Monday, March 30, 2009
Defining Friendship
Justin Taylor recently linked to a post by Carl Trueman on issues related to the various social-networking capabilities of the Internet. The heart of Trueman's contention:
What lies at the heart of the one Christian sacrament on which ALL expressions of Christianity agree?
And this I think strikes at the heart of the embrace by the church of social networking technology. If it substitutes for the physical presence - it is being used wrongly. As an enhancement to that presence, it is a powerful tool, but like the chain saw that can maim as easily as it can aid - it must be used with great caution.
For if we model friendship with each other without the presence, how can we be expected to understand a real, deep, and abiding relationship with Jesus? And if we agree with that, how can we continue the trend to lessen to place of the sacramental in our worship life?
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So where is all this leading? I want to suggest that one of the key problems with internet friendships, with texting, with blogs etc. is the lack of the body in the means of communication and relationship. The elimination of bodily interaction on the web is not just significant in the realm of sex and pornography. Think about it: virtual relationships of all kinds, not simply the sexual, inevitably lack depth and nuance. When I speak to my wife, or one of my friends, the tone of voice, the look on my face, the touch of my hand, the million and one unconscious physical `tells' communicate to the person as much, if not more, than the words I speak. Mature, deep, meaningful friendships involve the ability of both parties to read and understand each other in ways that enrich and often transcend the words that are spoken. Even the telephone allows for some nuance, but the web/text medium, reducing bodily input to the mere tapping of a keyboard, allows little or none, especially given the poor grasp of prose style that most web warriors exhibit.Of course, I have written about this and many others as well, but something struck me as I read Trueman's discussing of the role of the body in all this that had never dawned on me before. That has to do with the necessity of the sacramental in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
What lies at the heart of the one Christian sacrament on which ALL expressions of Christianity agree?
Matt 26:26 - And while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."In establishing the sacrament of communion - Christ placed His physical presence at the center. And whether we believe the elements to be symbolic or transubstaniated, we all believe that the sacrament brings us into Christ's presence.
And this I think strikes at the heart of the embrace by the church of social networking technology. If it substitutes for the physical presence - it is being used wrongly. As an enhancement to that presence, it is a powerful tool, but like the chain saw that can maim as easily as it can aid - it must be used with great caution.
For if we model friendship with each other without the presence, how can we be expected to understand a real, deep, and abiding relationship with Jesus? And if we agree with that, how can we continue the trend to lessen to place of the sacramental in our worship life?
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