January/February Plain Truth
The Church on the Internet
Logging on
to God.com
Will the latest communications revolution create a more unified church or an electronic Tower of Babel?
by Michael Warren
What's a Christian to make of the Internet? Even in the two-dimensional world of print, you can't escape the ubiquitous hype splashed across the pages of every issue of Newsweek and USA Today.
To some fire-and-brimstone pulpiteers, the Internet is a tool of Satan--full of filth and degradation. (True enough, there is as much sexual content online as there is religion, according to a recent survey.) To a handful of prophecy buffs, the Internet is nothing less than the beast of Revelation--quietly taking control of every aspect of our lives. (This seems unlikely, given the democratic, even anarchic, natureof the Net.)
But to thousands of Christians online, the Internet has become a place to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, to pray for one another and to fellowship with believers around the world.
A Worldwide Church
More than 30 million people now use the Internet, which is a vast computer network that spans every time zone on the planet. By the year 2000, some expect an online population of 250 million.
The Internet allows instant communication around the globe through electronic mail, bulletin boards and the interactive database known as the World Wide Web. This technology creates an unprecedented opportunity for the church, says Mark Kellner, author of God on the Internet.
Kellner believes the Internet is a communication medium that can bring Christians closer together, within denominations as well as the greater Christian community.
He recounts his own experience with posting prayer requests on electronic bulletin boards: "When my mother was diagnosed and had surgery for colon cancer back in May, I had notes from Japan, Singapore, New Zealand--all over the world. It was incredibly gratifying and humbling."
Christians have always prayed for each other, and Christians on the Internet are doing what they've always done. But they're doing it in new and exciting ways.
Take Bible study, for example. Gospel Communications Network provides a free online Bible, available in all the major translations. If you're interested in church history, you can download a copy of Eusebius (or any of the early church fathers) at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Instead of simply reading a biblical commentary, the Internet may allow you to interact directly with the author in a newsgroup.
Or consider evangelism. "The Internet is going into places where you and I can't go," Kellner says. "The Internet exists in Cuba, it exists in the People's Republic of China, it exists in much of the Arab world."
Whereas many cultures do not appreciate Christian missionaries, anyone in the world with a computer and a modem (or a pizza-sized satellite dish) has free access to the gospel.
The wealth of information online goes far beyond online magazines and newspapers. As one Netizen described it, "It's one thing to read about Bosnia, and quite another to talk to someone who is living the experience."
As the Internet brings people together, it also breaks down some of the walls that divide us--whether those walls are racial or denominational. We may seldom visit another church across town, but on the Internet we can visit half a dozen different denominations in one sitting.
At its best, the Internet offers a community without rank or class distinctions. Online, you can't tell whether someone is a corporate executive or a construction worker--unless he or she wants to share that information. You can't tell if someone is black or white, male or female. The church online allows the community of believers to flourish and fellowship.
A Sinister Side?
What about the dark side of the Net? The Internet is a medium that offers a form of pure democracy and gives an equal voice to every participant--an electronic equivalent of Mars' Hill or London's Speakers' Corner. But that hardly means every voice has something equally valuable to share.
Kellner compares the Internet revolution to the revolution created by the printing press, which may at times have seemed a mixed blessing to the church. Gutenberg's invention enabled the spread of God's Word, but it also allowed the proliferation of faithless philosophy and pornography.
"Christians have to worry, obviously, about the world and its temptations--some of which are extremely manifest on the Internet," Kellner says. "And it is quite possible for two separate Web sites to look equally valid and interesting, and one of them to preach false doctrine."
The Net can bring Christians closer together or further fragment the church, depending on how it's used.
In short, the Internet will reflect the sort of people who use it. For the church, it presents a grand challenge and a priceless opportunity.
"Words become things," Kellner says. "And as we share our ideas and share our enterprise across this Internet, we have the potential to create great and glorious things for the kingdom of God."
Michael Warren is a freelance journalist who lives in Ocala, Florida. You can reach him by e-mail at MikeW10071@aol.com
Christians on the WebYou'll find every Christian resource you can imagine at one of the three umbrella sites listed below. Each of these sites includes extensive listings to areas that would interest Christians, including online Bibles, interactive study materials, bulletin boards, movie reviews, newsgroups, ministries and Christian organizations of every kind. Be sure to stop by "Internet for Christians" on the Gospel Communications Network, run by Quentin Schultze, author of the book Internet for Christians. If you've got questions about the Internet, it's a great place to start. Christian Resource Network
Goshen Network
Gospel Communications Network
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