Comments on: Spirituality and Social Media: Blogging Towards Enlightenment

By: gavin richardson

gavin richardson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:33:29 +0000

sean, not all religions were/are a one way street. the quaker faith is well known for having discussion/arguments with the preacher of a message after the message had been shared. certainly the evangelical & mainline christian faith is shaped by the written word and saint paul’s linear process of salvation and so you see these sanctuaries that, from a aerial viewpoint, look amazingly like a printed page (the pews being sentences in perfect lines, etc.

good thoughts

By: gavin richardson

gavin richardson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:29:01 +0000

you are right on the safety piece kristin. the lack of physical proximity and assuming someone is in a comfortable environment (ie. their home) gives some comfort to throw out there. to add, there is this odd perspective that if you put it out there into the wide open public, its yours and you control it. people might re-purpose which can feel a violation, but its not a surprise to you. where as if it was some deep secret that someone unearthed you are dealing with it in a complete reactionary framework.

By: gavin richardson

gavin richardson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:19:56 +0000

hi mark & matt, sorry for jumping in so late in the conversation.

mark, it sounds like you practice theology whether you know it or know. theology, as a science translation is ‘study of god’ which done in any form is valid. some just study more & devote more time, but we all develop our hypothesis, control groups and conclusions.

i don’t know if i’d agree that science will be the death of religion as we know it. science is not as finite as people hoped for the last few hundred years. i grew up knowing that pluto was a planet. apparently science just decided (using your pass it around story) that it is not within the last few years. both are messy. lets acknowledge that

if you get a chance, check out a talk by rob bell, called ‘everything is spiritual’ where he gets into string theory, nano molecule, and stuff i must have missed out on in college sciences and his conclusion is essentially ‘yup.’

one characteristic that the internet will continue to erode is attained knowledge. in the days of oral culture you had a capacity to retain stories and statements told to you. the minute we started reading printed language that skill deteriorated. now, its not what you know, but its if you know where to find an answer. so that will be interesting to see if people who are asked spiritual questions give an ‘i don’t know, but i’m sure its on wikipedia.’

we shall see

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:48:37 +0000

Mark – I think you raise a very interesting point in the internet contributing to us, as humans, continuing to evolve and form our own religious ‘truths’ – I can definitely agree with that assessment. I can use myself as an example – I am influenced by experiences, speaking with others who are passionate in their beliefs, reading, studying, and so on. I continually form my own inner-truths. I didn’t make them up, they had to be formed from somewhere within my subconscious. What I have trouble with, is siding with one specific belief. Rather, I take in a lot of different things and, as you said, forming my own ‘truths’. Web 2.0 and beyond will only add to the information processing and interpretation.

By: Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:27:14 +0000

I don’t see the web necessarily as the root cause; I believe science is the root cause and the web is just a vehicle to spread the knowledge.

Do I believe in God? No. Am I spiritual? Yes. Do I have a faith? Yes.

I think nature exists in a higher power. I also believe it’s quite possible that life began somewhere else other than Earth. There’s a whole universe and beyond out there!

I don’t admit to having the answers, but rather I find it hard to believe what many do in today’s society.

Religion will die as we know it today. People will start forming their own religions based on truth.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:41:49 +0000

Hey Kristin – thanks so much for sharing your thoughts (and I apologize for not following up sooner) – Isn’t it weird that we are able to feel more ‘authentic’ and real when we write online than with face-to-face interaction. Why do you think that is?

In a religious sense – I think the web provides those who would typically feel judged a sense of anonymity that can be extremely comforting. It also lets people know that there are others out there going through the same things they are. And, by establishing a connection with a pastor or spiritual leader online first, it establishes an added level of comfort which can open up the door for ‘real life’ interaction.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:24:25 +0000

Hey Mark. You have a very interesting perspective. It’s hard for me to describe my faith background in a brief comment (I’m working on a post describing my thought process here that will go up in the not-too-distant future) but I still don’t know that I see the proliferation of the web translating in the death of religion. I think interpretations and beliefs may change or shift as people are able to fully research and develop their own theories, but religion will always be a part of people’s lives – I’m not sure that ‘science will prevail’ – do you think eventually everyone will stop believing in God?

If you don’t believe in God, what sort of higher power/force do you think exists? In short, I think God created us in his image – and we have become more and more imperfect over time. I believe that it is the ultimate goal of man to discover the perfection within themselves, to achieve enlightenment, and reach Nirvana.

Really interested to hear more of your thoughts – I sense a lot of great discussions between you and I in the future!