cover image Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in a Virtual World

Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in a Virtual World

Adam Thomas. Abingdon, $15 trade paper (144p) ISBN 978-1-4267-1220-3

How do we maintain the Body of Christ when the physical bodies we see and touch in church expand to include the virtual bodies we inhabit online? What place does prayer have in our instantaneous, technology-driven world? In this rambling, bloglike exploration of the relationship between technology%E2%80%94especially social networking tools like Facebook%C2%AD%E2%80%94and spirituality, Thomas, a millennial-generation Episcopal priest, attempts to answer these and other questions, concluding with the familiar observation that the tech world fosters both connection and isolation. Positively, meeting on blogs, forums, and feeds across virtual space connects the faithful, creating a new kind of house church where the followers of Jesus gather in the name of Christ to celebrate their communion as Christians. Yet Thomas also suggests a daily "Tech Sabbath,"%C2%AD a few hours of respite from the demands of always being connected, so that individuals can reflect quietly on their Christian faith through Scripture readings or journal writing. While Thomas's message isn't new or revealing, it does encourage Christians to view technological worlds as means of encountering the presence of God in the nonvirtual world. (May)