“Embodied Wisdom in a Faceless Age”

“Digital Liturgies” — Week 2 Reflection

Falling in Love at Never Sight

Have you ever seen the film Catfish? Or maybe the MTV show that came after the movie which followed the same concept? I have to admit this show sucked me in completly. I was enamored by the drama and intrigue of this very modern digital phenomenon. If you have no idea what I am talking about let me explain.

With the rise of social media came a new way for people to pretend to be someone other than who they were in real life. Catfish documented many cases of people who have a similar story: They met someone through a social media platform, then connected over the phone or in online instant messaging conversations, before falling deeply in love. But these two never actually met face-to-face… you know… the way all people used to form relationships throughout all of human history prior to the rise of this modern online medium.

These people would log hours and hours of conversations deepening a long-distance relationship all while one of them (or sometimes both of them!) did not look anything like the pictures they posted or even have the gender they had claimed to embody. The show brought these people together for an in-person meet-up in the hopes that the faceless relationship they built in the digital world would materialize in real life when they were actually standing next to one another. Tragically, more often than not, it was revealed that one of the people had completely lied about who they were, and the “relationship” would come crashing down.

This kind of technology has created a way of existing in the world in a completely disembodied way. Samuel James, in this first chapter of his book Digital Liturgies, points out how very problematic this kind of existence can be.

Embracing True Wisdom

James begins by putting forward an important foundation for this discussion. Christians—and really all people everywhere—ought to take hold of one important thing before examining our digital world, and that is wisdom. Borrowing from the theologian Tremper Longman, and offering some of his own contributions, James explains that true wisdom must have three elements: practical application, moral standards, and theological understanding.

For us to know how to best navigate this world that is dominated by the digital medium, we need to make sure our choices are practically helpful for us and others. We must conform to the ultimate and universal moral standards of our creator which are found in scripture. But, perhaps most importantly, we have to recognize that God is real and has made us in a particular way.

God did not make us as creatures without bodies (Genesis 2). God made us in such a way that our physical bodies matter. What we do with our bodies has real consequences and also provides a means of great joy. And yet, the online world is making us question that important truth. James explained this well,

“True wisdom requires us to live within and accept our physical embodiment…The internet, which dominates our lives as the primary medium through which we encounter most of the world is an entirely disembodied habitat. Consequently, the internet trains our consciences to think of ourselves and the world in disembodied ways” (pg. 29).

In light of these insites, the first step in this journey of understanding how the digital landscape is reshaping the way we think and act should be to remind ourselves that life is more than just online. I realise that’s a strange thing to say seeing as how these words only exist here… on this blog … in the world of the internet. And yet the idea behind it is still very important.

Our bodies are an inseparable part of who we are as creatures. Let’s embrace it, not try to escape it.

And, if you meet someone online, be sure to confirm they are who they say they are before engaging in a long-term long-distance relationship… please.