Christianity and the Internet

Email, instant messaging, web browsing and blogging have become an integral part of our vocabulary. These terms represent advances in information technology that were inconceivable only a generation ago. I often bemoan the fact that I graduated from seminary before the number 286 represented state of the art technology in the world of personal computing. If only, I had access to a word processor to aid in the preparation of major papers dealing with Old Testament theology, I would have saved hundreds of hours of typing and retyping on my ancient IBM selectric. Never mind that now, one can carry an entire library of books on a sheet of plastic and silicone.

As a theologian, access to technology and the internet has opened doors of scholarship and academia in ways I never dreamt possible in seminary. The best and brightest of the world's theologians both past and present are only a mouse click away. I have observed however, that this electronic utopia has not come without a significant cost to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Most pastors will tell you that the internet has opened the door for men and women to entertain themselves in the mire of pornography. Normal, run of the mill church goers who would never dream of hiring the services of a prostitute; never venture into the doors of a strip club; never engage the notion of involvement in an adulterous relationship; never purchase a copy of Playboy or Hussler magazine are routinely swept into the addictive cesspool of online pornography. This includes ministers of the Gospel as well as laypeople. However, as sad as this situation might be, pornographic addiction is not the only aspect of the internet that deserves our attention and concern. There are other pitfalls to which unwitting Christians can succomb.

These pitfalls rarely receive any attention but they are just as insidious but not as sensational as pornography. Below is a list that should serve as a guide when counseling individuals on the proper and improper use of the internet:

• The internet is a great source of information. It is also a tremendous source of misinformation as well. Anyone with a blog, website or email can pass themselves off as experts in any number of disciplines. Human nature tends to give automatic credence to anything that is in print or available on e-media. As a society, we woefully lack the necessary critical skills that ought to protect us whenever anyone makes a truth claim. The first rule of critical thinking is to ask healthy questions like, who is the author of the article? What is his or her area of expertise to the discussion? Is the opinion based upon substantive fact or the rantings of a well intentioned but misinformed idiot? Does the author have an agenda? Has the author represented his or her claims honestly and fairly? Can the claim be substantiated by a second, third and even a fourth reliable party? As a theologian, I often receive emails, and internet articles concerning doctrinal aspects of the Christian Faith and their historical roots. It is appalling to see how often doctrine is misapplied and misrepresented. I have often observed that articles and criticisms appearing on the internet that try to handle thorny issues lack the research, thought and analysis that a difficult subject deserves. By the internet's very nature, articles tend to be uncomprehensive. The author is more interested in venting his spleen than engage in intelligent and edifying discussion.

• The use of email and instant messaging tends to depersonalize human contact. As Christians, we are commanded not to foresake fellowship, to care for each others burdens and to express love and concern for the saints and the greater community. These mandates are extremely difficult to fulfill if one is constantly hunkered down in front of a computer screen busily text messaging friends and neighbors. I love the fact that email allows us to distribute information quickly. It is a horrible tool to try and foster any meaningful sort of fellowship in the biblical sense. In some cases, I have observed that emails have been inadvertently used to follow up with church members in situations that required the care and nurture that only a personal visit by the local pastor can give.
• Another darker aspect to instant messaging is the fact that the users of IM can hide behind a cloak of anonymity to a certain degree. Teens especially have been notorious for using IM to spread gossip about each other. Using login id names rather than their given names, teens have been known to rip into each other with a reckless impunity that would not be tolerated in polite society. Because it is believed that no one knows the identity of the sender, those who use IM to verbally destroy another's character, are emboldened to use language, symbols and metaphors that they would never use outside the chatroom. This is especially troubling if these young folks are professing Christians.
• Older Church goers are not immune from the misuse of IM either. It is astounding how much private and confidential information is distributed without permission, via email, under the guise of sharing prayer requests. The Bible calls this gossip. Those of us guilty of this transgression need to confess, repent and exercise greater discernment when sending sharing discrete material via the internet.
• Certain other church members, that ought to know better, have been guilty of entering into adulterous relationships with people through chat rooms. It is striking how many married men and women engage in explicit flirtations with total strangers at the other end of the computer screen. This is infidelity and a violation of marital vows. There is nothing safe, harmless or innocent.
• Communication is stilted when ones main human contact is on the screen. Part of communication goes beyond mere literal words. Eye contact, tonal inflection and body language often convey more meaning than the words themselves and frequently give greater comfort or approbation. It is a futile exercise to try and read eye contact, inflection and body language online. I shudder to think how many needless heartaches have been caused by attempting to read between the lines of someone's email. Nothing can ever replace the impact of an actual smile, hug or pat on the back that comes from loving fellowship.
• It is often used as the coward's approach to thorny issues. No one ever like confrontation, even loving confrontation. Rather than face the person with which we have a disagreement it is easier to lash out via electronic media.
  
• It can be an enormous time waster. Like anything in the created realm, the computer can become a task master rather than task saver. Many of us are guilty of neglecting personal responsiblities, family obligations and opportunities for productive service by becoming ensnared to email, IM and the internet in general. It needs to be balanced against other life issues that are of greater priority. As parents, we need to set limits for the amount of time our children spend on the computer. But after they have gone to bed, do we ourselves violate the very principles that we are trying to teach our kids?
• We need to become very cautious about what we share in cyberspace. An email, blog or comment on the web has the potential to live forever. Information, once it is distributed over the internet can reside in any number of computers in any place on the planet. Careless thoughts and words, in the form of electronic media, can come back years later to our dismay. How often, in conversation, do we regret careless statements made in the heat of a moment. On the web, these same careless statements can come back to haunt us and continue to cause harm. We are powerless to take them back. Careful thought needs to be given before we press the send button and then say "oops I wish I had'nt sent that".

  
  

Please don't misunderstand. I love technology and I am grateful for the opportunities that is afforded me in my personal and professional ministry. Judiciously used, computers can enhance one's life and improve communication but only to a certain point. It has the potential to be addictive, destructive and dangerous. Perhaps, it would be a good idea, that as a church, we devote a portion of our pastoral care and counseling time to educate our flocks on both the postive benefits of technology along with the discretion that needs to be exercised in order to avoid becoming a ministerial casualty.

Soli deo Gloria