Count
Your Blessing: When Cyberspace becomes Sacred Space, Many Can Benefit
article
by Charles Henderson first published in CIO Magazine June 2001, revised and updated
June 2005
I am Frequently asked how I decided to trade my
pulpit for a computer. As the organizing pastor of the First Church of Cyberspace,
I am also asked how this somewhat whimsical name for a church came to mind in
the first place.
As new age as it sounds to some ears, I chose to name
my new congregation following a venerable tradition. In the early years of the
Republic, when Presbyterians moved into newly chartered communities all across
North America, they named their churches in chronological order. So the First
Presbyterian Church of New York City was followed soon thereafter by the Second
Presbyterian Church and so on, as far as required by the number of Presbyterians
residing in particular neighborhoods. Owing to the lack of reliable transportation
systems, each of these churches of necessity was within walking distance of the
congregation's membership, religion being then, as it is today, influenced by
the technology available for communicating the faith as well as gathering and
sheltering the faithful.
So I selected a name, learned HTML, created
a homepage and began gathering my new congregation, much to the consternation
of numerous members of the brick-and-mortar church that was then paying my salary.
Though the lay leaders of the Central Presbyterian Church in Montclair, N.J.,
agreed to sponsor this journey into cyberspace, some members clearly felt that
their pastor had blasted off with a homemade rocket on his back. This digital
Icarus would be quick to fall.
I can report today that I not only survived
liftoff but have prospered in this new medium. Rather than preaching to a congregation
of 200 or so on a Sunday morning, I now communicate on a daily basis with a congregation
numbering in the thousandsa virtual family that spans the globe. I have
also shepherded a 50-year-old religion journal, CrossCurrents,
into the digital age, carving out its presence on the Web and attracting a new
generation of readers.
For me, the transition from sacred text to hypertext
has been an exciting ride. I have come to realize that in terms of the religious
life of this nation (and perhaps the world), we are only about halfway through
a transition more important than any other since the Protestant Reformation. In
fact, what we are witnessing today might be understood not so much as something
radically new but rather as the next logical step in the way religion is organized
and practiced.
As many commentators have pointed out, the widespread
availability of printed text in 16th century Europefirst in the form of
the Bible, and then in a flood of religious booksshifted the center of power
and authority over the life of the soul. This power first slipped away from Rome
and toward the nation state, and then away from the nation state, with its state
religion, toward that newer form of religious life: the denomination. The 20th
century in America was the period in which denominational religion came full flower,
but it's also when it began to age, wither and die. Today, people no longer define
their faith by denominational affiliation but rather by personal preference. The
center of power and authority has shifted from the group to the individual.
Increasing numbers of people are putting their spiritual life together in much
the same way as they would furnish a home, choosing how to fill the available
space based largely on personal preference. Do-it-yourself spirituality has largely
replaced the denominational church, and the fastest-growing religious group in
America is the church of the unaffiliated. Cyberspace is the place where you can
see all this happening. Whether you celebrate the change as a victory for the
human spirit or lament the loss of old and venerable traditions, you can't ignore
the significance of what is happening.
I am delighted by the realization
that people can now gather online to share their spiritual quest with whomever
they please, whenever they please. Chat rooms, bulletin boards, forums and instant
messenger systems are open 24/7, unlike the traditional church that gathers the
faithful at a set time and place. I am equally delighted that spirituality has
become one of the hottest topics pursued by Web surfers. Further, depending on
which search engine you use, you can find as many websites by looking for god
as you can find searching for sex.
Having said that we are only
halfway through the transition made possible by digital technology, I am tempted
to venture a couple of predictions. First, as the spiritualities
of the 21st century carve out new frontiers within cyberspace, so digital technologies
will find wider uses within traditional religious communities. Expect to see more
projected and moving images within the sanctuaries of the future, as sacred stories
come to life in new ways. Digital art, music and 3-D virtual environments will
be as common within churches and synagogues as were the stained glass windows,
organ music, icons and statuary of medieval cathedrals. This movement has the
potential of bringing new vitality to public worship, but the danger is that worship
will be increasingly indistinguishable from other forms of entertainment.
Likewise, digital technology will expand the possibilities for practicing one's
faith within the privacy and comfort of the home. As high-bandwidth Internet connections
make it easier to sense the presence of other persons, even at a distance, the
"gathering of the faithful" will be possible whenever and wherever the faithful
choose to go online. Thus cyberspace shall be perceived as potentially sacred
space, as likely a place to encounter God as the holy mountains and cathedrals
of old.
Charles Henderson
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The Rev. Charles P. Henderson is a Presbyterian minister and is the author of God and Science (John Knox Press, 1986).
A revised and expanded version of the book is appearing here. God and Science (Hypertext Edition,
2015).
He is also editor of a new book, featuring articles by world class scientists and theologians, and illustrating the leading views on the relationship between science and religion: Faith, Science and the Future (CrossCurrents Press, 2017).
Charles also tracks the boundry between the virtual and the real at his blog: Next World Design, focusing on the mediation of art, science and spirituality in the metaverse.