On the surface it would seem that technology is helping our faith. We are able to connect through email more easily and often than with traditional snail mail. It is a greener form of communication and certainly less expensive.
On a larger scale many teachers have gone to the Internet and our teaching is available to the greater world where there are no brick and mortar churches. It would seem there is a greater opportunity for people to get involved.
When talking to people new to our center though it seems that a majority still hear of us from the old fashioned “word of mouth.” They may find information on the center from the Internet but they have heard of us from another source. The human still yearns for the personal, in person, connection that the Internet will never be able to replace.
I’m not aware of any large polls that have studied the long term affects, which will take a few more years. I have taken a few workshops online and this is not my favorite form of interaction and learning. For advertising and mail connection I know it is certainly usable, the personal connection is the place where limitations occur.
The Internet is changing the face of the world, and religion, the same as the printing press did a few hundred years ago. We will go, have gone, through growing pains and a steep learning curve in the use of and value of technology and time will be the decider of whether it has become a help or hindrance.
