"Posting Peace" by Douglas S. Bursch. A Review
We’ve seen
it more times than we care to count. Someone puts out their opinion (sometimes
stating it as fact) on social media, then within minutes snarky replies show up
in the comments. The snarky begins to devolve into snide, then spiteful, and finally
an outright extreme verbal cage fight. The saddest part is that maybe some of
the combatants claim to be Christians or are people we know. This scene has
become so endemic that social media and verbal fisticuffs have become synonymous. Therefore, Douglas S.
Bursch, copastor of Evergreen Foursquare Church in Auburn, Washington,
former newspaper columnist and talk radio host, has presented a timely
work addressing this exact phenomenon. “Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides
Us and What We Can Do About It” is a 208-page paperback that delves into the
way we are online, its consequences, and how to approach our internet presence
with a whole new set of methods. The author’s premise is that “social media
platforms are structured to separate us from some of the most basic interactions
we need to establish strong relationships. The online medium fosters and
exaggerates non-reconciling behavior” and it “normalizes and codifies bad
behavior” (5). The book is a much-needed work, and worth the time to engage.
Bursch is
writing specifically for Christians, since we’re expected to magnify the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in all we do. As the Apostle Paul states
it, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God. (1 Corinthians
10:31-32). The author takes this position seriously and demonstrates (1) the
ways we easily defy the biblical injunction, and (2) numerous behaviors we can
practice that embody this Scriptural directive. For example, because of the
kind of people we’re supposed to be, then sometimes “this requires that we step
away from the trending chaos of the online crowd to pray, read God’s Word, and
find God’s heart. Too often the immediacy of social media keeps us from pausing
to consider the perspective of our reconciling Savior. How many conflicts could
be handled better if we first took time to find the heart of God before we post,
tweet, or hit send” (126)? This volume is full of challenges to our “normal”
practices, and encouragements to inhabit a new normality.
One of the
author’s principal perspectives is that social media is shaping us, molding our
characters, and forming our relational interactions. He states clearly that
what “becomes normalized in our social media practices becomes standardized in
our marriages, families, and friendships. What we do online and how we do it online
have consequences that go far beyond the online world” (28). Readers will face
this concept from one end of the book to the other and will be met with their
habitual online traits. The way out to go further up and further on is to see
ourselves as peacemakers. Thus, for “us to be peacemakers we must intentionally
humanize every online interaction” (120). This is not a go-along-to-get-along
approach, but a perspective, an aim, an endeavor we should be reaching for,
even when we are addressing real injustices and inequities.
The book is
stuffed full of material from other sources, studies, and analysis. Though a reader
may periodically come to a different conclusion than the author regarding one
of the studies or other, nevertheless, this volume is not simply the writer’s
opinion. There are enough references and reports to cause one to slow down and
take stock. I found the endnotes useful in tracing down a few of findings for
an adult class I’m teaching in my church that relates to this work.
My only disappointment
was the way the book addresses injustice, and the idea of white privilege. For
example, while untangling the messiness of online arguing, the author addresses
the reaction of avoidance and disengagement. His remedy is to refute conflict
avoidance and extrication from social media skirmishes and to encourage readers
to get in there and mix it up, because true “societal transformation comes
through challenging the injustices of society and the people who promulgate
those injustices” (75). It struck me as an oddity in the book that was all
about peacemaking. Truly, there is a place when addressing a wrong might be
right, but there are other times where taking the slow, nearly silent approach seems
more biblical and beneficial. I’m thinking of our Lord’s direction to talk with
a person privately first and try to resolve the situation at the lowest level
of relational engagement (Matthew 18:15-20). One could (and should) peruse
Proverbs and notice how often silence, calmness, slowness to respond is the
epitome of God-fearing wisdom. The writer develops his position more fully in a
later chapter, “When Justice Demands Conflict” (146-161) in which he assumes
conflict avoidance comes from white privilege. I had a hard time stomaching
that chapter.
Nevertheless,
even with that disappointment noted, “Posting Peace” is a work worth its weight
in gold! My fellow Christian ministers and leaders must snag a copy, pour over
it, and employ many of the author’s suggestions. In fact, anyone who finds
themselves interacting on social media, and claims to be a Christian, ought to
stop posting for two weeks and devote that time to reading this work. The potential
consequences for utilizing the concepts in this manuscript would be huge, as we
learn to “respond to the instantaneous, polarizing individualism of social
media with the thoughtful, self-giving, other-focused reconciling example of
Christ” (168). If I could wave a magic wand to get people to purchase and read one
book in 2021, this would be the volume!
My deep appreciation goes to IVP for responding to my request for a review copy of the book and sending it. I used it in writing this analysis. I’m also grateful that they made no demands on me, didn’t issue any diktats for me to abide by, and allowed me to pen my own evaluation, which I have freely done.
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