Posted on 05/21/2019 1:27:01 PM PDT by Gamecock
Games reach an incredibly diverse set of people across national, linguistic, and social barriers, and that goes for religion, too. Last week, we noted that Ninja was taking meals off-screen out of respect for Ramadan, and it should be little surprise to see religious groups taking up residence inside virtual spaces. One Christian pastor now holds church in VRChat, and that even includes baptisms – no matter how ridiculous a person’s avatar.
Pastor D.J. Soto is the subject of a new video from YouTuber Syrmor (via Polygon), and the whole process is equal parts earnest and absurd. Soto describes his VR ministry as allowing disadvantaged people – from folks in wheelchairs to recovering drug addicts – to attend church without the judgement that sometimes comes from traditional congregations.
Fellow YouTuber Drumsy, appearing in VRChat as a busty, pink-haired anime girl in a pastel suit, undergoes a digital baptism by crouching underwater for a few seconds as Soto describes the symbolism of the ceremony. You can see Drumsy’s own perspective of the baptism on YouTube, or see Syrmor’s full video below.
After the baptism, a banana hugs Drumsy. A tiny cat asks how Drumsy feels – “I feel like I’m out of breath. I feel like I just had an experience.” Then SpongeBob hops into the baptism pool, soaks up all the water, and runs away.
It is, again, absolutely absurd and absolutely earnest. Soto himself has been retweeting these videos in between announcements of his VR church schedule, so even with some accounting for the wild gags in these videos, it seems he’s glad they’re out there.
Syrmor’s other videos similarly shine a light on the human element of VR, including casual chats on topics ranging from abusive families to homelessness and bullying.
And here you are without video?
If you have a Virtual Reality baptism, will you go to a Virtual Reality Heaven?
Just virtually wonderin’.
Some would call that blasphemy, while others would call it just keeping up with the times.
Life is good.
I have this odd feeling that this thread needs more Joe Biden. Or maybe tentacles.
Or maybe not.
The stupidity that has infected our world is truly scary at this point.
Some would call it bullsh!t...no all would call it bullsh!t. Baptizing soulless not feeling entities. Do not remember Johnthe Baptist baptizing rocks or drawings.
“Baptizing soulless not feeling entities. “
...........................
May I ask how this is different in your view than this Catholic practice?
https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=198
The blessing of a vehicle.
And they practice similar silly things.
Funny you should say ‘rocks’.
This event reminds me of a particular Japanese way of seeing the world, where literally every object has it’s own essence, consciousness and soul. Every tree, rock and river.
Buddhist influences are common.
The Japanese are also into Anime depiction, highly skilled and professional looking.
In a more mundane way, I recall a Japanese cartoon popular in the 1990’s called “Dragonball Z”. Dazzling and entertaining.
This was back when Xena the Warrior Princess was a big deal.
Touche’!
Well, those “soulless not feeling entities” are just avatars, or stand-ins for real people on the other end of the internet. So there’s a weird metaphysical question here. Does the validity of the baptism depend on the external trappings (water, physical body, etc), or is it based on internal things going on in the mind and heart of the person receiving it? Or is it a combination of both?
It seems to me that Catholics normally put more importance on the external parts of the ceremonies than Protestants, but I think even Catholic theology would allow that something like this might be valid in a dire circumstance, if there was no opportunity for a more traditional baptism.
Stupidly reigns.
I say use the VR for spreading the gospel like using any other medium. But think twice before using it for something like baptism.
We can all have a debate about things like how much water should be used for baptism and when it should be done (I lean towards dunking, and at an age of consent by the dunkee). But what we all should agree on is baptism is meant to be an outward sign to observers that hence forth you're dedicated to Jesus in a no-matter-what, no-matter-who kind of attitude. Doing that virtually where no one even knows who you are completely removes the public statement of baptism.
Here ya go:
/facepalm
/facepalm /facepalm /facepalm /facepalm /facepalm
You apparently have no concept of the difference between a baptism and a blessing.
“You apparently have no concept of the difference between a baptism and a blessing.”
I do.
Nice try. Look for commonality.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.