embodiment vs digital

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Liberty University *

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500

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Philosophy

Date

Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by richert01

While it is understandable that spiritual growth accomplished via an online manner may elicit disbelief from some, we should not be blind to the fact that most of the world is now virtually connected and that it has actually made the world a much smaller place. Nor should we try to limit the tools the Holy Spirit has at His disposal when reaching out to anyone, anywhere. Can you imagine hindering The Great Commission due to restrictions on personal encounters? At the end of the day, for there to be true spiritual growth, a community needs to be more than just an online community. It really has to be a spiritual one. Anyway, who is to say that face-to- face encounters are always productive? “Elizabeth Patterson argued, “We cannot assume that formation is happening automatically simply because a classroom does exist.” Similarly, we cannot assume that formation is happening simply because we teach a course on spiritual disciplines in an online classroom. Spiritual formation is not a magical occurrence resulting from the presence of Christians gathered together in the same place, whether online or on campus. There must also be intentionality, reflection, engagement, and interaction between and among those gathered”. 1 I would be go as far as saying that “intentionality, reflection, engagement, and interaction” can be summed up in intentionality for without it you would have fertile ground for the rest. The world hungers for real solutions to their spiritual questions and many times they face a real struggle that places obstacles on their way to learning about Jesus. The numbers don’t lie. The social media outlets can attest to the large number of people interested in spiritual matters. Digital evangelizing really brings the point home. While there are people tweeting out comments taken from pastor’s sermons, you can also find folks broadcasting church events on 1 Stephen D. Lowe and Mary E. Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth through Online Education (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018), 85.

Facebook Live. Others have Sabbath or Sunday school classes via Zoom or MS Teams with other people around the world. Online seminaries can also testify to the large number of people searching out spiritual growth. John MacArthur, Franklin Graham, Mark Finley, Franklin Graham all have strong online presences and Liberty University, Southeastern Baptist, Fullers, Master’s Seminary all cater to the spiritual growth in eager students. It really wouldn’t be too farfetched to think that if St Paul were alive today, we might have been reading his emails or blogs today.

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