Faith and Web

“Where is God in the Web?” I asked the Rev. Luminous the other day. He’s a brilliant minister, who happens to have a good-sized geek-streak that he mostly ignores. He’s got other things to do – including constantly inspiring me. Not that he spends a lot of time on that directly. It just sort of happens when I go to church.

I could see him flinch. (“Sorry,” I thought.) Of course, I’d caught him unawares. But I wasn’t looking for a carefully crafted answer – just a bit of help.

His first response was to speak of the power imbalance in blogging. He’s been burned by this. For me this issue speaks right to my Collection Development Librarian heart. In my constructs, he’s talking about the paucity of editorial control, where anyone can be a self-proclaimed expert. The way I have it figured, the savvy web user has worked out new ways to determine authority and worthiness. It’s fascinating that he instantly thought of blogging, which for me is just one small part of the Web, albeit astonishingly rich.

Then he gave me a more academic answer, mentioning a book we’d had a sermon on a few years ago: Small Pieces Loosely Joined by David Weinberger. Although I’d read the book back then, I’d forgotten about it. I don’t recall Weinberger talking about God, but the way he holds up the Web is indeed part of my search.

And then Rev. Luminous really hit it for me. He mentioned the theory that (as I understand it) God is what happens between you and me. While Martin Buber’s I and Thou is somewhere between difficult and impossible for me to grasp, nonetheless this helps. The Thou of the Web. It’s stupendous.

And it was such a delightful moment in time. The Rev. Luminous: comfortable with God, but reacting to the word Web. Me: comfortable with the Web, but reacting to the word God.

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PastorHacks has recently had a couple of noteworthy book excerpts on spirituality and technology. The author is focused on how disruptive technology can be, particularly to spirituality.

I don’t disagree with her points. However, I think she’s missing something that’s terribly important to those of us deeply involved in technology.

Technology and spirituality aren’t antithetical. In fact, it’s quite possible to have certain kinds of spiritual experiences when working with computers and the like. Granted, it’s not easy, nor is it commonplace. But I recall times when deep connections have been made that wouldn’t have been possible in a world without technology. And I think in particular of the hours where self is completely lost in coding and designing web pages.

Are these not spiritual experiences? Might not such focus be a mind state similar to that of artists and musicians absorbed in their work? For me it’s not the same as meditation or prayer, but I define spirituality more broadly than those two practices.

And I expect I define technology differently as well. For the author, it’s simply a tool of convenience. For me it’s that, but much more as well. For me it’s not about the machines per se; it’s about how I am in relation to them and the reality they create, be it telephone lines, photo software, etc., etc. Technology is the backbone of the web, and for me the web is a calling.

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“To worship is to work with dedication and with skill;
it is to pause from work and listen to a strain of music.”
– Jacob Trapp

These words leapt off the page during a service this morning. It was such a lovely reminder — a chance to back up and see what all the hustle and bustle of creating a website is really all about.

They are the third verse of a beautiful poem, which begins:

“To worship is to stand in awe under a heaven of stars,
Before a flower, a leaf in sunlight, or a grain of sand.”

Read more….

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“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate beauty; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived — that is to have succeeded.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday our service began with this beautiful quote. It was one of those Sundays when I’d woken up feeling the tug of things to do, and hadn’t much wanted to go to church. But thank goodness my conscience prevailed. I recalled how almost without fail, church reorients me and keeps things in perspective. It’s a tune-up for my spirit. And I’m so glad I went.

Listening to these glorious words, I realized the church’s website is my garden patch – a place to putter around in, to share with others, and to enjoy its fruits. By nature, it’s evanescent, with a half-life that’s much briefer than your average publication. So does a well-tended website leave the world a better place? One can but hope.

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