This is the continuation from Friday and Saturday and concludes my paper on interactive virtual worlds. While I only address virtual worlds, there is some thoughts here that should also be considered when blogging.

Morality of Interactive Virtual Worlds: Part 3

Essential community qualities such as trust and care are hard to demonstrate in these cold online environments.[i] By feeling like he is received in a community online, the virtual world participant is less likely to seek out true community where he can receive the Gospel, biblical instruction, correction, and encouragement. In fact, “[t]he Internet is isolating because it subtly convinces people that fellowship and community can be had with only as much commitment as a click of the button.”[ii] It is simple to “connect” with another individual and even easier to disengage from them, as there is no commitment required or expected.

Once someone is in the mindset that they must have a keyboard or mouse in hand peering into the monitor in order to truly connect, they close the door to real-life relationships, stripping them of meaning. This causes “atomism”[iii] as people who seek to connect are truly pulled apart from the real community around them. Those who find it hard to connect to people in real life can cease trying, because they can now interact with others without having to truly interface with them.[iv] The community is truly virtual because it does not actually exist.

As a Christian, true biblical fellowship may possibly use electronic means from time to time, but this cannot be its primary form. A believer is responsible to connect with a local body of believers who are aware of their true selves and active in their real lives. If a Christian chooses to take part in an online virtual world, they must understand that it in no way fulfills their obligation to obey the Scripture which says not to forsake the assembling together of believers for the purpose of encouragement and accountability.[v] The believer is responsible to gather with the body of Christ in reality unless providentially hindered. It is through this physical cooperation and community of believers that is a strong witness to the unbelievers with whom they come in contact.

One true danger of all online activity is the overwhelming presence of sin. Through the Internet, temptation can truly enter the deepest recesses of one’s home in full privacy. This is certainly a problem with interactive virtual worlds. Not only are there virtual worlds devoted entirely to adult pursuits, there are many “neighborhoods” in general purpose virtual worlds where the vilest of sins occur virtually. Even the average user is expected to use their avatar to have virtual sex with others. It is hard to reconcile the biblical mandate to flee immorality with logging onto a virtual world where temptation is lurking.[vi] The temptation is such a part of the virtual world that it cannot be avoided except by avoiding the virtual world altogether.

Communication online “seems to disinhibit people.”[vii] Even believers are more likely to act unbecomingly and in sinful ways when interacting with people online than when interacting face-to-face. The mere fact that his true identity is unknown acts as a mask from behind which the virtual world user may dare to participate in activities from which he would absolutely refrain in real life. These illicit and sinful interactions are also taking place with real life people behind these avatars whose identities are also unknown, who could be someone of either sex, a relative, a fellow Christian, or even a child or teenager. If a Christian chooses to participate in an online world, they must do so spiritually equipped to withstand the onslaught of temptation, which few are likely to be.

Another issue to consider when making a decision about participating in an online community is the use of one’s time. It is hard to limit use of an online world because fully enjoying it requires one to spend lengthy time building relationships and earning credits.[viii] While it is certainly possible to be a poor steward of one’s time offline, it is hard to imagine time spent in an online world as having any true value except for entertainment. The design of online worlds seems to encourage individuals to spend hours a day on the site in order to be a truly active citizen of the virtual community, replacing whatever time would have been used in building and maintaining relationship with family, friends, coworkers, fellow church members, and even the Lord.

The amount of time required encourages one to become addicted to the game and unable to function properly in real-life responsibilities because they are tied down to virtual ones. It is easy to become addicted to this type of relational technology and make it an idol, “a false god which does not save, but becomes a slave master.”[ix] Christians must avoid making anything master of their lives except their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.[x]

While the Christian should not embrace virtual worlds simply because they are new, they should neither reject it for that reason. As a Christian considers all these areas of participating in the interactive virtual communities such as transcendence, identity, community, temptation, and time management, they will see that it is in almost all cases not wise to enter at all. With the attractive undertones of godlikeness and transcendence as well as the presence and glorification of temptation of all sorts, virtual worlds would best be avoided. While there are times when entering in a situation of known temptation could be justified in order to witness to the lost, it seems unlikely that a Christian would be able to deliver the gospel incarnationally in a means without a real presence. A game-like atmosphere is not conducive for heart-to-heart discussions of the important things in life.

Neither can a believer adequately use this form of technology to interact with other believers in a meaningful way. Instead, the Christian who desires holiness should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of participating in such an online community and more than likely determine it to be unhelpful and probably detrimental to their Christian walk.

Parents also need to be aware of the appeal of such virtual worlds to their children and teenagers and should proceed with much caution before allowing their children to participate even in child-level virtual worlds such as Neopets or even the seemingly innocent Webkinz. The church must seek to provide a viable alternative to the virtual world and provide the real means of communion with one another as well as true satisfaction in a relationship with the Creator that many who seek virtual worlds truly crave.[xi] By participating in a virtual world, the Christian sets themselves up for temptation, possible addiction, and the limiting of communion with God and others.

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[i] Berger, “Cybergnosticism,” 342.

[ii] Griswald, “Hype,” 9.

[iii] Ward, Cities, 249.

[iv] Turkle, “Hear.”

[v] Hebrews 10:24-25.

[vi] 1 Corinthians 10:14, 1 Timothy 6:11, and 2 Timothy 2:22.

[vii] Rheingold, “Communities,” 119.

[viii] Turkle, Life, 183-184.

[ix] Adeney, “Dark Side,” 21.

[x] 1 Corinthians 6:12.

[xi] Griswald, “Hype,” 9.