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Theology of the InternetI wanted to explore some of the things that Christians say about God that are important to the way we approach building web sites. This won't say anything about the design or colours you might use but hopefully it does say something about how we should approach the task. I'm not keen on using theological terminology so if you are looking for some of that you may want to look elsewhere. However sometimes you can't avoid using words that are often used in theology because we are going to be talking about God and so often words are inadequate and simple words are so much more inadequate than the more complex ones. I'll do my best to make sense. Of course the Bible has nothing to say directly about the Internet but there are certain principals that will apply. The Internet belongs to God who createsChristians believe in a creative God who has chosen to create the world and everything that is in it. Everything that exists is as a result of God's creating acts. This means that ultimately all the technology that drives the Internet and the people who make it work come from the creating acts of God. As the things that God creates are good the Internet must have goodness within it. I'm holding back from saying that the Internet is all good because we might argue that the fall of mankind has done something (whatever that something might be) that means the Internet is going to be not the perfect thing that it would have been if it weren't for the fall of people. Anyone who has used the Internet will know that it is not perfect and in fact some would want to claim that there is a fair bit of evil in it - I would want to say that the evil comes and belongs to mankind and not the technology or idea that is the basis for the Internet. Jesus Christ has authority over the InternetChristians believe that Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. This means that Jesus has authority over the Internet. So how come then that there are parts of the Internet that are evil? Well I think this will come down to the free will of people. If my definition of the Internet being a connection of people using technology as the connecting force then it is the people who bring the evil and the only reason that Jesus doesn't stop it is because to do so would require him to stop free will. So the authority of Jesus can only be exercised through those who follow him. To redeem the Internet requires Jesus' followers to be involved in establishing God's kingdom on the Internet. God wants to build his kingdom on the InternetJesus makes it clear that he sees his kingdom as extending to every corner of the earth. Of course the earth has no corners and so we understand this metaphor to mean everywhere. If it is God's will to extend his kingdom everywhere then this must include the Internet. God is building his kingdom on the InternetThe Christian faith includes the idea that God is active in the world right now. We do not believe in a God who creates and then leaves us to it. If it is true that God is active in the world and that there is no part of the world that is beyond God then we must conclude that in some way God is active in the Internet. Building the kingdom includes speaking the gospelPart of the process of building God's kingdom is to bring others who are not yet part of it into it. This means telling people about Jesus Christ and what he has done/is doing for us. Doing good things is important and listening is important when building the kingdom but whatever else we do to serve we must also find ways of talking about the gospel. Building the kingdom involves love and serviceJesus spoke about the importance of love and ranked love as the first commandment (love of God first and then love of people). The focus of any Christian web site, ministry or interaction with others must be love. Love is shown in service. So the practical working out of love should be through the way the Internet can serve people.
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