Are the very definition of most Internet communities I’ve had the privilege of being a member of, or leading. Over time we develop a shared history; leadership, technology etc. changes and we become permanent; proximity is generated through open communication and occasional regional or national gatherings; and the internet communities have some of the strongest visions for the future.

I feel an online church will build more of a community and encourage more people to learn about Christianity.

Thank you for your service and your post!

Will

I am having trouble with embedding the blog roll into Wordpress. I publish the page and nothing shows up. Do you have any ideas?

Ok as for the Incarnation we must ask ourselves why is it that God in his infinite wisdom condescended to take on human flesh in the first place. Perhaps it was because the effects of disembodied communication strategies employed in the Law and the Prophets had produced less than perfect results, and thus the New covenant demanded the real presence of Christ. I think this is at least plausible. If this is the case, its is not difficult to see the issues that could develop as a result of disembodied community.

Finally, and I don’t know how this fits, but I think it is important to understand what it meant that the early church rejected the Gnostic movement which of course, had as a major theological premise, that the Body was at least unimportant and unhelpful, and at worst evil itself. In refuting the Gnostics writters, including the author of the Johanine Epistles, were careful to stress the importance of physicality in the understanding of Christ himself. Like I said, I’m not sure how this connects exactly but certainly its something to think about.

At the end of the day I believe that the Internet can be a tool to transmit theological content, training, and information. I do not think it can ever be truly effective at building Christian Community outside of at least a semi regular physical meeting. I believe this less as a point of theological contention, as a realization that disembodied “relationships” are almost never authentic and effective relationships, and in fact in many cases are more destructive than helpful. To reduce it to an oft quoted retort “Long Distance Relationships Never Work”

http://ipiphanist.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/does-god-value-physical-presence-like-we-do/

I do agree that individual congregations did most of their interpersonal communications through talking. Their options were that or find someone who could read and write, and given how close people lived, why not just go talk in person? Letter-writing was reserved for distance.

I do want to mention one other thing you wrote: “at some time in the past Christians have shared an understanding of community that is radically at odds with what happens when people interact online. ” I think he is being nostalgic about the past, but at the same time there is a real danger in “doing community” online. There are two major things: first, that things online are easily misinterpreted, as people don’t necessarily communicate clearly, and that the internet is often dominated by the squeakiest wheel. Behavior that in real life would be unacceptable is allowed to flourish in part because those who are mainstream quickly fade into the woodworks with the first snarky comment. It would be useful to have a proactive strategy against that, whether it be involved mods or published rules.

But I think it’s worth the effort!