overtly spiritual people

On stupid guilt inducing status updates

Dear Christian Facebookers,

If you feel the need to inspire your Christian brothers and sisters to guilt please do so in a fitting and clever manner.

Do not post gut wrenching hallmark inspired guilt trips in your status and encourage other people to do the same.

If you post this:

“is a follower of Christ and proud to say it!! Let’s see how many people on FB aren’t afraid to show their love for God! Repost this as your status. Each time you see this on someone’s status, say a quick prayer for that person!! Lets get God back in this country like He should be!!! If you agree post this in your status update. Just copy and paste.”

I won’t unfriend you. But I will block your statuses from appearing in my news feed, and I will think a little less of you.

Even if it’s just because you used so many exclamation marks.

Mikey has good rules for Facebook Status Updates. Obey them.

UPDATE: There were several instances of this in my feed – this was not directed at anyone in particular – unless you were the culprit who instigated this practice to begin with…

November 19, 2009

Status symbols

You know what bothers me about Facebook… some people have annoying statuses. PC World has put together a list of common status update themes.

“English professors claim that there are relatively few distinct story plots, and that every piece of literature is just a retelling of one of those narrative archetypes. I’m convinced that the same is true of the things people write in their Facebook status updates.”

The list captures most of them – including my personal unfavourite – “Too much information” update. This is generally perpetrated by parents (or parents to be). Sorry parents. It’s true. People who aren’t parents (not just married people who aren’t parents…) don’t want to hear about

a) the pain involved in child birth

b) the funny thing your child did the point I was trying to make here is probably better summed up by the rest of the points. I’m fine with amusing stories, just not with the expectation that we love your child as much as you do, and not with funny stories pertaining to items covered by points c) and d).

c) Breastfeeding, toilet training, any other milestones…

d) Your child’s bodily functions

e) Your child related bodily functions

f) Running commentaries on your pregnancy

My other unfavourite is the “Christian” update – the bible verse etc – if it annoys me, and I’m a bona fide bible bashing Christian – imagine what it’s doing to your non-Christian friends. It’s not a witness to anything but your own sense of personal holiness.

Me, I prefer writing boring updates about the cricket or coffee, interspersed with occasional bursts of what I think is wit or insight.

That is all.

July 21, 2009

On "spiritual" people

Overtly spiritual people are really annoying. They’re the over sharers of the Christian world. Challies.com posted a link to this comic – I haven’t been able to locate the original source. But it’s funny.

July 8, 2009