eCrozier
Bishop Scott Anson Benhase
October 26, 2014eCrozier #237

The Doubled-Edged Sword of Social Media

 

In 2006, I was Rector of St Philip's Church in Durham, North Carolina. Not far from our family home and near the East Campus of Duke University, was the Duke Lacrosse house, a house rented by members of the team and infamously known in our neighborhood for loud parties, loutish behavior, and inane vandalism. When some team members were accused of raping an exotic dancer hired to perform at the house, many were ready to believe the accusation. I stayed away from jumping on that bandwagon, limiting my public comments to the known, unseemly behavior of some of the team members in our neighborhood.

 

Social Media was in its infancy then, but it lit up, as did the gossip around town. Some people in Durham jumped to conclusions and made prejudgments, and then defended such behavior by saying "I'm just expressing my feelings" or "I have a right to state my opinions," thereby washing their hands of the consequences to real people by jumping to easy conclusions, rendering rash judgments, or making quick condemnations. Social Media has expanded greatly since then, but we who use it have not had an equal expansion in our ethical behavior or our moral compasses.

 

We're called as Jesus' disciples to have moral courage even as we confess our sin. As we sin, our sin should be one of missing the mark like an arrow falling short of a target (the Greek word for sin in the Bible actually means just that). So, in our discipleship we're at least attempting to shoot the arrow, even if it misses wildly or falls short of the target. Yes, even our best efforts can be an occasion for sin. But they're to be our best efforts shaped by mercy, humility, and compassion, even as we are sinners.

 

And that brings us to the recent unpleasantness at General Seminary, which you may know about. It became fueled in social media by quick condemnations of the Board of Trustees and prejudgments about the Dean. While decrying not having contact with the Board, 8 faculty members had their demands posted on social media and on their own website accusingly named "safe seminary." The Board's lack of official public communication was proof in some people's minds of their unwarranted behavior. Many accepted the Dean's guilt without waiting for an investigation. But those weighing in on social media didn't have all the information, nor did they have the perspectives of all sides in the conflict. Some offered prayers for everyone involved, but many leapt to conclusions calling for the dean to resign and the Board of Trustees to repent.

 

I don't know the whole story and very few of us do. I'm waiting, listening, and learning before reaching any measured judgment. Some of my colleagues in the House of Bishops have rightly requested all involved to seek repentance and reconciliation. Amen. I have no doubt there's enough sin to go around on all sides. The bloggers, and the blog sites that were their enablers, weren't included in that request. Those blog sites were just giving people a wide forum to express themselves. And those bloggers were just stating their opinions. Social media is a wonderful way to stay in touch with one another, but it's a double-edged sword. We should all be careful how we wield it. It cuts deeply.

 

Scott's Signature   
           The Rt. Rev. Scott A. Benhase               

  

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