#118 Spiritual Ecologies Considered: Physical vs. Virtual
I don’t think that this is an issue where you can say all or nothing. I think that it is decently widely accepted that it is easier to grow spiritually from face-to-face encounters. I can remember someone vividly that I knew for only a week ten years ago but when it comes to online settings I cannot name one student from a course I was in three weeks ago. It is easier to get to know a person when you are face to face. But when it comes to growing spiritually that is between you and God. God may or may not use others in your life or online to impact you but those people are an aspect not the nucleus. Consider The Way of a Pilgrim which tells the story of a wandering pilgrim who seeks to learn to pray without ceasing. He has guides along the way but mainly his spiritual growth happens through time spent in prayer. Essentially what Lowe and Lowe argue is that “We are dealing with a Spirit who enjoys no corporeal manifestation.” Which means that if the Holy Spirit can be in our lives regardless of our circumstances than meeting face to face is unnecessary to spiritual growth. That said, I think the idea that an online community is even close to equal in quality to a physical community is laughable. Online communities are an imitation of what God has made natural to us. It doesn’t make them bad, but they are not the same. Spiritual growth as exemplified in Scripture happens face to face but in loo of that Paul and others used the tools available at the time to reach others. Such as in Romans 1:11–12 where Paul wished to impart a spiritual gift via his presence but sent the letter of Romans in his stead. Or in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 where we observe that spiritual growth is happening through the work of individuals but as Paul says, “neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” In conclusion spiritual growth does not happen because of people, but God often uses people to help us grow; which generally happens more in person.
Lowe and Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth through Online Education (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019), 75.
