The Importance of Identity

This week I’ve been thinking a bit more about identity and communication on the internet, and how people change the way they interact online. I’ve been reading about the online disinhibition effect, which describes how increased honesty on the internet could be a result of a feeling of disconnection from the real. The paper describes how people can become so involved in online communication that it has a deep psychological effect on them, such that they act in ways that are nothing like their off-line personality, and take less responsibility for their actions because of the ambiguity of their online identity.

John Suler (who wrote the paper) categorises this loss of inhibition as ‘benign’ or ‘toxic’. It is this ‘toxic disinhibition’ that I am interested in as I consider Christians in conflict on the internet, as this seems an appropriate description of the change in some Christian’s behaviour. The internet offers the Christian a way to disconnect from their real-life identity, and to engage in conversations and pursue interests with no accountability. For many this is little or no problem, but for some Christians the opportunity to be flexible on moral standards can prove too tempting. This is especially relevant to the area of Christians in conflict, for those Christians who have to work hard to remain even-tempered and sensitive in real life, the internet provides the opportunity to be less controlled whilst not suffering the consequences.

"Christians" in conflict

After a recent lecture on identity and security online, I began to think about how easy it is to construct a new identity on the internet. This must have ramifications for the issue of Christians in conflict on the internet - as you can never be certain of a person’s identity online, how can you know what it means when they label themselves ‘Christian’?

Firstly, this raises issues of denominationalism, as some branches of the religion are so far separated that they can hardly both be placed under the umbrella heading of Christianity. Secondly, with the complete freedom to create a new identity, people can claim to be Christian, and actually be atheists or even anti-Christians, wishing to cause trouble under the guise of being Christian.

For example, I found a video that described ‘Christians’ acting in terrorising ways towards Muslims. The guy who posted the video explains how ‘When I posted this video 9 months ago I was brainwashed to believe that these people in the video were real Christians but now I know they're just anti Islamic Zionists hiding behind Christianity.’ (accessed through the 'more info' button in the right-hand sidebar)

This is one more thing to consider when Christians appear to be in conflict on the internet. Those who want to create trouble for Christians are given a very easy way to do this; not only can they anonymously criticize them online, but they can also pose as them, to invoke negative responses to Christianity whilst intentionally misrepresenting it. I think this is a really unfortunate situation for Christianity – and indeed for any religious group or otherwise who falls victim to this – but there is very little we can do to resolve the situation, when we simply cannot verify someone’s identity on the internet. All we can do in light of this is to be aware that online identities are highly elusive, and that what appears to be Christians in conflict may actually be a complete hoax.

'Real-life' conflict meets the internet: Steve Chalke

After my last post on Todd Bentley, it was suggested that I consider the controversy surrounding Steve Chalke. Chalke was a prominent Christian leader, founder of the missions organisation Oasis, and involved with UK Christian conferences such as Spring Harvest and Word Alive. However, in 2003 he published a book that sparked a huge reaction in the Christian world, both in real life and on the internet.

In the book, Chalke questioned the Christian doctrine of penal substitution - a core belief of many denominations of Christians, that revolves around the idea that Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice to take on the punishment for the sin of the world. As a result, Chalke was removed from his position of authority, heavily criticised by Christian organisations such as the Evangelical Alliance, and became the subject of much heated debate between Christians on weblogs and forums.

Interestingly, the Steve Chalke controversy was contrasted with the Todd Bentley controversy (of my last post) because of the much harsher, more malicious way it was discussed on the internet. Both situations invoked a lot conflict between Christians in reality, and were quickly and fiercely disputed on the internet. Yet the Steve Chalke issues were apparently met with much more ferocious debate. This difference could be related to which characters were attracted to the debate, or could have something to do with the time difference between them. The Todd Bentley controversy occurred approximately 4 years later, and it could be argued that Christians are starting to learn to be more restrained and civil in their disagreement on the internet. I find this hard to believe from the continuous stream of conflict between Christians still occurring on the internet, but it is possible that the Christian internet community as a whole could be making progress in this area.

I actually struggled to find many examples of these more heated debates surrounding Steve Chalke. Perhaps because this is older news, it is less prominent on the internet. Yet since old information on the internet tends to be neglected rather than removed – and is therefore still accessible via google – I wonder whether more than usual has been done to reduce the visible argument. It is quite possible that Christians involved in these debates, with the wisdom that comes with time, have decided to withdraw their comments (a phenomenon made possible by the internet), thus reducing the appearance of conflict. If this is the case, maybe with time the arguments on the internet related to Todd Bentley will begin to disappear, leaving a more peaceful impression of Christian disagreement.

'Real-life' conflict meets the internet: Todd Bentley

This week I’ve been giving more thought to the link between ‘real-life’ conflict and ‘virtual’ conflict. Conflict in the real world is heavily reflected on the internet, and resonates even further as chat rooms and forums provide the opportunity for people to voice their own individual opinion on any given matter.

One recent example of this is the controversy surrounding Todd Bentley. Bentley was involved in the Lakeland Revival – a charismatic Christian movement centred around healings and the revival of faith. Both Bentley and the Revival attracted a lot of media attention, and the movement was criticised by Christians and secular culture alike.

News of the Revival was soon all over the internet, and created a lot of controversy among Christians because it promised unconditional healing, which some Christians argued is inconsistent with the Bible’s teaching. Some of Bentley’s healings were described as unnecessarily violent, and a lot of reports on the internet suggest most of the healings are not medically verified – considerations that fuelled individuals opinions, intensifying the conflict.

This incident is one of many examples of how the internet can exacerbate real-life conflicts. Another more dramatic example is the recent issues between Russia and Georgia, where some people intentionally overloaded Georgian websites, with the intention of crashing the servers. Although these are not cases of conflict as a result of the internet, they do serve to show how the internet facilitates and expands conflict. The Lakeland Revival had people far from Florida expressing their views and involving themselves in the conflict via the internet.

Also, as part of the Lakeland Revival, many people claimed to have been healed via the internet. This phenomenon could be described as inevitable with the progress of technology and other religious practices online, yet it takes the controversy surrounding miraculous healings to a whole new level. I can understand that God may heal someone directly whilst they are looking at internet material surrounding the Lakeland Revival, but I find it hard to believe this healing took place actually via the internet (as some reports imply), as this suggests Todd Bentley and the others involved have some sort of superior power, that God must work through them and the internet in order to heal. However, I’m sure there are many Christians on the internet who would disagree with me.