Conservative Evangelical Social Media: Calvinists Everywhere!

[Khendra]

I've observed for quite some time that 'conservative Internet Christianity" has had an enormous bias toward Calvinism in the last decade.  The Young, Restless, and Reformed are still Restless and Reformed, if a bit older.  They seem to have a presence on the Internet the way that Pentecostals and Charismatics had on television in the latter 20th century through channels like Trinity Broadcasting Network.  Whether one is on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, or the blogosphere, Calvinists tend to monopolize conservative Christian discourse.

Was talking to my dad earlier how it's so hard for me to socialize with other Christians on the Internet.  He replied and told me outright, "I've never had any success interacting with Christians online."  Dad has never been a Calvinist, either, so I'm not surprised.

With Calvinists everywhere, and their tendency to be anti-vaxx, engage in the culture wars, moralize, and argue, it's no wonder folks like me and my dad are left out.

There are still other types of Christians out there in numbers, but we/they don't have the same social media influence.  A number of Christians still emphasize "a personal relationship with God," but they are drowned out on social media influence by the "God is love but that's not all He is; He's the sovereign lawgiver" Calvs.  Or you have folks like me who are Lutheran, and we contrast Gospel and Law, but we don't have the same sway.  Supposedly we're numerically higher than Calvinists, but on the Internet, we have nowhere near the presence that they do.

So I say this as someone who has background with nondenominational (Calvary Chapel) and Lutheran (LCMS and WELS) Christians.  Calvary Chapel will use Facebook, but they don't have the same influence over it the way Calvs do.  They just emphasize more personal, relational, emotive aspects of God, so they don't build systematic influence in the same way.  And Lutherans just tend to be quiet.  LCMS has a little more of a presence than my WELS, but the online LCMSers are almost little Calvinists themselves (the loudest ones are often "converts" from Reformed Christianity who haven't completely left Reformed tendencies), and thus don't represent the local LCMS churches or LCMS belief very well.

I guess perhaps Calvinists are everywhere because they seek to command, and the Internet is a great place for arguments and shouting matches.  Whereas the Charismatics were great at emotional television, the Calvs are great at media that enables them to verbalize their stern views to the masses.

[refugee]

Not only that, but they are committed to spreading their “gospel”—hyper-calvinism, not “good news” by any reckoning. After detoxing from decades among calvinists, the last few years becoming infiltrated/dominated by 9Marks/TGC/Acts29/YRR types and hyper-Calvinist Vision Forum/Doug Phillips/Doug Wilson/John Piper/MattChandler fanatics (two different churches, some overlap), I’m firmly convinced that they are a mix of narcissists and perhaps well-meaning but disastrously insecure/fearful people.

Wolves and sheep. Not a single shepherd to be found.

[Khendra]

13 minutes ago, refugee said:

Not only that, but they are committed to spreading their “gospel”—hyper-calvinism, not “good news” by any reckoning. After detoxing from decades among calvinists, the last few years becoming infiltrated/dominated by 9Marks/TGC/Acts29/YRR types and hyper-Calvinist Vision Forum/Doug Phillips/Doug Wilson/John Piper/MattChandler fanatics (two different churches, some overlap), I’m firmly convinced that they are a mix of narcissists and perhaps well-meaning but disastrously insecure/fearful people.

Wolves and sheep. Not a single shepherd to be found.

One of the things that can backfire with these people is their emphasis on patriarchy.  Since my dad has rather easygoing theology, it makes for awkward conversations with them -- if they manage to reply to me at all.

Them: "Fathers must set the example and be the head!  They must lay down clear principles and views for their families!"

Me: "My dad believes God is the Only Way.  He also believes and emphasizes that God is love, people can be saved after they die, and we should listen to God's voice."

Them: 1) silence or 2) "that's interesting" or 3) "he sounds barely Christian" or 4) what fruits does he have of salvation?

Even in Lutheran churches, it's hard discussing my dad's theology.  It simply doesn't overlap with any major denomination.  My dad's developed his own theology from his own readings and has never been much of a participant in church or Christian discourse with others.  It makes him less susceptible to their influence, of course, but it also leaves people like me in a state where there's always a degree of awkwardness in church because what he taught doesn't align perfectly with what they teach.  If they want to keep making Christian dads the head, they have to realize that Christian dads will sometimes teach things they don't like.  Who then is the real head, the church or the father?  Always feel pressured to choose.  I don't have all the same beliefs as my dad, but the very fact that he has such idiosyncratic beliefs himself, puts me far in the background at every church I go to.

[forgetmenow]

I grew up Calvinist (Reformed Baptist) and I have noticed the same thing on social.  I can honestly say that I knew lot of really great, generous people, but I also knew a fair share of arrogant know it alls.  My former church is one of the older RBs, so the young, arrogant crowd wasn't as prevalent as in some sister churches, but even as a Christian, it's not a denom that I would likely attend again.  I haven't been there in years, so it might've changed some, but as my parents still attend, I was glad that they enforced masking when the state required it and while I don't know percentages, people have been vaccinated, although there are some real tinfoil hatters among them, too.

But you're totally right — Reformed Twitter is another story.  Ugh.  I'll hit the block button when I see "1689" in a user profile almost as fast as when I see someone self-identify as a "Patriot" or "We the People" in the political threads.

Edited August 20, 2021 by forgetmenow

[Khendra]

39 minutes ago, forgetmenow said:

I grew up Calvinist (Reformed Baptist) and I have noticed the same thing on social.  I can honestly say that I knew lot of really great, generous people, but I also knew a fair share of arrogant know it alls.  My former church is one of the older RBs, so the young, arrogant crowd wasn't as prevalent as in some sister churches, but even as a Christian, it's not a denom that I would likely attend again.  I haven't been there in years, so it might've changed some, but as my parents still attend, I was glad that they enforced masking when the state required it and while I don't know percentages, people have been vaccinated, although there are some real tinfoil hatters among them, too.

But you're totally right — Reformed Twitter is another story.  Ugh.  I'll hit the block button when I see "1689" in a user profile almost as fast as when I see someone self-identify as a "Patriot" or "We the People" in the political threads.

I just tried doing Twitter more for a couple of weeks -- had only used it briefly once a couple of years ago -- and I found they are prevalent there too, as you said.  I didn't run into too many 1689ers (sounds like a good thing based on what you wrote -- I've seen some of those sorts on Reddit), and there seems to be at least something of a thankful pushback against the more abusive and authoritarian types now among the Calvinist ranks, but I was still just on the "outside" lurking because none of my family are Calvinists.  I could never see my dad spending hours debating theology on social media, like they do, or do the degree of fruit-checking and status-checking common to these sorts.  My dad is just way, way too "live and let live" to fit among Reformed ranks.

Particularly hard for me to fathom is all the damage done by repressively strict ideas of 'Biblical manhood and womanhood.'  Nondenoms and conservative confessional Lutherans both believe in headship, and there are even some modesty movements in some of the nondenoms, but I never see long discourses on 'Biblical manhood and womanhood' or even patriarchy/complementarianism.  When gender does come up, which is less often (particularly in Lutheran circles), it's usually just over women's ordination.  This is especially the case in WELS, where we have few to no ex-Reformed, who sometimes bring such baggage to the LCMS, as I mentioned.

[feministxtian]

I stay away as far as possible from the online "Christians". I find most of them almost illiterate, disparaging of any form of secular education, and horribly ill-informed on science, world events, etc. The denomination I associate with is none of the above. The General Conference just came out with a statement saying, in a nutshell, that getting the COVID vax, adhering to masking mandates etc. is essentially commanded by God when He said "love one another". That includes being inconvenienced for the sake of another. 

I'll happily stay in my little corner of Christianity, I like it there. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by feministxtian