Now Reading
Seven ‘Christianese’ Sayings You Probably Shouldn’t Tweet

Seven ‘Christianese’ Sayings You Probably Shouldn’t Tweet

Last week, a brief but memorable online scuffle ensued when theologian and podcast host Mason Mennenga found himself on the wrong end of a Twitter ban for the crime of tweeting “I will out sword drill any Christian man.”

Twitter characterized this as a “violent threat,” apparently unaware that the history of Christian sword drills is only violent in the sense that it could be pretty traumatizing to stand up there hyperventilating on a stage, the last person still flipping through your Bible to find the Book of Psalms, your youth pastor and everyone in the youth group judging your lack of biblical know-how. Yeah, that was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t exactly violent. At least, not in a “Twitter Ban” kind of way.

#FreeMason took off as Mennenga’s friends, supporters and even some online sparring partners rallied to get Twitter Support to revoke its ban.

Fortunately, all’s well that ends well and Mennenga was reinstated to Twitter in short order. Hopefully, the folks at Twitter Support HQ learned a little something about evangelical subculture. But let’s be real, there’s a lot of Christianese that comes across a little weird if you’re not in the know. And if you don’t want to learn what those things are the hard way, maybe you check certain phrases in at the Bible study door.

Here are a few phrases that might get taken the wrong way online.

Washed in the Blood

There’s a lot of “blood” stuff in the Bible — so much so that you can forget how odd it sounds if you’re not used to it. It’s perfectly reasonable to talk about with other Christians, but it’ll probably trip a few social media red flags.

Set Our Hearts on Fire

Pretty good for a campfire sing-a-long. Less good for Twitter, where it sounds like you’re encouraging people to self-immolate.

Prayer Warrior

Better just avoid “prayer warrior” talk generally online. Anyone unfamiliar with the lingo may not assume that “prayer warriors” are probably just praying for Aunt Beth’s knee to heel up and the Dodgers to have a good season.

Make Me a Living Sacrifice

Hmm, nothing explicitly violent about this one but something about it just sounds kind of off. Feel free to take your chances with it online, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Like a Thief in the Night

More like a police raid in the night, because that’s what you’ll be dealing with if you post this online.

Let Justice Flow Like a River

“Well, hang on. There’s a process to these things.”

“It’s Harder for a Rich Man to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven Than for a Camel to Enter the Eye of a Needle…”

Image

View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

© 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top

You’re reading our ad-supported experience

For our premium ad-free experience, including exclusive podcasts, issues and more, subscribe to

Plans start as low as $2.50/mo