ARTICLES

 

Tweeting God: picturing the sacred in everyday life¹

 

 

van den Berg, Jan-Albert

University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa vdbergja@ufs.ac.za

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Elias Garcia Martinez's fresco "Ecce Homo" (Behold the Man), in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church in Borja, Spain, was deteriorating so rapidly that, in 2012, 81-year-old Cecilia Giménez decided to restore it. Her failed attempt led to the fresco being called "Ecce Mono" (Behold the Monkey). Due to the failed restoration attempt the artist initially faced criminal charges. However due to much interest generated from extensive media coverage and internet exposure, the artwork became a tourist attraction. Even a local wine was created to immortalise the event. In 2016, an interpretation centre for this artwork was built in Borja with the artist, Cecilia Giménez, the hero who unintendedly put her town on the proverbial world map. Pictured against the backdrop of social media, and more specifically the social media platform of Twitter, this case study serves as the focus for the research portrayed in the article, sketching the importance and meaning of everyday expressions of theology. Some of the latest developments in practical theology show similar perspectives within the domain of "lived religion" and address spiritual practices inside, but also in particular, outside the church walls as daily expressions of faith. This orientation corresponds with the notion that theological language does not exclusively belong to formal academy and the church. Daily life provides a rich canvas for incorporating various forms of "ordinary", "espoused", "implicit", "operant", "everyday", and "lived" theology and religion. The argumentation in the article is further developed by reflecting on the meaning of social media, specifically Twitter, in order to accommodate the sketching and meaning of alternative expressions of the language of faith. In the sketching of these everyday experiences of faith as portrayed in the Cecilia Giménez case study, the multi-layered beauty and sacredness of folly are illustrated.

Keywords: Tweeting God; social media; twitter; lived religion; art

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1. Appreciation

Even as a student and later as young clergyman the name of Johan Cilliers was indicative as one of the most influential voices in practical theology, and in particular in liturgical and homiletical sciences. I got to know Johan as the author of many academic works, and also of more popular religious works which contained his insights from his research in such a manner that a wide audience could benefit from it. In later years I was honoured to get to know Johan personally as friend and colleague. In my contact with Johan I was enriched through his richly coloured humanity in which wide academic theological perspectives found concrete alignment with daily life. Johan's love for art provided, in particular, the space for the embodiment of this alignment between academics and common events. It is, therefore, for me a great privilege to dedicate the following perspectives, which convey this embodiment of the holiness in daily life, to Johan Cilliers.

Theology is not for Sundays only ... Theology is an everyday affair ... Theology not only articulates beliefs but suggests 'designs for living' (Vanhoozer 2007:7).

 

2. #Delineation²

Fair is fair.³ The well-known expert on spirituality Henri Nouwen often repeated Carl Jung's quote: "What is most personal, is also most universal" (Nouwen 1976:16). Please therefore allow me to start with a first fragment from my own recent experience:⁴

In preparing this article, I experienced a specific tension that is linked, among others, to the nature and purpose thereof. On the one hand, academic perspectives must be well grounded. On the other hand, these must be articulated in such a way that they are audible, intelligible and relevant to a wider audience. This article must summarise completed research, on the one hand, and offer insight into the future of new research, on the other.

In my attempt to address and develop the meaning of this tension and paradoxes, I thought it proper to structure the article on the basis of the following aspects:

• The title of the article is made up of three related conceptual markers, namely "tweeting God", "sketching the sacred", and "everyday life". I will use each of these three markers to point out specific movements in the development of the argument portrayed in the article.

• Practical theology⁵ implies a specific sensitivity and feeling for the description⁶ and meaning of practice⁷ and praxis.⁸ The use of narratives is one possible way of understanding and documenting a specific involvement in praxis.⁹ The use of aspects from the special story of Cecilia Giménez and the "Ecce Homo" (more on this later) as key approaches to praxis corresponds with aspects in the title of the presentation. The additional use of three associated metaphors, namely "painting", "sketching" and "drawing" further develops the significant aspects in this story. With reference to this metaphor, two "delineation" descriptions embrace this presentation by way of introduction and conclusion. The prominent movements of practical theology, namely explanatory empirical descriptions, interpretative moments, normative reflection and strategic-pragmatic considerations,¹⁰ serve as background to this description.

• The use of the hashtag sign ('#'),¹¹ probably one of the most well-known and iconic symbols of popular culture, as well as the unorthodox rendering of subtitles to indicate the various subunits of the presentation, signal the underlying significance of social media¹²as a field of praxis. This description is further developed on the basis of three original tweets that correspond with the development of the title as well as the stories of Cecilia Giménez and the "Ecce Homo", respectively.¹³

 

3. #tweetingGod

#painting

 

 

In the second semester of 2018, two other colleagues¹⁴ and I had the privilege of presenting a module¹⁵ entitled "Celebrating and the Divine" for the MDiv students. In a final assignment, students had to write an article reflecting their own perspectives on the module. One of the students, Zilke Mahabeer (2018:2-3), presented the following case study as a possible lens reflecting the contents of the course:

In 2012, 81-year-old Cecilia Giménez from the small Spanish village of Borja, decided, on her own initiative, to restore the deteriorating Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) fresco by the Spanish painter Elias Garcia Martinez in the village's Sanctuary of Mercy Church. The attempt to restore the fresco failed and the apparent tragic outcome even resulted in criminal charges against the artist. The restoration attempt changed the work of art so drastically that it was referred to as Ecce Mono (Behold the Monkey).

Just as Cecilia took up the paintbrush, I would like to take up the paintbrush from the palette and consider the design of the "picture" facilitated by "tweeting God".¹⁶ "Tweeting God", therefore, does not suggest calls for a new revelation, in which tweets are sent not only from the White House, but also from heaven. Rather, this is about how the Twitter world talks about God, in order to express multiple and compound understandings of daily life.

In line with this orientation, Willhauck, in her important article, "The urban dictionary, street wisdom and God: An intersection of linguistics and theology" (2013), demonstrates clearly the importance of "street language" in the facilitation of faith. By using the metaphor of the street, reference is made to all possible contexts - including the world of social media and Twitter - and how the profane "language of the street gives insight into how people receive religious meaning and come to experience God" (Willhauck 2013:98). Although the classical and traditional language of faith still forms part of Twitter formulations, it is used in such a way that it conveys fresh and new meaning. This implies new possibilities for church, theology and faith.

With this orientation as background, Neels Jackson, a former editor of Kerkbode (the newspaper of the Dutch Reformed Church in Southern Africa), expresses the challenge of articulating a relevant theology in a new theological sphere of existence, facilitated through the development of social media, and in particular on the Twitter platform. In a column entitled "Would Jesus also have tweeted?", published in the South African newspaper Beeld (2013),¹⁷ Jackson wrote:

Supposing that Jesus lived on earth as a human being in this day and age: would he have tweeted? This question recently came to my mind while I was reading yet another tweet from a theologian. I had realised that an on-going theological discussion is being conducted in the Twitter world. Something within me immediately wanted to say 'No'. After all, one cannot cram great theological truths into the 140 characters that are allotted to one on Twitter. But then I remembered that Jesus himself did not preach lengthy and ponderous sermons. After all, did he not tell people stories? Was he not, precisely, a master of the aphorism, the short, powerful maxim? Maybe this is one of the things that went wrong with the church over the centuries. We have subjected the gospel to long and weighty arguments, whereas Jesus uttered truths that were briefly stated and easily understood.

 

4. #findingthesacred

#sketching

 

 

In his important article entitled "Forks in the road when tracing the sacred: Practical theology as hermeneutics of lived religion" (2009), the well-known Dutch practical theologian, Ruard Ganzevoort, mentions that practical theology presents a new development that traces the sacred in daily life. In presenting my research, I would like to show that there is also a progressive movement from the initial tracing¹⁸ of the sacred to, as indicated in the title, the finding of the sacred. In this respect, the development of Cecilia's story serves as an important expression of the contours of "sacredness" in ordinary daily events. Although there is a development from the initial tracing to finding the sacred, it does not always seem to be so clear and the representation thereof is sketched as first outlines.

Surprising new possibilities emerge from the interaction between expressions of the Godly, the sacred and popular culture. Cecilia's story had the following outcome (Kussin 2016:n.p.):

However, due to the high amount of interest generated from extensive media coverage and internet exposure, the artwork became a tourist attraction. Even a local wine was created to immortalise the event. In 2016, an interpretation centre for this artwork was built in Borja with the artist, Cecilia Giménez, the hero who unintendedly put her town on the proverbial world map.

One of the reporters who commented on Cecilia's attempt at restoration writes that this represents "one woman's vision of her saviour, uncompromised by schooling" (Minder 2018:n.p.). This perception on the appearance of the sacred within daily events is accommodated academically in the contours of the concept of "lived religion".¹⁹ Over the past few years, the concept of "lived religion" has developed strongly in the humanities, in particular in sociology, anthropology, psychology and practical theology (Ward 2017:55). The concept, initially developed by theorists such as David Hall (1997), Robert Orsi (2003) and Meredith McGuire (2008), creates room for the inclusion of so-called "sacred moments" in everyday life events. Often, the description of these experiences is neither cognitive nor dogmatic, but it often finds expression in biographies and narratives such as Cecilia's restoration of the Ecce Homo.²⁰

In order to develop a vocabulary for fresh theological formulations,²¹the focus of practical theological descriptions should therefore not only encompass church practices, but also, in particular, daily life. In this regard, Ganzevoort and Roeland (2014:93) write:

The concepts of praxis and lived religion focus on what people do rather than on 'official' religion, its sacred sources, its institutes, and its doctrines. As such, practical theology has much in common with what in disciplines like anthropology, sociology, and media studies, is known as 'the practical turn': the turn away from institutes and (cultural) texts to the everyday social and cultural practices of ordinary people.

Sketching these contours leads to the final movement of "drawing", which focuses on moments of technique, among others.

 

5. #everydaylife

#drawing

 

 

On a personal level, the apparently failed attempt at restoration has transformed Cecilia's life on various levels. Cecilia's own words on her restoration project typify this:

When the news broke, I felt humiliated. I've gone to a psychiatrist and I take medication to feel a bit better. Now, I look at the painting and think, it's ok, you're not that ugly. I hold it so dear - to the point that I see him as handsome! (Kussin 2016:n.p.).

I am convinced that the importance of everyday²² expressions of theology direct my research,²³ and influence my technique of drawing, thus providing the transition from a "sketch" to a "drawing". In this respect, the tweet, which points out how the inspiration of Cecilia's attempt at restoration led to writing an opera or the creation of an award-winning wine, may be cited as an example.²⁴ Whatever was sublimely present in the attempt at restoration is now "drawn" concretely in other practices with concrete outcomes. This suggests specific and clear guiding outcomes for my research. That is, theological language does not exclusively belong to the domain of formal academy, but everyday life²⁵ provides a rich canvas for incorporating various forms of "ordinary theology", "espoused theology", "implicit religion", "operant theology", "everyday theology", and "lived religion".²⁶

Through a focussed observation of so-called "theologies of the street" the possibility is presented to start transcribing "lived religion", "ordinary theology", "operant theology" and "espoused theology". In the articulation of perspectives which are often in alignment with alternative expressions and emphasis, embodiment is then given to the formulation of a possible so-called "disruptive theology". In the formulation of such a "disruptive theology" space is left for, amongst others, new descriptions and meaning, borne out of paradoxes. In the case study of Cecilia there is an indication that what is ostensibly regarded as wrong and problematic, is now viewed with different perspectives whereby even moments of beauty become apparent. It is indeed in these surprising and contrary moments of life when the Divine and holiness are often heard and seen with the greatest clarity. It is thus indeed these moments which are required to be described and articulated further towards the enrichment of more traditional descriptions. In the creation of space for these descriptions, space should also be made so that these alternative descriptions of a "disruptive theology" would not possible only complement the traditional theology, but even re-write it.

These developments address not only practices of faith within the church walls, but also expressions of faith outside the church. Underlying this acknowledgement is the conviction that a relevant practical theology²⁷encapsulates hermeneutics of lived religion, in which preference is given to the praxis itself and to the knowledge concerning God that is being developed, found and lives within this praxis (Ganzevoort 2008:11-12). The expectation is then that the praxis will reveal "signals of the transcendent, the presence of grace, rumours of angels" (Vanhoozer 2007:33).

Although the relief and contours of our daily lives are to be found in everyday life events, even with a fishing rod in hand,²⁸ the following reflection by Len Sweet expresses the habitus²⁹of tweeting everyday life:

When I look for something to tweet about, I find myself paying attention to life in heightened ways. With Twitter every day is an awakening to things that never would have registered before. Twitter gives me openings through which I can dive into newly discovered depths (Sweet 2012:n.p.).

 

6. #Delineation

Fair is fair. What is most personal is most universal. I thus conclude this article with a brief personal reflection:

Have we - I - thought sufficiently about the deeper and sacred meaning of everyday life? Perhaps there is more to be seen, heard and read in the everyday life texts³⁰ of the Cecilias of the world who take up their paintbrushes. On the basis of my own observation that formal theological language³¹ has, in certain aspects, lost some of its impact and that many people have turned a deaf ear to the articulation of these truths, one must envision possible alternative descriptions³², in the form of existing practices of tweeting God; picturing the sacred in everyday life.

 

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1 Some of the perspectives portrayed in the article were initially described in the author's PhD-thesis with the title "Tweeting God: a practical theological analysis of the communication of Christian motifs on Twitter" (Van den Berg, 2018). Some of these perspectives were further developed and presented at the annual Society for Practical Theology in Potchefstroom (January 2019) and as the author's inaugural lecture, University of the Free State (March 2019).
2 The term "delineation" conjures up associations with "sketching and drawing". This metaphor is expanded further in terms of affinity with the concept of "tracing" (Ganzevoort 2009:n.p.).
3 "In recognition of aspects like subjective integrity, the limitation of language, the meaning of mystery and the importance of context, a new frame of understanding and involvement is pictured. In constructing this understanding, the author's own life story and the influence of that on an own placement within practical theology is recognised" (Van den Berg 2006:164).
4 Graham (2017:70) has rightly pointed out that: "It is not about reducing practical theology to autobiography but seeing how our standpoints and concerns have informed our intellectual and academic interests, and vice versa. In the interests of integrity and transparency, the self as researcher as one who brings particular presuppositions, questions and interests, must be prepared to write themselves into the text of their research."
5 On the basis of recent influential publications in practical theology, practical theologians globally currently agree on three aspects regarding the character of practical theology. First, practical theology is concerned with the theological study of practices. Secondly, this focus on practices is especially relevant, as practical theology focuses mainly on contemporary practices. Thirdly, practical theology has an action-oriented dimension and leads to a positive contribution in the development of practice (See, for example, the following compendium editions in practical theology: Miller-McLemore, B.J. 2012. The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing; Cahalan, K.A. & Mikoski, G.S. 2014. Opening the field of practical theology, an introduction. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield; Mecer, J.A. & Miller-McLemore, B.J. 2016. Conundrums in practical theology. Boston:Brill).
6 An interdisciplinary way of thinking and action that is "always concrete, local, and contextual", but which, nevertheless, also "reaches beyond local contexts to transdisciplinary concerns" (Müller 2009:205)
7 "... practical theology takes the praxis as its source and starting point" (Ganzevoort 2008:10).
8 "When the term 'praxis' is preferred to 'practice', the emphasis is on the reflective or meaning content of behaviour, the integral interaction between theory and practice" (Forrester 2000:7).
9 In mapping the development of practical theology, I am able to document my own autobiographical narrative. During my professional theological training, practical theology was characterised chiefly by the administration of application possibilities of theological truths for church practices. In the course of further postgraduate study and in light of the hermeneutical and narrative development in the pastorate, I gradually started grasping the meaning and importance of empirical research. This aspect reached full maturity only in the course of my own interdisciplinary study in psychology and in the field of futures studies. This emphasises the meaning of context, particularly as concerns the meaning of the world - not only inside, but also outside the church walls. During this time, new developments in practical theology, such as a "post-foundational practical theology" (Müller 2009; 2011), helped me shift from an application model to an orientation where I was able to find myself at home in the description of a locus theologicus (Ganzevoort, 2008).
10 cf. Osmer (2008:3-4).
11 In social media, the hashtag sign(#) is used to semantically group posts on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. See the elaborate discussion on the meaning and importance of the hashtag sign in Van den Berg (2014).
12 See for example the important research of Campbell and Garner (2016) in describing "networked theology".
13 The use of the work of art corresponds with previous research in which, among others, the medium of film (Van den Berg 2008) and the music of U2 (Van den Berg 2009), was used to express and reflect on praxis.
14 Rev. Martin Laubscher and dr. Martin Rossouw.
15 TIDI7920 - Celebrating and the Divine - NQF level 9 with a credit bearing of 30 (2018 Yearbook, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of the Free State). The official description of the module reads as follows: This module explores the challenge of how to achieve personal Christian integration amidst contemporary forms of self-transcendence. Attention is given to the variety of manifestations within the spiritual quest - religious and secular - to address human fulfilment. This is an interdisciplinary study in the fields of Practical Theology, Spirituality, and the Arts (focusing on Film Studies). 16 cf. Van den Berg, J.A. 2018. Tweeting God: A practical theological analysis of the communication of Christian motifs on Twitter. Unpublished PhD-thesis. University of Queensland: Brisbane.
16 cf. Van den Berg, J.A. 2018. Tweeting God: A practical theological analysis of the communication of Christian motifs on Twitter. Unpublished PhD-thesis. University of Queensland: Brisbane
17 Beeld, 6 June 2013 [translation from the original Afrikaans].
18 "When I use the word 'tracing', that is not only because it sounds so well in combination with sacred. It is especially because of the more than adequate meanings it carries. The first is the archaic meaning of traversing or travelling over a certain area. The second involves meanings like following or tracking the footprints of someone or something, like when on a hunt. Metaphorically, it can be transposed to studying something in detail, like the history of an idea, the whereabouts of money moving around the world, or one's ancestry. It may also refer to the search for traces, signs, evidence, or remains of something that indicate a certain activity or presence. Tracing then has to do with reconstructing and developing knowledge. The last type of meaning has to do with drawing or sketching. It may be the careful forming of letters or figures or even certain kinds of decoration, but usually it is a form of copying by hand through a transparent sheet. Here tracing has to do with constructing, modelled after an external reality" (Ganzevoort 2009:5).
19 The well-known sociologist Nancy Ammerman echoed this orientation as follows: "Finding religion in everyday life means looking wherever and however we find people invoking a sacred presence" (Ammerman 2014:191).
20 The contours of these stories provide spaces for, among others, the complexity, apparent inconsequences, and incomplete series of different practices that appeal to people in their lives (Ammerman 2014:194; Ward 2017:58).
21 In another development the implication of "lived religion", Jeff Astley (2002) coined the concept of "ordinary theology", with the focus on the so-called "God-talk" of the faithful who are not exposed to formal theology training. The words of this "ordinary theology" are thus transcribed most comprehensibly in practices that make room for articulating the language of faith. This corresponds specifically with the previous description of "lived religion".
22 cf. Amato (2016); Brown-Taylor (2009); De Certeau (1984).
23 "A retrieval of everyday life as locus for doing theology. Much has been written about 'contextualised theology', but the irony is that life is lived in the medium of daily repetition, daily frustration and daily rituals, and this is often not theologised" (Venter 2019:5).
24 A South African practical theology is required to develop, in line with a hermeneutical and empirical emphasis, space for post-colonial descriptions (Schoeman & Van den Berg, 2017:228).
25 This leads to the understanding of the hermeneutics of popular culture as "... the shared environment, practices, and resources of everyday life for ordinary people within a particular society" (Lynch 2005:14).
26 The emphasis on "ordinary theology", "espoused theology", "implicit religion", and "lived religion" echoes the concern of Astley in taking "seriously the beliefs of 'non-theologically educated' churchgoers and other Christian believers, and of those outside the churches", as documented in his seminal work Ordinary Theology (2002:viii). In addition, Pete Ward (2017:57) indicated that "[l]ived religion has developed as a way of speaking about religion that is not primarily cognitive or doctrinal in orientation."
27 In accordance with the current tendency in practical theology, the foundations for this construction are found on the street and in the methodological crossing of traditional boundaries. This implies that many religious symbols and narratives have become freed from their traditional structures and dogmas to become tools for reconstructing spiritual meaning in daily life.
28 See for example the article by Snyder (2007) on "Fly fishing as lived religion".
29 "In theology this process is known as a habitus, a disposition of the mind and heart from which action flows naturally, in an unselfconscious way" (Forrester 2000:5).
30 In the apparent paradoxical moments of life, "[t]he ambiguities, inconsistencies, and open-endedness of Christian practice are, however, the very things that establish an essential place for theological reflection in everyday Christian lives" (Tanner 2002:232).
31 By theological language I mean all possible ways to express the embodiment of Anselmus' classical definition of theology, namely "fides quaerens intellectum" (Migliore 1991:2). For further explanation of this in the description of a "lived religion", see for example the embodiment of a "fides quaerens societatem" (faith in search of social embodiment) (Cilliers 2009:634).
32 This orientation is based on a sensitivity for a futures-orientated research agenda, trying to contribute to relevant perspectives for the challenges of tomorrow (Van den Berg 2010; Van den Berg & Ganzevoort 2014).