The soul in cyberspace by Douglas R. Groothuis

Author:Douglas R. Groothuis [Groothuis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cyberspace, Theology, Sociology of Religion, Social Science, Computers And Society, Social aspects, Church And Society, Religion & Science, Computers, Christianity, Religion, Internet - General, Computer - Internet, Internet, Christian Theology - General, Religious aspects, General, Christian Theology
ISBN: 9780801057601
Publisher: Baker Books
Published: 1997-08-15T09:54:27.788000+00:00

appointed heir of all things.”69 The same God who spoke in person through Christ also speaks wisdom from above through his written word, as the author of Hebrews explains: For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.70

Living before the all-knowing eyes of God and attending to his dynamic word is the only antidote to the loss of truth, the loss of meaning, and the hypnotic diversion offered in cyberspace. The soul can thrive only in atmospheres that are rich with truth, and truth will only be conveyed by those dedicated to its demands. As Weil has said, “There is no possible chance of satisfying a people’s need of truth, unless men can be found for this purpose who love truth.”71

6

CYBERSEX: EROTICISM

WITHOUT BODIES

American culture at the end of the millennium is close to sexually insane. At a minimum, it is sexually profligate, confused, and unable to draw wise ethical boundaries around sexual practices or to stay within specified boundaries. Sexuality is taken as a right to be exercised according to one’s preferences, not as a sacred trust to be governed with wisdom according to the soul’s best interests. Restraint is the price of civilization, and we are casting off restraint.

The sexual scene in America today exhibits the relentless logic of a venerable Latin phrase: corruptio optimi pessima: “there is nothing worse than the corruption of the best.”1 Put another way, the higher something is, the farther it can fall.

Sexual intimacy is rooted in God’s good creation and was divinely established for the joyful union of a man and woman within a covenant of trust, fidelity, and love, and for the continuance of the human family. When sexual expression splits apart this providential framework, the splinters fly out in all directions, injuring soul, body, and society. Chesterton highlighted this.

The moment sex ceases to be a servant it becomes a tyrant. There is something dangerous and disproportionate in its place in human nature, for whatever reason; and it does really need a 69 Hebrews 1:2.

70 Hebrews 4:12–13.

71 Weil, 40.

1 This translation is taken from Jaroslav Pelikan, The Melody of Theology: A Philosophical Dictionary (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988), 2.

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