The Internet, like all technology, comes with blessings and curses, Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. argues in a recent article at The Washington Post. In light of the May 20 gathering of 40,000-plus Orthodox Jews at Citi Field in New York City, an event held to discuss the dangers of the Internet, Mohler comments that evangelical Christians too have concerns with the technology that permeates much of contemporary human experience.
“Like the Orthodox Jews at Citi Field, most evangelical Christians see real and present dangers on the Internet, ranging from pornography to a loss of authentic communication and human relatedness,” he writes. “Thanks to the Internet, a toxic dump of pornography is just a click away, destroying lives and souls.”
So, is the Internet the enemy of faith? No, Mohler concludes. While Christians must keep in mind that “the dark side is always close at hand,” they must also learn how to be “in the world, but not of the world.” To remain relevant in the cultural conversation, he contends that Christians must utilize the Internet to facilitate discussion. “To be absent from the Internet,” Mohler writes, “is to be absent from many of the most important conversations and debates of our times.”
Mohler addresses further the tension between the advantages of online communication and its inherent limitations with respect to genuine human interaction:
“There is no way to avoid the Internet and remain relevant to the cultural conversation. And yet, a digital preacher is not going to preach your funeral, nor visit you in the hospital.”
Mohler’s article – “Is the Internet the enemy of faith?” – is available at The Washington Post Web site.