By Briana Bass, Christian Romance Author, Devotional Writer & Certified Professional Coach

One of the biggest reasons I write what I write, to include my fictional romances and this blog, is to respond to some of the toxic messaging prevalent in modern Christian culture. I predominantly focus on the messages targeting young Christian women, but sometimes I branch out and respond to particularly harmful messages that affect all Christians regardless of age or gender identity.

If you are familiar with both my faith journey and my writing story, you’ve heard me mention this before. It’s foundational to my mission and my career. There is, unfortunately, no shortage of inspiration. Every day I come across content that is labeled Christian but seeks only to sow division and cause harm.

Now, I am not referring to news articles or video roundups of criminal fraud, exploitation, or abuse in certain churches or by specific clergy and leaders. Reporting the truth is not clickbait. My concern lies with talking heads that spew vitriol and lies or manipulate the truth to fit a biased narrative. Some of these individuals genuinely scare me. Whether or not it’s their intention, they are stirring up discontent and fanning the flames of hostility. It’s imperative that we use our discernment to identify fact from fiction and remember that hatred masquerading as love is still hatred.

Make Love, Not War

Sensational headlines have existed since the invention of modern journalism. So has journalistic bias. It’s impossible to completely and totally divide our human selves from the news story; there is no such thing as 0% bias. But social media is not journalism. Anyone can start a social media account and say what they want to say. Occasionally other social media users fact check what is posted, and sometimes even report users for defamation or abuse. By and large, though, our culture allows people to post and share whatever they wish. This is where clickbait, a type of sensational headline, comes into play.

Clickbait isn’t new, nor is it solely a Christian issue, but wow has Christian culture adopted it. I’ve seen vlogs pitting Catholics and Protestants against one another. I’ve read blog posts comparing the perils of progressive theology to the sanctification of conservative theology. I’ve listened to podcasts that mock certain Christian communities simply because they embrace old-fashioned or traditional ideas of Christian living. Every one of these pieces of media uses sensational, often upsetting, titles to grab your attention and then proceeds to disparage and defame in the name of “truth.”

No one Christian subculture or demographic holds the monopoly on this kind of content. That’s what makes it especially concerning to me, and why I feel driven to respond to it. Theological disagreements are one thing; making war against fellow Christians is another. Instead of loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, we vilify them. We wield Jesus as a weapon against Christians whose theology doesn’t align with our own. Demonizing other Christians isn’t new-crack open a history book and you’ll find an infinite number of examples of Christians labeled heretics and executed in Christ’s name-but our ability to do it on a global scale is unparalleled. Where we could be leveraging technology to spread God’s love, we’re choosing to use it to frighten and condemn. I don’t think that’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you” (Matthew 28: 19-20a, World English Bible). Did you read anything in there about spreading hate and violence? I didn’t.

Unto the Next Generation

As a millennial woman, I grew up constantly bombarded by toxic messages from both Christian and secular culture that I and the other women of my generation are still attempting to deconstruct. Sadly, this toxicity continues to plague Gen Z and Gen Alpha. I would even say they have it worse than my generation due to the proliferation of Christian content on social media and the ease of access of such content. It’s not hard for an algorithm to show you anything that has “Jesus” or “Christian” or “Bible” in it. There’s loads of content to choose from! But not all of that content is helpful and encouraging on one’s faith journey.

This is the reality for most young Christians. Content is literally at their fingertips. They can dive into Biblical commentaries with the swipe of a thumb. They can watch roundtable discussions about the Trinity with the push of a button. They can also fall into traps. What appears to be a harmless message about Christian dating may actually lead to the acceptance of abuse and assault in relationships. Empathy and self-esteem become buzz words, diluted and demonized so that recognizing your value as a child of God or acknowledging the dignity of your siblings in Christ becomes seen as immoral and sinful. With so many contradictory messages, is it no wonder that so many Christians are confused and, in some cases, leaving Christianity behind all together?

Listen, I acknowledge that I, too, am a Christian content creator. It is my responsibility to spread truth in a way that reflects God’s love, a way that does not disparage other people. That requires me to immerse myself in Christian content that I wouldn’t necessarily seek out for my own enjoyment. Sometimes I find it difficult to consume this content. I vehemently disagree with any hot take that promotes disunity, violence, or hatred. But it’s important for me to know the messages that are being disseminated so that I can respond accordingly. If other people are ingesting this content and taking it to heart, then I have a duty as their spiritual sister to counter that hatred with love.

Love Over All

Clickbait isn’t Christlike. Propagating animosity amongst believers is antithesis to Christ’s teachings. It’s not exactly loving one’s neighbor, is it? Salacious headlines and derogatory content are agents of evil. We must keep our eyes, ears, and minds open so we can identify the lies and discern the truth.

All Christians belong to the same religion regardless of denominational self-identification or political affiliation. Let us look beyond our differences and instead remember that we are part of one family. There is no place for hatred in our family. Only love.