cocky attitudes. So you’re at their mercy. Get ready, because their opinion is coming hot and heavy. It’s time for you to listen, because they’ve got something to say. You’re wrong. They’re right. The sooner you see that, the sooner you’ll get to stop hearing them talk. Just tell them, “You’re smarter than me. I just didn’t realize it. Now that I do, I’ll never question you again. Furthermore, I’m going to buy stock in you. Because you are gold.”
Then all will be serene and the universe will be restored to order.
Dear Facebook prophet, it’s hard to listen to someone that doesn’t listen to anyone else.
3. Arrogant
They paint you old-fashioned, misguided, and stupid. They can’t understand how anyone could possibly think the way you do. They have no questions, just answers. No encouragement, just criticism.
4. They’re ugly.
I have no way of confirming this, but I’m pretty sure they’re all ugly. It’s hard to tell because after taking 914 pictures of themselves, they finally found one that by some miracle of photography doesn’t look like them. (Or they’ll just post a “celebrity-look-alike.”)
In the end, anyone who follows Jesus must be careful to get our doctrine from the Bible, not from the latest books or blog, not from how we happen to be feeling today, and not from Facebook prophets. Paul told Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
That’s good advice. Be a student of the Bible. Further, be accountable. Get involved in a community of believers that are studying and preaching the doctrines of the New Testament, and walk in transparency with them, as 1 John 1:7 encourages us: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
And when you encounter a Facebook prophet, just smile and say, “Someone warned me about you.” (And find out if they’re ugly.)
*Please note that this quote is disputed, and if Reno did say it at all, she certainly did not say it on 60 Minutes as reported.
Love it!! and a BIG AMEN!
Thanks, Christy!
Not to split biblical hairs, but where do you stand on unorthodox churches with no accountability which spring up in most towns across America? Churches like GraceLife, CFC, etc… Couldn’t a Facebook prophet say that they are accountable to god?
We’re certainly all accountable to God. That said, I don’t believe that any sincere reader of the New Testament could conclude that God ever disconnects our accountability with Him with the responsibility to walk humbly before our brothers and sisters in Christ. God always connects the vertical with the horizontal. For example, I can’t say I love God and hate you (1 John 4:20), and Ephesians 5:21 says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
So then where is the accountability of these small cults (churches) which spring up in local communities. Most of these are not accountable save towards an often untrained person who began the church for reasons unknown.
Sean, not sure how to answer that. On one hand, I think that many of the kinds of small churches you’re describing start out of rebellion and are a product of the very lack of accountability I was talking about. On the other hand, there are many noble people who start such gatherings out of integrity for any number of reasons. When you have a healthy community built on the gospel of grace, no matter how big or small, irregardless of whether its structure has any official clergy/laity distinction, you tend to have the kind of mutual submission and humility that marks followers of Christ. And on the flip, if you have an unhealthy community built on the legalism, rebellion, and heirarchy, no matter how big or small, you’ll tend to have a spirit very unlike Christ.
I think Galatians 5:19-23 gives us some insight as to the fruits of a sin-driven community vs. a grace-driven community:
“19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. “
This is exactly my point: all those verses are applicable to your facebook prophets. It just seems an interestingly arbitrary line to draw coming from a non-denominational rep. That being said, they annoy me too :p
Am I in the “non-denominational rep” bucket? Let me think about whether or not I like that label, you…you…ex-religionist neo-patriot pundit.
Umm…I might need to apologize for that. Let me know.
Is it possible to become an expert on the Bible?
We’re always learning because God is infinite, but yes, it is possible to thoroughly learn, understand, and teach Christian doctrine as it is taught in the Bible. That doesn’t mean we aren’t growing, but it does mean that we can confidently assert that we know and believe the gospel as it is taught in Scripture. Why would God even give us the Bible if He weren’t trying to communicate something absolute, concrete, livable, and fruit-bearing in our lives? God gave us the Bible because He wanted to say something to us we could understand. I can’t imagine that the apostles were writing gospels and epistles to create mystics.
I guess one should also research a bit before going with “common knowledge” too… http://www.snopes.com/quotes/reno.asp
Funny. I remember the reporting on it the day after the interview (though I have no idea what the context of the interview was…where, when, who). Makes sense that the Clinton administration and the liberals would want that quote to disappear as it ostracizes millions of Americans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JroymBDd1H4
I mean, if we want to throw around quotes that ostracize millions of Americans I would offer George Bush Sr.’s famous “No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God.â��
I think we can agree that both the quote you found (assuming it is real) and the quote I just put out there represent two extremes that should be ignored. When you say “the liberals would want ___” you are just splitting people apart even further. At least be sure that you are accurate when you say that; “the liberals” do not want to see religion banned in America, some of us want to see it questioned though. And Keith is a conservative I think lol – you fascist!
Even the Bush quote is very questionable in my opinion. It is the testimony of one reporter who didn’t capture it on audio.
At least I know Elton John wants to see religion banned!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/15675821/ns/today-entertainment/t/elton-john-religion-creates-hateful-lemmings/
Elton John is ignorant in that regard then.
And it’s a good thing he’s not in political power too.
Wow, CBN is that bad, huh? You need to listen more carefully to what they are saying in this video: “A statement PURPORTEDLY said by Janet Reno” and “she ALLEGEDLY defined a cult as” (emphasis mine). Note how careful they are being with their wording. This is nothing to show that she actually said it. That’s like when Rachel Maddow (MSNBC) spread the misquote by Rush Limbaugh saying “rest in peace James Earl Ray” (murderer of Martin Luther King). News organizations can be, and often are, wrong. Are you really suggesting that the “evil liberals” (just ribbing) have covered up that Reno said this? If you dig up more info supporting your conviction that she said this I’d love to see it though.
Sean is correct that my politics are right of center, although I’m not sure how that has relevance in determining simple factual information.
Probably the most convincing case for the quote being real was from this discourse here(of course the name of the website doesn’t help their case at ALL) :-p
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/cultistdefinitionbyjanetrenoattorneygeneralusa.htm
I’m not sure that the quote was made by her… in fact, after doing a lot of research on the web, I think she didn’t. But those E-mails do make me wonder… assuming that the individuals who claim to have heard it in person are being genuine. But regardless, the ultimate point Derek was making is that every day it seems that the definition of “Cultist” seems to be moving more and more towards that. Perhaps it wasn’t the best for Derek to use a quote that is very disputed and most believe is a hoax, but I would point out that he wasn’t using it in a way that would really make or break the case for the entry. In other-words, it wasn’t a foundational stone to this rant(he admitted it was a rant), it was more like a window or a doorknob… something that could easily be replaced. Anyway… just my two cents, I saw the quote and thought “Oh well… he admitted that this is a rant… he himself acknowledged that, and the quote doesn’t necessarily change the overall point at all.” But I figured someone would come along and point it out… some facebook prophet or something.
:-p
Love ya Keith!
Yeah I had read that website and was struck by the response saying “We just got the tapes and are now able to respond.” and then later on by “If you should hear of that please let me know we would be interested in acquiring a copy.”. Why would they be interested in acquiring a copy if they already have “the tapes”? I don’t believe the quote is merely “disputed”, especially because it can be tracked to where it originated. With that said, I think they rest of this blog post was excellent. I was worried for a second that I might be a Facebook prophet myself, until I got to the part that said they were ugly… Then I breathed a sigh of relief!
This is a much more comprehensive look at the history of the hoax: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blreno.htm
Thanks Keith. I’m aware that there are a number of urban hoaxes, and perhaps this is one of them, though it’s not as cut and dried as some of these articles you’re posting are suggesting. From what I’ve read, a fairer conclusion is that it is “unverifiable.” Of course urban legends sites will jump all over it, but it doesn’t mean she didn’t say it. First of all, I almost seem to remember watching a clip in the 1990’s of her saying something very similar to this, though out of fairness, I’ve hesitated to go as far as to say for sure. Second, I don’t think anyone would doubt that the ideology of the administration during that time certainly bent this way. Either way, to be fair, if I use that quote in the future, I’ll be sure to point out the conflicting history. Lastly, it certainly had little to do with the point of my blog.
I think it’s sad to see that you seem intent on perpetuating an “us vs. them” mentality by insisting that this quote is only “unconfirmed” (and ironic considering the intent of this post… Which I understand is meant as a “lighter fun piece”, but many people look up to you for good information) when it is pretty clearly “disconfirmed”. Do you really believe that 60 minutes (a show that is intended to investigation and uncovering crazy quotes like this) would “cover it up”? Don’t take the word of even the websites I posted, call 60 minutes yourself. The quote was even investigated by a US congressman and tracked down to its source, the source which subsequently made a retraction. Yes, the administration back then was very liberal, but i don’t believe their mentality was as radical as you would like to believe. Surely you can find and use a legitimate quote that will make your point.
Sorry Keith. I’m not contending that it was ever on 60 Minutes. That seems obvious that it wasn’t. My blog never said it was. I guess I’m just saying that though it’s a myth that it was on 60 Minutes, the back-story has enough conflicting facts that for me, it’s going too far to say that it’s a myth that she ever said it at all. Even so, being trained in journalism in college, I now realize it was unfair without knowing all the facts to concretely say that she said it. It was a whimsical addition to my blog, and I thank you for pointing out the history of that quote. (I’ve added a note to the blog.)
Keith, please see the note I added to the blog.
Awesome word and sound warning as well. We shall know them by their fruit and lifestyle. I have learned not to place my “stock” in just anyone that carries the “Christian” title anymore. I wouldn’t want anyone just to take my word for it either…I would hope and pray my life would show my Jesus…just like your song, “Worship With My Life.”
So true! Many people start off being zealous and passionate about God or a specific subject, but end up going off the deep end. Largely contributed to by their new-found love for debating and the interaction with others without actually having a face-to-face conversation. It does get annoying and often times their credibility is compromised because of their lack of genuine transparency. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment, Brendan!