Dr. Carl Trueman has recently posted an article on the Reformation21 ezine on the issue of Internet banditry, or the nastiness that crops up in the Internet against Christians for all manner of perceived errors, and the manner in which we ought to handle them.
In his article, Trueman comments on the state of the Internet in which he is constantly attacked and his character assassinated. According to him, he is constantly slandered as
a hapless lackey of right-wing Christian America, the ruthless dismantler of everything good and virtuous at Westminster Theological Seminary (both the right and the left have advocated that one), a communist apologist for Islamic terrorism, a fundamentalist, a liar, a liberal (political and theological), an inveterate street fighter, a spineless girlyman, and a symptom of the crisis in American higher education whose very existence explains why so many young people leave college ill-equipped to deal with real life. I have also been told to go to hell, threatened with dismemberment, and told my career was going to be torched in an inferno of revelations about my professional and private activities.
He follows up with some commentary on his own personal responses to such attacks, stating that they do hurt a bit in the early days. Commenting on such blogs, Trueman states that such people are cowardly and only do such antics due to the anonymity of the Internet. Following which, Trueman mentions the proper way of dealing with such people (ie to ignore them), and the spiritual dimensions of such attacks.
Reading this article from the viewpoint of someone who does not know Trueman i.e. neutrality, such an article is both necessary yet insufficient. Readers of Challies.com and other discernment blogs would note the disconcerting similarity between this article by Trueman and the horrible articles by Tim Challies. Despite the similarity, Trueman's article was a much better one since he did not hypocritically attack the brethren (watchblogging about watchbloggers), and he focuses on something concrete (ie the attack tactics of his critics) rather than to nebulous concepts of "negativity" and "treating evil as entertainment" which can be used to mask all sorts of unbiblical behavior by the AODMer hypocrites.
It is indeed strange for Dr. Trueman not to quote any Scripture in this piece of his, perhaps because he sees it more of an off-the-cuff commentary rather than a serious issue to deal with. However, since the authority for all believers is the Scriptures over ALL of life as well as doctrine, surely it would be much better for Dr. Trueman to support his position with biblical texts? Also, instead of just writing about how bad his attackers are, wouldn't it be much better if he would also positively write how all Christians should handle criticism? Certainly, unless we want to claim to be the Pope, we should not be unteachable and dismiss all criticism as if we are always right on all issues, even if we are supposedly "superior in doctrinal knowledge" seminary professors? This does not mean that we must give in to critics, but certainly aren't some form of introspection and examination called for?
As I may have mentioned, Challies did make legitimate observations about the evils that occurs in the blogosphere, and this I would give him credit for. The manner he goes about expressing it, and his wrong deduction from the observation however, proved the undoing of whatever good he might have done. Trueman's article probes in larger detail approximately the same issue at hand, and his observation cannot be disputed.
On a personal level, this writer himself has been attacked and vilified on the Internet for all manner of evil, and hurled all manner of invectives by anonymous critics who are only brave behind the keyboard hiding behind their pseudonyms (e.g. Antithesis, Markbark etc.). Observation wise, the dark side of the Internet is evident for all to see. So in Trueman's advice of how to deal with such critics and in the spiritual dimension of blog attacks, this writer agrees with Dr. Trueman, although with verses to support them.
On dealing with critics:
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes (Prov. 26:4-5)
If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. (Prov. 29:9)
A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. (Prov. 29:11)
On the spiritual dimension of blog attacks:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Rom. 8:28)
None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave;they use their tongues to deceive.”“The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:10-18)
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (1 Tim. 1:15)
In the next post, we would look more in depth as to how we Christians ought to give criticism and handle attacks, and to do so in a manner that is glorifying to God.
[to be continued]
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