Texting and Christian Practice

Introduction

Texting (or text messaging) refers to the sending of a short typed message between mobile phones using the Short Message Service (SMS). The practice of texting has become trendy and overwhelmingly popular not only for personal and commercial purposes but also as an essential feature of communication involving all spheres of human life. Ever since texting began in 1992, it has almost replaced other forms of communication and this is attributable to the decrease in costs of texting as compared to the more traditional forms of communication such as letter writing and telephoning. Also, there is the increasing number of offers by mobile telecommunication companies that contribute to the attraction of using texts as the main mode of communication. More importantly, texting encourages creativity in language use and affords the user the opportunity to explore and develop imaginative ways of making computer mediated communication (CMC) work best for them. It also allows texters experiment with language in an informal and playful manner. This belief is gradually leading to the adoption of a ‘language of CMC’ or ‘language of texting’ as a genre of language and style unique to CMC (see Crystal, 2006).

According to Gordon (2006), the cell phone (or texting), is a part of our popular culture as well as a tool of the public sphere, because ‘on occasions, the ability of the individual to have access to cell phone may have a significant influence not only on personal choices and actions but also on national and international event,’ (p.45). And for individuals and institutions around the world, the constellation of mobile phones, personal computers, the internet and other computing objects have supported a complex set of religious and spiritual needs (Bell, 2006). And given the ways in which religious practices are intimately woven into the fabric of daily life in most parts of the world, it is hardly farfetched to imagine that new information and communication technologies (ICTs) might support a range of existing religious and spiritual activities, as well as helping to create new ones (p.141). Hence, text messaging and Christian practice has been a topic of interest to scholars researching into religion and technology, and interestingly, studies have shown that texting (or SMS) has been utilized for quick religious worship and for enhancing the Christian lifestyle (see Bell, 2006; Campbell, 2006; Chiluwa, 2008).

‘Christian practice’ is defined here, as the totality of religious behaviour and attitude that conform to the beliefs, doctrines or faith of Christians. This will include worship, prayers, confessions, Bible studies etc. Scholarly studies have shown that religious practitioners have embraced CMC technologies to propagate religious values and practices (Ess, Kawabata & Kurosaki, 2007). Not only is mobile telephony and the Internet a trendy platform for Christian practices, it also provides an active and trusted medium for other religions like Islam, Hinduism and Judaism to disseminate their doctrines and enforce their beliefs (Fukamizu, 2007; Campbell, 2006). In their article: ‘how the iPhone became divine...’ Campbell and Pastina (2010), show that the mobile phone culture has become indispensable to religion. The study explores the significance of labeling of the iPhone as the ‘Jesus phone’ and demonstrates how religious metaphors and myth can be appropriated into popular discourse and help shape the reception of a technology.