Posted on 06/07/2005 7:58:55 AM PDT by ConservativeStLouisGuy
Church Should Use Internet to Evangelize, Says Vatican Official; Archbishop Foley Sees "Areopagus of Our Time"
ROME, JUNE 6, 2005 (Zenit.org).- If it is possible to find God on the Internet, then the Church has the obligation to proclaim him in that medium, says a Vatican official.
Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, told a meeting today: "The Internet can be a new path to God, a call to the Church to question itself on the opportunities offered by the new media to inform, educate, pray and evangelize, to take the Word of God everywhere, to reach also those who live in solitude and who perhaps would never open the door to their home."
The archbishop expressed these thoughts when addressing a meeting in Rome on "Internet and the Catholic Church in Europe," organized by the Council of European Bishops' Conferences.
"The Church, as transmitter of the Revelation of God, has the task to communicate the Word and must encourage the use of Internet for the common good, the development of peace and justice, in respect of personal dignity and with a spirit of solidarity," he pointed out.
Internet is "the Areopagus of our time, the instrument to spread the Christian message," Archbishop Foley said. "But it is necessary to educate in its use, as with every reality that surrounds us, the positive element is opposed to the negative, creating confusion and false values.
"Yes, God can be found on the network. And among the millions of people who surf the Internet every day, many may find words of hope, come across other cultural and spiritual experiences, bringing down ideological barriers to discover new horizons."
If "God continues to dialogue with humanity through the Church," then "the Church must assume her own responsibility vis-à-vis the new means of communication," the Vatican official said.
To accomplish this, he continued, there must be "precise criteria of discernment and a pedagogical intention, so that both those who operate in the sector as well as those who use the network are able to choose with maturity in an ever broader context of information and disinformation."
Archbishop Foley added: "It is impossible to remain with one's arms crossed contemplating this world that changes so rapidly; it is necessary to remember that God's voice can be raised above many other voices, as he has always spoken to man and tries to reach him with all possible means, at times unimaginable."
I can't say I disagree, but it's sort of stating the obvious, and a lot of people have been doing that since the web was invented - even the Vatican has been doing it for awhile now...
Sounds like a good idea to me.
Which church, which religion? Would all of them be treated fairly, or would people try to hack into the ones they don't like?
What do you think we are all doing here?
Yes, I agree that the internet opens up a new realm of communication for evangelization.
I know...I have my own website just for that, too...I think it's such a great tool that most anybody can participate in the "new evangelism" by at least running a blog.
Those who haven't been thinking this way, it's time they do!
You know as welel as I do that the Catholic Church has been bashed on many threads -- even here on FR.
So in answer to your question about fairness -- I doubt it.
You know as well as I do that the Catholic Church has been bashed on many threads -- even here on FR.
So in answer to your question about fairness -- I doubt it.
Jeez...when Islamics, Wiccans, and other fringe groups evangelize on the internet...people get all bent out of shape!!
I doubt it also....that goes for all religions too. There's always going to be someone that just knows they are right.
I've been trying to evangelize via the internet for years with varying levels of success. Definitely a good medium for spreading the Word.
Perhaps it was meant as a pep talk for those who find a word processor daunting. An exhortation.
Shhh. No one suspects the Spanish Inquisisiton, hacker division.
As G.K. Chesterton said "these are the days when a Christian is supposed to praise every creed but his own"
Exactly how do these groups evangelize????????????
evangelize \e*van"gel*ize\
([-e]*v[a^]n"j[e^]l*[imac]z), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. evangelized ([-e]*v[a^]n"j[e^]l*[imac]zd); p. pr. & vb. n. evangelizing ([-e]*v[a^]n"j[e^]l*[imac]*z[i^]ng)]. [F. ['e]vang['e]lisre, LL. evangelizare, fr. Gr. e'yaggeli`zesqai.]
1. To instruct in the gospel; to preach the gospel to; to convert to Christianity; as, to evangelize the world. [1913 Webster] His apostles whom he sends To evangelize the nations. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
I understand that it also may be defined as follows:
2. Hence: [metaphorical] To preach and attempt to convert (people) to one's firmly held belief. [PJC]
However, you said "wiccans", aka "devil worshippers." You are attempting to change the definition of the word when you write that "wiccans...evangelize on the internet..."
All definitions from "The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48," using a Foxfire plug-in (DICT 0.6.6).
[StuartCR - I believe in one God, but I do not adhere to any organized religious belief -- Depending on where I am, I occasionally go to Mass, Mosques, and Temples because I find the atmospheres pleasant and conducive to thinking -- I do not believe there is a hell, and I hope there is an afterlife]
If you are wandering into a Mosque for understanding of the afterlife, you are wasting your time. Obtain your quiet time by reading the Bible. Only an organized religion emanates "organized religious belief(s)." For the question of which Bible, the King James Bible is an excellent start. Use other versions for comparsion purposes. Use E-sword.net for bible study and bible comparisons.
Only the Word of God will change your hope of an afterlife into a guarantee. Your belief/non-belief in hell(eternal damnation) does not change the validity of the Scriptures. Jesus provided mankind with the simplest way into eternal afterlife:
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
This is the simplest thing in the world to do to obtain eternal life. Yet it is met with such great resistence. Contrast this with Islam which promises a paradise to those that murder.
OK, change evangelise to preach. My guess, is that you really did know what I was trying to say.
I didn't say I went anywhere, trying to understand the afterlife.
I believe there is only one God, and that He speaks to each of us with different words.
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