SimChurch

Roland Piquepaille writes "It's Sunday and some of you might go to a church. But starting on May 11, and for a duration of three months, you'll be able to go to a virtual church. Only the building, with its altar and pews, will be virtual. The preacher, congregation and prayers will be real, according to this BBC News article, 'Glimpse inside the virtual church.' This experiment is launched by a Christian website, Ship of Fools, and will be named Church of Fools. Even with such a foolish name, the virtual church project has been approved by the church hierarchy. This overview contains other details and references about the Church of Fools project."

Comments

Defeating some of the purpose?

[Phoenixhunter]

Going to church every sunday isn't necessarily just to hear a sermon, a little choir, read a few passages from the Bible...no, a big part rests around the face time with other attendees. It is like a family reunion...in a chat room. You might all be there, but you can't express emotion or body language that gives depth to any sort of relationship. Plus, one huge aspect of going to church and hearing millenia old gospel certainly implies that you are not looking to get tips and tricks on the latest gadgets, linux distros, etc.

Re:Have to wonder

[Anonymous Coward]

the feeling of unity with
your peers. How can an "SimChurch" emulate that side of it?


Depending on the person, it won't.

However there's a whole world of intensely physically limited people, those with agorophobic disorders, panic/anxiety/social phobias, people who're unwell and incapacitated, the people who just CAN'T get out for some period of time in their life. I'm no churchgoer myself, but it keeps many people comforted. I see those groups benefitting.

Not gonna work

[KalvinB]

too many disruptive trolls.

They're going to need a lot of fast fingured moderators to keep that place "holy."

Ben

Re:Have to wonder

[no longer myself]

I mean, i thought that meeting up in church wasn't just about the worship but was about the social interaction with others - the feeling of unity with your peers.

Yes, but many times the social interaction can be an absolute detriment to the practice of actually worshipping. As strongly as I believe in Christianity, I've found that some within that religion have managed to take over many of the sanctuaries with petty politics, and general thought control, and it's either under the nose or with the consent of the minister.

Sadly, the message of Christianity gets twisted, misunderstood, or just plain lost under the din of the congregation.

The virtual Church is novel, and certainly not for everyone, but then such is every flavor of religion in general. Faith is a very personal decision.

My favorite response to those who claim to be a Christian because they go to church comes from Joyce Meyer: "I can sit in my garage; it doesn't make me a car."

I've added Ship of Fools to my bookmarks. ;-)

--
General disclaimer: I'm not pushing my faith on you. Thank you for not pushing yours on me.

Re:WWJD?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know what Jesus would do, but most Catholics would show up at a real church since communion is a big part of church.

Cultural problems?

[utlemming]

The main problem that I see with this idea is church is molding to cultural ideas. Although the concept of reaching out to people via a forum in which it would be easily acceptable is good, at the same time the whole idea of leaving the 'world' (before any trolls jump on this idea, please take the time to look at the Christian concept of the world) to worship is lost. In a virtual enviroment, people are not themselves, they are free to act and to take on personas that are actually opposite to the way they act in real life. The other aspect that is lost in this idea is fellowship and worshipping with others. At least these are my personal objections. I just don't understand how this will serve any usefull religious purpouse. Outreach is fine. Outreach into virtual worlds doesn't make sense. Maybe I'm just too tradional.