Christainity in the Virtual World

By John Oyadougha

Most people especially the young are citizens of two distinct worlds; The real world and the virtual world.  Citizens of the virtual world and called Netizens.  The virtual world is the world that has no boundary,  a world where communication is purely through signal,  a world an individual can assume more than one identity,  a world where there is no control as to what you can do or cannot do,  a world where there are no rules and regulations,  a world without a government but self sustaining. 

This is the world of the young.  Young people spend over 80% of their time in this virtual world and what comes to mind is…… what are the negative impact of this world on our youth?  Let us save that for my next article.

If this virtual world is without boundary,   if  has no government,  if things in this world are easy to acquire then Christianity should also spread faster in this world. This virtual world is divided into various sections or units called Social Media Platforms such as Facebook,  Twitter,  Instagram, LinkedIn etc.  If Christianity is about spreading the gospel of Christ,  then this world provides a good platform to do that.

The concept of Virtual church should also be looked at.  A particular Parish can have a Social Media Angle or page or group where people will be invited to join.. The convenert, say the priest sends out Reflections  on that page,  daily readings are posted,  hymns are posted,  prayers are posted. Platform can also be created whereby participants can anonymously communicate with the priest,  this may be a replica of the Confessional but never a substitute for it,  answers could also be provided to such issues that trouble individuals,  counselling generally could be carried out virtually.

People could be asked to subscribe to a service via email,  through this,  the priest could email Reflections to the emails of participants on daily basis, What’s app and BBM broadcast messages could also be sent from group to group… only God knows how these BCs travel so fast.

This little analogy of how Christianity could be spread in the virtual world is not exhaustive as there are a lot other ways.  When next you go online,  why not use that as a means to obey Jesus’ Command at the great commission “Go therefore and proclaim the Gospel to all Nations and Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit “.