|
|
CONTROVERSY OVER PRAYER ON THE WORLD
WIDE WEB
By A J Nseir
Millions of people have turned to the Internet for religious guidance and mutual prayer, often with complete strangers.
According to a recent article in The Washington Post, there are organizations that read emails involving personal questions and problems, after which they pray for those who send them. Most often the emails go unanswered, and the seekers of advice hope that there are people out there praying.
The Internet has changed every aspect of our lives, but now it has delved into prayer. While some people feel this advancement will take religion to those who previously failed to attend church, others think that it will take people away from houses of worship.
Pastor Bethuel Dongo of the Kalagala Pentecostal Church in Uganda,
Africa identifies with this problem.
“The advantage of Internet prayer is that it is easy to reach the people but the disadvantage of it is that it makes people uncommitted to their local church, leadership, and not connected to other body members of the church whom we have fellowship with,” Dongo said.
Reverend Arthur Coston, pastor at the New Central Baptist Church in Kingston, NY, feels that people will remain faithful to the church.“Internet prayer will not have a big impact,” Coston Said. “It is like going to McDonalds to have a Big Mac instead of a seven course meal at home. The Big Mac might keep you happy for a while, but ultimately the seven course meal is more satisfying.”
The Internet allows people to pray in many different ways. Some recruit millions to pray for global causes through websites, while others conduct the ancient “prayer circle”, formally an act that required the physical presence of all involved.
Don E. Saliers, a professor of theology and worship at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, told The Washington Post that Internet prayer is fails to compare to face-to-face interaction with the community.
“Clearly there are groups out there that sincerely connect with one another and overhear one another’s prayers and, in this case, ‘over-read’ prayers,” Saliers said. “Electronic prayer lacks the gestures, tears, laughter and physicality of human presence found in the communal prayer that takes place in a house of worship.”