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Cyber Church

CYBER CHURCH: TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP, HINDER WORSHIP

Religions today appear to be embracing modern technology in the ways they worship and spread the gospel. But it also appears they all set limits on the use of new technology to preserve the ancient aims of reverence, spirituality and brotherhood.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C3949%2C%2C00.html

Church Cyber

The idea that technology can harm worship is simple silliness. Does god care any less if you are worshiping to a piano as opposed to an electric guitar? The bible says to make a joyful noise unto the lord. That means that its the intent, not the sound that is important. Someone life lessly singing a hymn to god cannot possibly please god nearly as much as an ethusiastic person singing their heart out to a bass and electric guitar. The intent of the person shines through to a god that can see into your heart does it not?

Cyber Church Beliefs Religious General

I find this a very fascinating article. The link is out of date but it can be searched through the archive. I do not see technology hindering worship in any way. Currently in the Church that I attend we are undergoing much construction for renovation. This includes installation of a large screen to allow displaying of power point presentations, song lyrics, and even pictures shared by visiting pastors or speakers. While the argument was raised in the article that many people would rather hold a hymnal for their songs than look at a screen but we have to notice as we have within our church that is mostly the older generation. Many of out older members feel this way causing us to happily keep Hymnals available on each pu. My main argument against not using a screen would be that using a book you are limited to only the Hymns within the book. I have yet to find a book with what I would consider a complete collection. As far as technology gadgets such as PDA's and cellular phones....

I at one point worked a job that required me to be on call 24/7 which eliminated the chance to turn my cell phone off. I did use the vibrate feature on my phone while in church but on more than one ocassion I was forced to leave service early for a client. This may have been a distraction on the few days that I was forced to leave but all of the other days that I did not get an interruption I was able to enjoy with everyone the worship services. My PDA has had an electronic bible, concordance, and a few other scriptual tools installed making them at all time available for me. I feel this was a great aid as I have used them on many days for myself and for discussions with others.

I attend a BMA church and we use technology to our best ability to serve for God's work. I am interested to see how each other church feels on this subject.

Church Cyber

I don't know about other electronic systems or devices, but I do know that the church that I attend does have a presentation screen for chapters of the Bible, hymns to be displayed, and to also display church notices. It seems to work well, as most people can see the screen regardless of whereabouts in the church they are sitting.

In my opinion, modern electrical devices do not do any damage, people are only using them after all to worship with, and there is nothing sinister about them.

Church Cyber

It may just be a generational technology issue. I am sure when the early church began switching from parchment scrolls to those new-fangled printed books that some members groused. The big screen vs. Hymnal issue may prove to be the same.

Cyber Church

The biggest change in terms of technology for me was during the COVID pandemic. The church I went to moved services to online in order to keep members safe, and not being together in the same place made things… different to say the least. It also makes doing sacraments much less corporate (Baptism, communion) since we are not there to do things together. There was a news article about how pastors responded to this change to online services during the pandemic, and many of them worried that it further divided their congregations. Namely, without the corporate elements where people would do things together, people's identification as a Christian community became more based on political beliefs or other identifiers rather than an identity in Christ, which is very sad to hear.

My own church had difficulties with gossip during this time, and a lot of pastors actually left over these incidents. Technology is useful, but it has its limits in how much it can facilitate worship. It seems best that people worship together in a corporate setting rather than relying solely on online community, something that seems relevant even for secular people who try to find their identity through a group on social media.