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Tweeting to the Choir About Twitter Discourse

Tweeting to the Choir About Twitter Discourse

Last updated on: November 30, 2022 at 1:13 am by Mark Wilson

Tweeting to the Choir About Twitter Discourse 2022-11-30T01:13:19-05:00 Mark Wilson

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For their short pithy brilliant whimsical way of saying things, I love to collect Twitter and other Quality Quintessential quips, quotes, questions, musings and maxims from the furthest reaches of the internet to the obscure book hidden in the dusty corner of some long forgotten book store and save them for a rainy day post. I just might need some wonderful wordful beauty to express a sentiment or idea in what I’m writing so I created this particular post with that purpose in mine.

Tweeting to the Choir: A Collection of Tweets

Janet@Mystagogy1013: Tweeting to the choir gives us all support and encouragement, which is much needed in these days.

This peculiarly particular post is the offspring of that larger post with a more specific focus in mind from a topic listed in that larger post. It is also but one of the many children of that post. You can go big or go home to this shorter post and pluck what you need from the collected treasure of the Broad Chorus of Catholic Thinkers and similar like minded individuals and insert it into whatever it is your working on at the moment. Or perhaps you just might want to read a short something that will put a chuckle, a prayer or a nifty thought into your brain. And perhaps any truth beauty or goodness may leak into your soul making you a more loving, faithful and hopeful person and draw you closer to Christ.

In this post were Tweeting to the Choir about…

Twitter Discourse

Chef Andrew Gruel@ChefGruel:
FACT: Not a single mind has been changed during an argument in the comments section of Twitter. How valuable is your time?

Overall Twitter Discourse Objective

Rene Albert ☕️✟@coffeencrucifix: Lord, grant me the strength to not be a total dillhole to other people online.

jonathan@JMTeuouae: Instead of giving up twitter for Lent, some of you should give up being a jerk on twitter for Lent. I think you’ll find that to be much more penitential.

��Fr. Matthew Schneider��@FrMatthewLC: All us Catholics should be united as one Church against the power of the devil & his minions. We should avoid unnecessary division & infighting amongst ourselves.

@HeadshotsStocks: Changing someone’s mind shouldn’t be the goal, reaffirming your opinion based on people’s inability to counter your argument when you’re open minded can be helpful

The People in your Catholic Twitter Neighborhood

Fr. Stephen Vrazel@KeytarCatholic: There are three distinct parts of Catholic Twitter:

1. Rad trads who are impossible to talk to.

2. Common folk with reasonable differences of opinion but a shared communion of belief and goodwill.

3. Progressive Catholics who are impossible to talk to.

Be in the second group.

Catholic Twitter Heated Argument Starters

Marcel LeJeune@MarcelLeJeune: Topics to get #CatholicTwitter arguing:

1 – Latin Mass

2 – Yoga

3 – Vaccines

4 – The President (pick one)

5 – Essential oils

Wrong Type of Twitter Discourse

The Papal Bull@ShamelessPapist: Imagine being such a donkey brained goblin with the intellectual capacity of Joel Osteen’s toilet that you decide to ever tweet this take.

Right Type of Twitter Discourse

Jimmy AkinJimmyAkin3000: Though we have quite different views on various issues, it has not stopped Tim and I from having productive discussions. He’s been a gentleman toward me, and I seek to be one toward him–and to everyone. Differences of opinion don’t mean we can’t be charitable toward one another.

Anonymous Carmelite: Someone recently attacked me telling me I should read my catechism as a New Years gift to myself and though they meant to be snarky and hostile, I think I’ll do just that anyways because it’s always a good idea to refresh ones catechesis.

The Problems with Catholic Twitter

Steve Skojec@SteveSkojec: Sometimes I want to comment on a thread I see, but then realize I don’t want to deal with the endless responses for the next few days.

Anyone else?

Cy Kellett@CyKellett: Mean people think they are winning when they get off a nasty comment. That’s the problem with Twitter. It makes us crave the little victories that, in fact, cut us off from the Lord’s victory.

Mark Brumley@mabrumley: Outraged outrageous outragers outraged at the outrageous outrage around outrage.

Anonymous Carmelite: I see the diabolical every day just by logging into Twitter. It saddens me to see how satan twists the truth and manipulates vulnerable souls with his illusions of splendour. All that glitters is not gold, people. St Ignatius knew this well, after his encounter with the beast.

I can’t help but wonder why all the unhinged reactionaries on “Catholic Twitter” with really horrible theological takes and tweets contrary to church teaching seem to get floods of followers, who eat this junk up, further spreading error. Satan loves social media.

JT Lackey@JeremyLackey15: The Catholic Twitter bubble is beyond toxic, that’s one thing I’ve learned as I’ve been converting the past few months. Everyone thinks they know everything and to hell with loving your neighbor if it means owning your opponent, apparently. It’s not about theology or heresy.It’s only about the need to feel right all the time. If only more people on this app took todays Gospel to heart, turned the other cheek, and shoved their pride and holier-than-thou attitude where the sun doesn’t shine.

JohnStark@JohnStark: What a great time to be alive. Every faction has its own set of facts. Dialog and rational debate are mere memories.

chrismpadgett@chrismpadgett: I’m often optimistic when I think of the human person and their potential, but then I look at Twitter and realize most of you all need a time-out, or a good ole fashion woopin. The vitriol and lack of charity from those who call themselves Christian’s is alarming.

I wonder what it would take to get blocked or unfollowed on religious Twitter? Something that will make the liberals think I’m too conservative and make conservatives assume I’m too liberal. Pursuing balance? In the words of my saintly wife: extremes are easy, balance is hard.

Twitter Warning

Rene Albert ☕️✟@coffeencrucifix: Honestly, if anyone is ever interested in becoming Catholic, the best advice I can give for those who are easily troubled is to stay away from any Catholic social media.

For many, it has led them to the Church and to connect with likeminded individuals. But for many others, it is enough to shatter any hope they have in humanity or in a loving, merciful God.

Anonymous Carmelite: Disagree with others but be mindful not to invalidate them. Just because our views may differ from someone else’s does not make our views any more meaningful or valid than theirs.

Tommy Tighe @theghissilent: constantly in a state of, “actually, I don’t think I commit many mortal sins” and then thinking about how Jesus said, “I say to you whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment”

Scott Eric Alt@ScottEricAlt: We’ve reached a dangerous state of public discourse if people are afraid to dispute an idea because an algorithm might think they’re advocating it.

Twitter Friendly Reminders

Michael Lofton@michaelloftonRT: Friendly reminder: You are welcome to post disagreements with something I’ve said. However, you are not welcome to post misjudgments about my character or intentions. Neither are you welcome to post personal attacks. If either of these are done, your account will be blocked.

cy63r@1g0@cyberalgo: “Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people’s, if we are always criticizing trivial actions – which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives.”—Saint Teresa of Avila

Fr. Casey, OFM@caseyofm: There are no doubt other perspectives, and they may be true, but what I have shared is the dominant, highest regarded conclusion among scholars. Please, stop attacking people for ideas that seem strange to you. Ask questions before criticizing. Show a little decency.

Bro.Ken Homan, SJ@KenHomanSJ: I’ve had a few trolls wander by recently who got hot & bothered, I blocked them, & then they publicly proclaimed my defeat. I’m not defeated–I’m just annoyed. I love having conversations, but if you’re just lurking for “gotcha” moments or telling me I’m damned, move along.

If you say, “Clearly you’ve never read X!” and then tell me I’m a fool/heretic, I’m probably just going to block you. If you say, “Hey, I read this and came to a different conclusion. What do you think? Care to respond?”, you can pretty much guarantee I’ll respond in kind.

Also, even if I block you, I’m still definitely praying for you–and not the “Bless his heart,” I’m praying for that idiot while rolling my eyes. I mean actually praying for your well-being and consolation in God.

CatholicBard@BardCatholic: Everytime we come across another Catholic with a different opinion, how about not labeling them a heretic or fake Catholic as if we were so awesome to have the monopoly of truth discovered by our own brand of cleverness and not the grace of God.

Fr. Matthew Schneider��@FrMatthewLC: Part of Christian charity is that if someone writes or says something that has two possible interpretations, we should assume the more charitable interpretation unless solid evidence says otherwise.

Steven D. Greydanus@DecentFilms-
If you are hate-retweeting rando accounts with low follower numbers as evidence of who “the other side” is and what they believe, you are part of the Twitter discourse problem

News flash: Literally any outrageous opinion you want to document, you can find on Twitter. That some rando tweeted a trash opinion proves nothing about people in general who disagree with you. You are not making the world a better place by showcasing the worst of the other side.

Twitter Actuall Writing

**Steve Skojec@SteveSkojec:**When someone sends you an email or message with something to watch/read, do you feel like they’ve created an obligation for you to do so? If not, why not? Could be my anxiety/OCD, but I do feel this way, and I can’t, and shouldn’t, consume every piece of content sent my way.

Steven D. Greydanus@DecentFilms: Remember: This is Twitter. Keep it simple. If replying to someone gets me thinking in paragraphs, I’m working too hard. I need to find the off ramp.

Carlos A. Rodríguez@CarlosHappyNPO: Remember this and stay free:

I don’t have to reply
I don’t have to defend.
I don’t have to make time.
I don’t have all the info.
I don’t have to.

Twitter Silence

Fr. Casey, OFM@caseyofm: There’s this idea that “silence is consent.” And that’s true. But it doesn’t mean you have to respond to every ridiculous take on Twitter or address every issue directly. Your life can be a witness against many bad takes, and sometimes ignoring is the best option.

Steven D. Greydanus@DecentFilms: Stop rewarding bad takes by retweeting them even to call out how bad they are challenge

The problem with this challenge is that the winners are invisible, that’s why so many people would rather play the other game

Steve Skojec@SteveSkojec: Sometimes I go to respond to some confidently idiotic thing that shows up in my TL before I stop and ask why the hell I care what these people think, and why I should waste my time. Somewhere along the way I got the idea that correcting error is the thing to do. But it’s futile.

Geriatric Spice@paracetamol_200: Acquiring the ability to finish typing a response, realize I don’t care, and then delete it without sending was a turning point for me.

Steve Skojec@SteveSkojec: It’s a big thing. I think part of it comes from realizing you don’t have all the answers either, and maybe you’ll just make a bigger mess than if you leave it alone.

Twitter Prayers

tommy@theghissilent: Blessed James Alberione, pray for all of us on Catholic Twitter – that may we commit ourselves to seeking wholeheartedly in all things, in life and on social media, only and always, God’s glory and peace to all peoples

David Mills@DavidMillsWrtng: How to pray for all the strangers and semi-strangers who use Facebook and Twitter to ask for your prayers. You probably need a rule. I and friends suggest several. One will suit.
How to pray your way through social media intentions – Our Sunday Visitor (osvnews.com)

Saints on Twitter

Fr. David Paternostro, SJ@DavidPaternostr: Aquinas would have been awful at Twitter. Never sarcastic or insulting, patient to understand, gentle in correcting, more apt to ask questions than give hot takes. A solid counter-balance for anyone on Twitter, and a good patron saint of Twitter

Fr Thomas Crean OP@crean_fr: He could be sarcastic, e.g. in De Aeternitate Mundi about those who claimed to see an inconsistency in God causing something to exist without a beginning: ‘Those who so cleverly saw this are the only men, and wisdom began with them.’

Roberta Lavin, PhD, FNP-BC, FAAN@RobertaLavin: I suspect many women think he would fit right in with his statement “deficiens et occasionatus”.

Nicholas Sparks@nicholasmsparks: Jerome on Twitter, on the other hand, would be box office.

Fr. David Paternostro, SJ@DavidPaternostr: Jerome’s tweets would have alternated between Scriptural insights so beautiful and profound you would weep, and insults hurled at his enemies so laden with profanity that you would be enraged. 10K followers within the first two weeks

civil conversation

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