Beware of the Trolls in sheep’s clothing.

In the Sermon On the Mount Jesus said, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”   In the digital age that warning needs to be especially heeded, though today we might call them trolls.  Not everything that is purported to be from a Christian is Christian.  Christians need to be very discerning and test what they find on line against the Scriptures.  (This essay included)

In the blog I spoke of articles posted by Christians that contrast two football players.  These articles are drawn from such faithful Christian witnesses as the Washington Times and the Huffington Post.  (Let cynicism ring)  The major media outlets are not interested in making disciples, or leading the church of Christ toward unity.  In fact, many of the major media outlets have a bias against the Christian faith and conflict, division, and uproar serve their purposes.  Additionally, the author of the article is a bit unorthodox, even questioning in one of his blogs Jesus’ support for what we would call the traditional family.  Without taking the time to read the back ground material from an author you may not know if he is more like Franklin Graham or Ernst Bloch.

Jesus advises that by their fruit we can identify and distinguish between wolves and sheep.  In the digital age that is hard to do.  One thing I have found useful is to try to engage the person privately via email or private message.  Those that only want to communicate in a public forum where a wider audience can see their message are likely trolls.  They are often self-interested blowhards that are best avoided.  If they are not interested in solutions but only ranting and raving you have a troll on your hands.  In one of the forums I follow an individual, whom we will call Dennis, was consistently posting edgy material about repression, class, and making inflammatory comments to those who disagreed.  He struck me as a character from Monty Python.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtYU87QNjPw

I asked him to tone down the comments.  I was ignored and later when I asked him to join me in a few, simple, practical steps to work toward unity; it was as if I did not exist.  The best treatment for a troll is to ignore them.  You may even un-friend them, not because you disagree with them, but because they are disagreeable.  If you happen on a troll, suggest he/she study I Thess. 3:11-12.  Paul knew how to deal with trolls.