The Internet is an enigma. It is a powerful tool that enables us as humans to communicate to, connect with, learn from, and inform people all over the world. An important part of COLLIDE is the exploration of ways the Web is used (or could someday used) by the Church. Developments like interactive online Bibles, streaming video content, and blogging churches are clear indications, at least to me, that the Internet is an innovative tool on par with the parchment scroll and the printing press as far as the Church is concerned.
But, like any tool, the Internet has the potential to do a great deal of damage when it is improperly used. Hammers are used in both construction and demolition. Fire can heat a home or raze it. In the same way, Christians can use the Internet to advance the gospel or contradict it. Christians can share a message of hope with the world or we can battle anyone who doesn’t share our views—even down to the tiniest of issues. Christians can blog, podcast, or post on YouTube experiences with the richness and beauty of the Scriptures or we can use them against others to prove who is right and who is wrong. Obviously the Internet possesses the ability to both build up and tear down the Church. Which use will win out? That remains to be seen.
Perhaps the Internet isn’t the enigma after all. The Internet isn’t inherently good or evil, it’s just a blank canvas upon which people draw both beautiful and abhorrent pictures. Maybe we are the enigma. Like the Internet, we—yes, even the redeemed—find ourselves with the power to both connect and injure. However, we make the choices, push the buttons, and construct the thoughts that actually do the connecting or injuring.
If you find yourself with an online platform (a blog, a site, a forum, a podcast, a comments section on someone else’s blog, etc.), consider how you use it. In a matter of seconds the most helpful of tools can become a weapon.