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THE QUESTION
Does God Tweet?
Thanks to new digital technologies, you can 'tweet' prayers via Twitter to the Western Wall or prayer requests to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. You can pray the rosary or pray the hours from your laptop. You can participate in worship services and discuss holy texts via Facebook. You can create and join faith communities on Second Life. Are social media tools a blessing or a curse for people of faith? Should we use digital technology to commune with the divine? Does God tweet?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on August 11, 2009 2:23 PM
FROM THE PANEL
Tweeting God
As someone who has seen the practical and powerful effect of prayer countless times, I don't believe that a sincere petition from a humble heart to the Almighty ever goes to waste.
Posted by Phil Davis, on August 12, 2009 2:10 PM
God's Spam Filter
No, God does not tweet nor does God have time to listen to almost seven billion people insincerely pleading for mercy.
Posted by Arun Gandhi, on August 12, 2009 11:36 AM
Gutenberg Got the Same Question
The technology doesn't matter. From the oral recitation of memorized texts, to scrolls, to books, to Facebook and other social media and finally to Twitter, it's the spiritual connection that counts.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on August 12, 2009 11:06 AM
God is Listening
God is everywhere, in everything and every creation that man myopically calls his own. Whether it be Facebook, Orkut, Twitter or SMS, God is listening.
Posted by Aseem Shukla, on August 11, 2009 11:02 PM
Prayer: Personal, Intimate, One-on-One
True prayer takes effort, focus, concentration. If we trivialize the experience, we risk trivializing the answers.
Posted by Michael Otterson, on August 11, 2009 6:59 PM
Jesus Would Tweet, and Warn of the Temptation of Technology
Jesus spoke in tweets before tweets became cool, if by tweets one means short messages.
Posted by Robert Parham, on August 11, 2009 2:42 PM
Medium is Not the Message
The importance is not in the media, but in the sender of the message. When there is a prayer or a question that has very little meaning to the person who asks it, then the vehicle by which insignificant prayers move from place to place is also unimportant.
Posted by Adin Steinsaltz, on August 11, 2009 1:28 PM
Tweeting Gods
A tweeting God? In cyberspace things aren't necessary what they appear to be
Posted by Mathew N. Schmalz, on August 11, 2009 12:56 PM
The Digital Divine
For those of us who believe that God does speak to us today through such vehicles as church teaching, the Bible, and conscience, there is nothing really offensive about the idea of getting short and snappy messages from the Divine.
Posted by Richard Mouw, on August 11, 2009 12:43 PM
In the Beginning was The Word, not MS Word
I suspect God chooses not to be on Facebook, but God does get in our face when we fail to care for our neighbor or help the poor.
Posted by Bob Edgar, on August 11, 2009 11:44 AM
God Incarnate, not Internet
I've yet to discover a way to consecrate or to communicate (in a sacramental sense) over electronic media. That is as it should be, in keeping with the doctrine of the incarnation.
Posted by Randall Balmer, on August 11, 2009 11:38 AM
If God is God, Then God Tweets
The question is not really whether God Tweets, but are we capable of tweeting anything sacred, purposeful or meaningful.
Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on August 11, 2009 9:42 AM
Searching for God On the Internet
Theologians also say God in omniscient, therefore he of she would likely know all "tweets," all blog entries, and even all e-mails.
Posted by Ramdas Lamb, on August 11, 2009 3:49 AM
Let There Be Tweets?
The danger of technology is not that it trivializes faith. Religion is not only spontaneous and heartfelt; it is also complex, thoughtful, reasoned, meditative.
Posted by David Wolpe, on August 10, 2009 10:03 PM
Hands that Help or Lips that Pray
The issue for me isn't the form of prayer, but prayer itself.
Posted by Herb Silverman, on August 10, 2009 6:14 PM
Tweeter-in-Chief
I have no doubt that the latest message from God sounds like tweeting to believers.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on August 10, 2009 3:08 PM
FEATURED COMMENTS
skip1223: Seeing the article on whether or not God "tweets" reminds me of many of the conversations I've had with patients. As a hospital chaplain I'v...
Tsfromsua: Of course god tweets. If one dares to search for God by never stop learning about all aspect of humanity, read all types of religious and no...
AliceLMiller: Twitter and the Bible--how they deserve each other. ...
