Friday, November 25, 2005

God on the internet

Here's a great article on religious blogging by Jonathan Last, online editor of the Weekly Standard. It appeared in the most recent issue of First Things. It's essentially a benign critique of virtual spirituality. Among the things that he finds "troubling" are the tendency for politicization, the rampant consumerism, and the potential for "demystifying" religion.

The concern that he raised that I share with him is that many are using the internet as a substitute for actual community. The internet cannot provide real fellowship. He concludes the article with these words:
. . . even at its best, the Internet is a weakening of reality, and with its consumer satisfactions, politicizing impulses, and substitutions for the body,
it constantly lures us up into thinner and thinner air. Isn't religion supposed
to enrich the world around us instead? Shut off your computer. Take a deep
breath. Go to church.
Amen!