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12/09/2003 Entry: "Cybermonks"
Martin Roth nominates Darren Rowse as the first of the "cybermonks" (I hear he has some dirty habits! GROAN) a pioneer of the church of the internet. I doff my cap to Darren and hope that his hermitage has an ISDN line! There is no doubt at all that the internet is having a profound impact on the Church, as it is on the rest of society, and I'm delighted we've got folk like Darren helping us to find our way.
I feel some caution though. The Celtic monks like Columbanus who are the models for the new cybermonks were not "one man bands". They lived according to a discipline and were anything but laissez-faire in their attitude to doctrine. They lived to proclaim the gospel and serve the people of God. In a sense, they opersted very much alongside the structures of the Irish Church. That, I think, is a good model. Whether it is possible for "eChurch" to replace "real Church" is very much open to question in my mind. One thing that needs to be given very careful thought is the impact that the internet will have on the content of the Church's proclamation. Television has established itself as the medium of entertainment par excellence and Christianity as it is presented on television has adapted -- or been changed -- accordingly. The internet, still in its infancy, is not sufficiently established for us to be sure what effects it will have on our message. But we can be sure that it will have some. So forays into cyberspace will necessarily risky and adventurous. It is new ground for us all -- challenge, opportunity, and unknown threat awaits. We can take these steps with boldness and use all the emerging technologies we have: blogs, wikis, IM and the rest, to make proclaim the good news that "Jesus is Lord". But we can only do that rooted in a praying community with a shared discipline and commitment.
Replies:
I hope you'll forgive me saying I still can't quite picture you as a monk Darren. It would have to be a composite picture. Let's see who we've got... A dollop of St Francis of Assissi, a slurp of Friar Tuck, a hint of Rasputin and a generous sprinkling of Kwai Chang Caine.Ladies and gentleman, I give you Brother Darren of the Praying Hands. He comes in peace. (But don't mess with him)
Posted by Richard @ 12/10/2003 04:16 PM CST
I'm a dial up cybermonk.
Posted by Darren Rowse @ 12/10/2003 08:58 AM CST
Your comment that the internet is still too young to discern its effect on Christianity is spot-on. Those of us who spend lots of time on the net need to remember that we are still a minority, even in the west. To see e-church displacing traditional church is to look much further into the future than I am comfortable doing.
Posted by Russ @ 12/09/2003 05:40 PM CST
