Can I be part of a Christian community when online?

One of the issues facing someone using the Internet is that they have to do so through some kind of interface. You can't physically join yourself up to the network (at least not yet). The film trilogy "the Matrix" gave us some insight into the issues that might be involved if we could but for now we will have to leave science fiction aside. This interface is most likely to be a computer of some kind (even if it is a small computer with a phone attached). This means two things:

1. There will always be a gap between you and the network
2. You, as an individual, are forced to use the interface

There will always be a gap between you and the network

This gap is significant because it means that there will always be a sence of distance and you cannot join in with the others on the network in the same way you could if you were present with them in the room.

What others do within the network will be visible to you on your interface but you will always be forced to read/watch what they are doing rather than directly take part in the process. Of course it is possible to interact to some degree with others in the network and in some environments online this will also be done in real time (that is as it happens) but you will still always be interacting with your interface and not directly with the people.

I'm not trying to get all technical here and I appreciate that this idea is hard to get across in writing but my point is that there will always be this gap that will stop you being present in the same way you would be if you were in the same room with people.

I came across an example in a report about televised speaches the other day. If the speaker is present in the room then people will generally sit quetly and listen - however if the speech is broadcast people tend to behave quite differently - they will move around more, maybe go and get refreshments during the broadcast, maybe even comment back to the speaker. We know this ourselves from watching T.V. How many of us would get dressed up and be on our best behaviour when we were watching someone important on the T.V.? Yet we do get dressed up and try to be polite (well at least the majority do) when we meet someone important in person. This difference is also reflected in the way we use the Internet. People don't get dressed up to surf the web (not even when they use a webcam, although the thought of someone being able to see you may at least make you take a little care over the way you look).

Most diagrams of the Internet don't reflect the issue that the people using it are seperate from the computers that join together to form it. It is easy to miss this point.

You, as an individual, are forced to use the interface

The important part here is: as an individual. You can sit in a room of people who are all using computers to connect to the same system on the netword but you will still be forced to use the Interface that is yours and yours alone. Having a friend stand next to you and use your keyboard and watch your screen will also not change this. As the screen becomes yours to use you will use it as an individual.

For a while I dabbled in playing a multi-user game with some friends. This involved sitting in the same office using some networked computers to play where each of us was a character in the game. We could see each other in the game (or at least the character we represented) and we could talk to each other across the office but somehow the experience was of each of us, as individuals, interfacing with the game. The computers provided a seperation between us and our physical presence.

Again, I'm not trying to be obtuse about this but there is a difference between being a part of a group offline and being part of a group online. As we are forced to make use of the Interface we interact with the Interface rather than directly with another person and this degree of seperation is enough to change the way we interact within a group.

Does it matter?

This is a hard question to answer. On the one hand it may seem like I'm just being pedantic and creating problems that no one else notices but on the other hand perhaps this interface problem does have an effect on the way we can relate to a group.

At this point I think all we can do is to appreciate that having to interact through a computer interface does result in a change of relationship. Being part of a group online is different from being part of a group offline. This should raise questions in the Christian mind because some are now seeing the Internet as the only place that they are a part of a church.

The Bible only makes references to churches being offline (e.g. in an actual place with people meeting in a physical space) but the Internet (or any other form of real time connection) was not invented then so it is hard to see how this idea can relate to the new world in which we live. Yes, the ability of a physical church to act and disciple is important but perhaps this can also happen just as well in an online church.

At the moment I believe that the Internet cannot provide a substitute for an offline church but then I am aware that for some an offline church is not really available. Offline churches are not all the same and for some Christians this has become a real issue. In some parts of the UK, for instance, to find a church in a local community is just not possible and even where they do exist they may not be appropriate for the faith of the Christian concerned. In such cases maybe belonging to an online church offers a real alternative (even if not a perfect one - but then what church is actually perfect?).