1 Corinthians 11:1 English Standard Version (ESV) Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

One might wonder why the title of this is meme in consideration of all the memes in use on social media. Here is why.

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the word “meme” (rhymes with “team”) in his bestselling 1976 book The Selfish Gene. While he had no idea of its future internet-related context, he used the word meme to describe an idea, behavior, or style that rapidly spreads from person to person in a culture. In his book, he likened a meme’s spread to that of a virus. The word meme came from the Greek word mimeme, which means imitated thing. Quote from Lifewire.com

The Greek word in 1 Corinthians 11:1 is mimētēs which speaks to the one that follows, not the one being followed. The interesting intention of memes is the hope that the meme would be circulated as a virus. We might not like the insinuation that Christianity is a virus but what is a virus?

A virus is a living organism which is spread by intimate contact most often by touch or breath.

Consider that Christ is alive in us and as a mimētēs we spread Christ liberally. Paul, not Richard Dawkins, introduced memes to the world.

Paul’s usage didn’t catch on as Dawkins’ version because the Word of God is not sardonic enough for a world that loves to make fun of everything.

I am however intrigued by Dawkins’ book title, The Selfish Gene. I have not read the book but the implication of the title seems to be appropriate to life without Christ. It is our human nature to be selfish.

Meme screams of look at me. Mimētēs screams look at Christ.

Our prayer is that unbelievers see Christ in us and not our flawed humanity.