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Tweeting Gods
Are social media tools a blessing or a curse for people of faith? Should we use digital technology to commune with the divine? Does God tweet?
A tweeting God? Sounds sensible enough, especially since God isn't one to fall behind the current technological curve. But in cyberspace things aren't necessary what they appear to be.
In one sense, new communications technologies do nothing more than extend age old religious practices and dynamics. Twittering prayers through cyberspace has the same principle as spinning a prayer wheel in the rarefied mountain air. The new communities, indeed new religions, formed in cyberspace parallel the new communities and new religions made possible by the advent of the printing press, or radio, or television. While the computer screen is a kind of portal into another dimension, we still enter that dimension very much as human beings with our own very human hopes and needs.
Yet in another sense, it is our own embodied humanity, if not our human hopes and needs, that cyberspace changes. With avatars and the anonymity provided by texting communications, human identity has become more malleable. The ability to transform the given-ness of our human identities represents a new opportunity for self-discovery by the probing of the boundaries of imagination. But it also represents a temptation that is quite old. God may very well may tweet, or send us an email. But we might be too busy tweeting or emailing ourselves to notice the communication. God's at the back of the queue, waiting in line with all the other tweeting gods.
By
Mathew N. Schmalz
|
August 11, 2009; 12:56 PM ET
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Posted by: Paganplace | August 13, 2009 2:40 PM
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Why dont u check twitter, is there an account from God? No, so he doesnt tweet, nor does he exist.
This is the most infantile and ridiculous topic I have heard yet from the faithful.
Posted by: Chops2 | August 12, 2009 8:25 PM
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This may seem like a stupid topic, but it's quite interesting to some of us. Actually, I was just talking about something similar the other night with my husband. I am curious as to how Pagan groups - which were in the forefront of Web 1.0 - are making use of new media. Unlike Christians, Jews, and Muslims, we who follow the Old Ways are often separated by large geographical boundaries and can't always find a local group. I am also curious about how other religious denominations are using new media, to make a comparison. Do groups hold worship services in virtual worlds like Second Life, or in conferencing features over Skype? Do people who are very religious take on a character like a priest, monk, or nun in MMORPGs? I'm looking at this more from a sociological aspect rather than as a user. I have no desire to get involved in Second Life or World of Warcraft, and I don't Twitter. However, I am interested in the spiritual behavior of those who do. Please post your experiences, and don't let the idiots discourage you!
Posted by: Athena4 | August 12, 2009 4:46 PM
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"A tweeting God? Sounds sensible enough, especially since God isn't one to fall behind the current technological curve. But in cyberspace things aren't necessary what they appear to be."
*gasp!*
This is totally new and frightening! Oh, wait, it's not, is it.
Posted by: Paganplace | August 11, 2009 3:52 PM
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I am become a screen name, a destroyer of words.. :)