Cyber Religion?

[AURON]

I was filling out some form today and it asked me for my religious preference. The drop down box included something that was "cyber" related. I cant think of the exact term it was used, but does anyone have any clue to what I'm talking about? And if so do they have information on it. I'm just curious to where this came about.

[StonedApe]

Damn, someone beat me to it. I was thinking about starting a cult that worshiped the internet, you know, cause I needs to make some moneys. I mean, it makes more sense than scientology.

[changed]

damn, someone beat me to it. I was thinking about starting a cult that worshiped the internet, you know, cause i needs to make some moneys. I mean, it makes more sense than scientology. lol

[Arra]

I'd imagine it might just mean people 'congregate' on the internet to practice their religion, instead of attending a church or something. On a forum, like this, or a chatroom. I googled the term 'cyber-religion' and this seems to be the case. They have 'cyber-sermons' and such. The one I found was supported by a Methodist church, but they probably exist for various branches of Christianity, and other religions.

[greenhavoc]

Akono, I hope you make this thread a good one. I googled cyber religion and it brought me here. Jesus will so disapprove this, though. :/

[Taosaur]

I've attended Buddhist and UU services in Second Life

[AURON]

Akono, I hope you make this thread a good one. I googled cyber religion and it brought me here. Jesus will so disapprove this, though. :/ It'll probably sink to the bottom. I wont be able to check that one page again until I get back on broadband to find out the exact name. edit Also, I can understand religious forums and what not, but I got the feeling what I was looking at goes beyond e church/sermon/whatever. I don't know...maybe I could be over hyping it, and it is just various religious groups taking it to the nets.

[StonedApe]

Now that I think about it they have some online thing that people can do instead of church I think. I don't understand it in the least, but people in my neighborhood had these signs in their yards that said ___________.com church for people who don't do church.

[Taosaur]

That could just be a brick-and-mortar church herding people to their site, which may or may not feature a live stream of services and a chat room. Most mega-churches have been rigged for live broadcast for decades. All it takes is a PC and someone who can use it to get from there to online services.

[StonedApe]

That's probably what it is, live stream and chat-room sort of thing, but I dunno. They don't have the signs up anymore or I'd check. How was second life? The guy I study zen with gave a lecture on there. I don't think I could take it seriously, but I'm not big on ceremonies and whatnot already. Wait I think I found it. Don't have time to look it over now, gotta go to class. Might be they just have the same slogan. http://www.crossing-church.com/#/welcome

[Xei]

study zen Can't have studied it very hard if you don't realise that this is an oxymoron.

[StonedApe]

I dunno, ever heard of koan studies? It's a common zen practice. I guess you have a point though. I suppose a more literal way of putting it would be that I study guitar with him and go to the group meditation he has at his aikido dojo where we discuss zen teachings, the dharma. It's not like I'm memorizing zen facts for the test or something.

[Taosaur]

It's not like I'm memorizing zen facts for the test or something. Then how will you pass the test? How was second life? The guy I study zen with gave a lecture on there. I don't think I could take it seriously, but I'm not big on ceremonies and whatnot already. There are some pretty cool Buddhist and Taoist sites in SL. I guess I did attend some group meditations back in the day, which is kind of silly: park your avatar and meditate at home, then afterward kibitz, but that's pretty much how group meditation in RL works, too I went to a Medicine Buddha chant and a lecture this past Bodhi Day, and it was pretty cool. From a Vajrayana perspective, lineage teachings cannot be transmitted through intermediary media, but require the presence of the guru, even if it's the Dalai Lama and 40,000 people in a stadium. So, by the same token you're not really participating in the Medicine Buddha ceremony so much as spectating, or at best practicing simultaneous with but separate from others. The one UU service I attended was pretty relaxed. The 'sermon' element was actually scripted, as in code delivering the text into chat, with songs and the typical UU minimalist rituals interspersed, followed by discussion of the sermon's topic. It ends up being a kind of spiritually inclined microcosm of a book club. Overall, anything in Second Life is just like any other way of communicating online, like we're doing now, except there are a few more avenues of communication, like the presentation of your avatar, your group affiliations, voice, and some limited form of body language or spatial communication--a lurker can actually stand in the back of a room, for instance, and people can swap out their default animations to look more serious, more goofy, more seductive etc. If you would ever talk to your teacher by email, IM, or on the phone, it's the same thing, except you're each also seeing how the other presents himself and responds to others in a slightly more complex medium.

[Dream_King]

I beleive this is what your looking for » The Church of Google

[greenhavoc]

oh wow, I'm trying to fault that so hard right now

[Xaqaria]

Then how will you pass the test? There are some pretty cool Buddhist and Taoist sites in SL. I guess I did attend some group meditations back in the day, which is kind of silly: park your avatar and meditate at home, then afterward kibitz, but that's pretty much how group meditation in RL works, too Thats it! You did it! You became enlightened!

[Taosaur]

Became?

[Drokens]

Seems strange to put it as a choice on a survey, as any religion can be practiced online.

[Klikko]

I guess it would be something where you believe that Aliens created the world through super advanced technology. Perhaps that is the future of our cloning techniques ?