Online Communion? Theology and the Digital Church

There are many pressing areas in need of fresh theological thinking in light of a rapidly changing world. The redefinition of family, the nature of sexual identity, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering

... and the digital church.

One of the more pressing concerns will be how much tech can and should be used – and how – in light of an orthodox and robust ecclesiology. Is someone considered “attending” if it’s through an internet connection and a virtual reality (VR) headset? Is it appropriate to perform a digital baptism where avatars are immersed in water? What of a completely computer-generated church using VR and augmented reality (AR)? Which, I might add, already exists.

On the most basic of levels, what is to be thought when people participate through an online service but consider themselves a part of a church—the so-called “bedside Baptists” and “pillow Presbyterians?” Or using apps to attend digital “events” and enter into corporate prayer through emojis and avatars?

There will be a knee-jerk reaction against such innovations, but there can be little doubt that a new way of doing – and being – church is being forged through technological innovation and an increasingly digital world. In other words, instead of a knee-jerk negative reaction out of distaste or stylistic preference, it demands vigorous theological reflection that takes the digital revolution seriously.

A single blog is grossly insufficient to tackle this task, but perhaps I could suggest one way of thinking about one of the many questions being raised: If someone is involved in an online campus, should they be encouraged to participate in the Lord’s Supper as they watch? Read More

Also See:
Online church: Ministries use VR, apps to deliver digital services and virtual baptisms

The Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion, has an important horizontal dimension as well as vertical one. The apostle Paul touches upon this dimension in his first letter to the church at Corinth. When we gather together to share bread and wine (or grape juice) in obedience to our Lord's command to "do this in remembrance of me," we give visible expression to the reality that we are the Body of Christ, united to our Lord by the Holy Spirit. This dimension is greatly diminished when we receive the elements apart from the gathered church from the hands of a deacon or eucharistic minister. It is lost entirely when we administer the elements to ourselves in isolation from the rest of the church. Communion is not a solitary action but a collective one. A major part of the worship renewal of the last half of the twentieth century and the opening decades of the twenty-first century has been the restoration of this important dimension to the Lord's Supper through the use of a single loaf of bread and the common cup. With the increasing popularity of digital services we are in danger of losing it again.

There is a growing body of evidence that digital technology is contributing to the epidemic of loneliness that is affecting our society. Rather that bringing people together, it is isolating them from each other. There is a substantial body of evidence that human beings need to interact with each other face to face for healthy physical, emotional, and intellectual development. This is particular true of infants but it is true of adults too. Digital technology cannot provide such interaction.