As I’ve begun re-tweeting Bonhoeffer tweets (when did he get a Twitter account? Is that an iPad I see in his hand?), I’m wondering how beneficial it is to tweet thoughts of great theologians like him? Is it advantageous to extract from the context and simply post a snippet? Is there a disservice or a re-appropriation which occurs in doing so?
For that matter, is it right to do so with a snippet of Scripture? Do “sound-bytes” do justice to the complexity of thought involved or is there an altogether new sense suggested by extracting statements from their original context?
For me, it is an insight into the quandary of authorial intent and honoring the author with their own sense while still offering (perhaps) a new sense with the abbreviated quote (putting aside for the moment that such “quotes” are actually taken from an English translation of Bonhoeffer or the Bible). What are your thoughts on the tweeting of passages of insight?
Related articles
- Reading Bonhoeffer with Jeff Wheeldon (iheartbarth.wordpress.com)
Good question. Context is one of the reasons we want to bring pew Bibles back into our church. Even if it’s just the physical presence to remind people that there are thousands of pages of stuff there and that the 10 verses or so we’re reading together on the PowerPoint screen represent only the tiniest fraction of the material.
On the other hand, there are some appropriate “summary” passages.
I guess the question is, how much context is enough context?
That’s terrific Marc. It seems like too many churches have removed Bibles. I actually don’t put ANY text onscreen for services. I only display the references so that folks know to bring and use their own Bibles or ones provided to them by us. And I do wonder how much context is necessary? I suppose our own context for sharing context is somewhat determinative of how much to share or not to some degree. 😉
I know that Bonhoeffer in particular is very easy to misinterpret—even with the full context! Perhaps the best we can hope for is that a short quote will get people interested enough to send them to the primary source and perhaps a discussion may begin that way. I fear that few people would have the patience for that though, especially in a culture that has little room for anything more than quick sound bites and hasty conclusions. I hate to be the Luddite in the room, but I wonder how hospitable the Internet can really be toward fostering theological patience—or patience of any sort. Thoughts?
Reading books is becoming a spiritual discipline. I’m with you, Joel!
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