What is in Kelvin's Head?

Sermon – Hagar, Ambridge, Church Abuse, Eid Mubarak

26/06/2017

If I think back to my grandfather, now long passed away, I have a number of memories. One strikes me in particularly today.

And it was a particular devotion. Almost a religious ritual.

It could be performed at lunchtime or it could be performed in the early evening. But the important thing was that it had to happen every day.

I believe my grandfather may well have had some connection with country living in his youth though he was a city dweller for all the life that I ever knew him to have. But his devotion to an everyday story of country folk was a thing of legend.

For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, I refer to the longest running radio soap opera – the Archers, broadcast now on Radio 4.

Actually, it may be the only radio soap opera for all I know – it does not seem to be a particularly crowded field.

It was a part of my grandfather’s life. He listened with a passion.

In the way of families, my own father inherited no love of the Archers and only has to hear the cheery, bouncing signature tune to prompt him to reach for the off switch.

For myself, I have found a good old-fashioned Anglican via media (more…)

abuse, George Carey

7 responses to “10 Discussion Points about the Church and Virtual Reality”

Tim

30/03/2012

Hear here. (Especially the evolutionary point.)

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chris

30/03/2012

…or even “hear hear”! Very pertinent in my neck of the woods, where the cyber-poor and the cyber-dinosaurs have their abode (and the second category is not necessarily related to the first other than in outcome).

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Pam Smith

30/03/2012

Excellent points.

I’ve been working in online Christian communities quite a while, and I’ve observed a couple of things that I think replicate mistakes in offline evangelism:

1) ‘Success’ is equated with numbers of followers not the quality of the interactions. So a lot of energy can be put into building up a following regardless of who the followers are. This often means attracting Christians who aren’t normally very interested in being online to your online project, rather than trying to make your online Christian project appealing to people who spend a lot of time online.

2) Events that are geared towards using the online media for evangelism and outreach almost always end up being evangelistic about online media not about Christianity

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Steve Murray

30/03/2012

I canâ€™t access the blog to post comments â€“ does this mean cyberpoverty may also stem from corporate repression? [These comments posted by Kelvin by request via email]

My â€˜cyberpovertyâ€™ is a deliberate choice â€“ I sit in front of a computer all day so have deliberately chosen not to be online at home. Is this really a societal evil … ?

The web is already beset by megaphones and proverbial empty vessels can make the most noise â€“ how do we distinguish between volume and quality â€“ I can follow thousands of religious twitterings but who filters out the distortion? â€“ c.f. The Guardian which is in the process of shedding journalists and filling its pages with â€˜comment is freeâ€™ â€“ aye, and you get what you pay for . . .

You do already provide ministries for the cyberpoor â€“ theyâ€™re called churches â€“ they have gravitas, space for quiet reflection, sanctuary from information overload, and a community â€“ long may they continue.

Will there be a paywall to fund the virtual church â€“ or will it be forced to rely on commercial sponsorship? A reading from the book of Numbers, brought to you in association with Lehman Brothers.

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Kimberly

30/03/2012

[…] Kelvin is asking good questions again about the theology and praxis of The Church and Virtual Reality.Â He sets out questions enough for several doctoral thesis, but it was this that caught my eye.Â […]

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Eric Stoddart

30/03/2012

Two important aspects that I suggest need to be added to your list, Kelvin.
(a) the monetarisation of cyberspace, especially of social networking (making money out of ‘friendship’ is a big business), and
(b) the effects of social networking as a means of surveillance (that’s lateral, between friends, as well as by mega-corporations); how is our behaviour being modified by the collection of, and categorisation by, our personal data?

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kelvin

30/03/2012

Thanks, Eric, yes.

And important to recognise that the church is in the business of calling on people in relationship with it to cough up money too. It isn’t just big business.

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