The Internet: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly I. Introduction A. The past 5-10 years has seen the great advancement of computers and the Internet 1. That which was previously confined to the military, universities, and such like is now open to everyone 2. The technology has become more and more affordable and the spike in Internet usage over the past 5 years in particular is phonomenal B. Christians are present and using the Internet in greater numbers 1. I have seen the rise in Internet use among brethren since 2000 2. There are a multitude of opinions about the Internet and its use 3. Is it profitable? Or is it worthless? C. When we examine the Internet, we can see that it has its own unique strengths and challenges D. Let us spend some time examining the Internet and the Scriptures and see what kind of participation Christians may have in it II. The Internet: The Good A. Let us first look at the good and positive qualities of the Internet B. Communication 1. The Internet, with e-mail and instant messaging, has brought people closer together 2. It is easier to e-mail than to send letters, and this has allowed brethren within a church and brethren from different churches to have greater communication 3. Mailing lists-- for individual churches or like BOL, for the church universal-- help brethren keep one another informed 4. One can write an e-mail and distribute it and have hundreds, if not thousands, of people praying for them! 5. This is a great asset for Christians C. Discussion and Communion 1. E-mail discussion lists, message boards, and chatrooms can allow Christians to come together and discuss all sorts of issues 2. There certainly are many negative aspects to this, and we will discuss these later 3. They can be, however, very beneficial! 4. If you have a spiritual question or want to discuss an issue, many times you will find many people on the Internet who perhaps have better knowledge or understanding of the matter than in a local church 5. In Acts 2:46, we see that the first Christians in Jerusalem were assembling and encouraging one another daily a. most churches today, however, assemble but 3 times a week! b. while it should never replace assembling with the local church, one can go online and give and receive daily encouragement to/with other brethren throughout the nation and the world! 6. Especially with the prevalence now of the weblog systems, one is able to quickly and easily communicate with brethren around the country and the world! 7. This is especially helpful for those of us who live in areas where there are not as many Christians-- it allows us to have good Christian associations that we otherwise could not have D. Biblical Materials 1. Many Christians around the country and the world maintain websites full of information on the faith 2. One can find material on every and any aspect of the faith 3. One can find sermon outlines, articles, handbooks, teaching guides, even audio and/or visual files of lessons! 4. Christians have well used the Internet as a repository for information for anyone to access! E. Evangelism 1. One of the greatest strengths of the Internet is its capability for use in evangelism 2. The Internet is unique in that one can anonymously access all kinds of information-- one can search for spiritual materials without concern of being "preached at" directly 3. Seekers can come to us and learn much! 4. It may seem odd to some that anyone would go to the Internet to discover such materials, but it does happen! a. the younger generation especially has become dependent on the Internet for information b. If they find restaurant information, make travel plans, compare car and house prices, purchase supplies, and other such things on the Internet, they would also be likely to get information on spiritual matters online c. My website has received over 7000 hits, and I have received hundreds of questions about Biblical topics, and many an e-mail of both praise and criticism, often sharp, regarding the materials on the faith presented there! d. My experience is not unique, either 5. As more and more people get online, and people become more and more dependent on using the Internet for many facets of their lives, then it should be no surprise that effective Internet evangelism may lead to many people coming to the faith in future years! III. The Internet: The Bad A. While there certainly are many good and beneficial uses of the Internet, it also has its fair share of bad, evil, sinful uses B. Pornography/Sexual Sins 1. Ever since it received some level of popularity, the Internet has been marked by significant quantities of pornography 2. The combination of anonymity, privacy, and lust has made the Internet the most lucrative market for pornography 3. In fact, the development of Internet technology in the fields of secure online payments, audio/video quality and transfer, and web design owes its great acceleration to the pornography industry! 4. Pornography is very prevalent on the Internet, and while most of it can be easily avoided, it is now common for many to receive pornography in their e-mail boxes from "spammers," even if you have never visited such a site! 5. Pornography may satisfy the lust of the eyes but it does not satisfy the flesh-- it should come as no surprise, therefore, that the next phase of Internet sexual sin has been the development of websites for people to find sexual partners 6. Sites now exist where you can sign up and contact people in your local area who are interested in sexual encounters and engage in such actions! 7. Let us remember 1 Corinthians 6:18 and Galatians 5:19-21: we ought to flee such sexual immorality, recognizing that it condemns souls! C. Gambling 1. Another development of the Internet pertains to gambling-- Internet casinos 2. While gambling is legislated in the United States with strong measures in many areas, the Internet has no boundaries! Many companies operate in other countries, where laws are not so stringent, and people gamble away 3. While all gambling is dangerous, the Internet version is especially so since it does not seem real and even the rite of throwing down the money is not present! 4. Let us again remember Galatians 5:19-21 and also Colossians 3:5: gambling, which is a form of covetousness, is equal to idolatry, and such is condemned! D. Other forms of immorality-- including hate groups, weapons manufacturing, etc.-- are present on the Internet, and they are to be similarly avoided E. We can see that the Internet is a source of great danger, and for this reason many have condemned its use entirely because of such things! 1. Such persons may think and say that the Internet is immoral and of Satan 2. What they neglect to see, however, is that the Internet is a tool, neither inherently right or wrong! 3. As we have seen even so far, the Internet is a tool that can be used for good but it also can be used for evil 4. In fact, the propensity for many people to use the Internet for evil exhibits clearly the nature of the depraved man (Romans 1:18-32) 5. Nevertheless, it is not right to condemn the Internet on such a basis-- it is a tool, just like the printing press or the radio or the television, and one determines how it will be used IV. The Internet: The Ugly A. The Internet also has "ugly" uses B. False Teachings 1. Just as the Internet can be used to promote and disseminate the truth, the Internet can also be used to promote and disseminate error 2. The dissemination of error is nothing new-- Paul had to deal with it on many occasions, as can be seen in Acts 15, the Galatian letter, Philippians 3:18-19, and many other places 3. The Internet, however, allows the dissemination of error at a greater level and more directly than ever before! 4. The present reality of the Internet must cause all of us to change some habits a. generally elders, preachers, and members needed to be on the lookout from "brotherhood" magazines, other "Christian" groups in the area, and perhaps from new or existing members in the congregation b. The Internet, however, allows a false teacher to send material directly to any Christian, without anyone else perhaps knowing c. It is not my desire to cause anyone to become paranoid, but the possibility of this type of thing is not remote 5. Elders, in shepherding the flock, can no longer think that geography can keep error away; it is not enough to expect others to know the truth on issues to keep others from being deceived 6. Christians must always be able to discern truth from error according to the Scriptures in their maturity (Hebrews 5:12-14), and the Internet is no exception. Any material that is sent to you that you read ought to be compared with the message from the Scriptures 7. If you are not sure or have questions about things you have received, do not hesitate to ask elders, preachers, or brethren about them-- do not allow yourself to be deceived! 8. The Internet has allowed false teachers to do their corrupt wickedness in secret-- do not allow yourself to be deceived! C. Discussion Forums 1. We have examined the positive aspects of discussion forums above, and noted that there are many negative aspects to them 2. Currently the Internet only allows for written communication-- this leaves out voice and body language a. on account of this many misunderstandings have arisen because people have been sarcastic or joking and this has not been understood b. the lack of direct encounter also makes it much easier to express oneself in combative, harsh, and biting ways that would be rarely done either in person or on the telephone! c. the sin of the tongue, as seen in James 3, is definitely present and prevalent on the Internet! 3. Discussion forums tend to spark and cause disagreements a. discussions about things upon which everyone agrees tend to be short and few b. discussion lists that focus only on points of agreement are small and inactive; lists on which there are areas of disagreement tend to be larger and rather active c. Many a discussion list can be characterized as Athens in Acts 17:21, always wanting to hear and argue about new things 4. While discussion forums can be beneficial when one is able to speak the truth of the faith and either be encouraged and/or to sharpen their swords, but very often they are unprofitable and very potentially damaging to faith V. Conclusion A. We have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly uses of the Internet B. In the end, we ought to look upon the Internet as a tool in our disposal: while many use it for evil, and many ugly things can come from it, we can also do much good through the Internet in promoting and encouraging the cause of Christ C. If we are using the Internet, we must use the good, avoid the bad, and either avoid or rebuke the ugly D. The message that we are to proclaim on the Internet is the same one we proclaim here and has been proclaimed throughout the generations 1. Christ came and died for the remission of sins 2. One must believe, confess, repent, be baptized, and be obedient to receive that remission and the eternal life flowing from it E. If you have never done this, please come to faith in Christ today. It may be your last opportunity! F. Perhaps you already have been baptized but require encouragement to do the right thing-- perhaps you have not avoided the bad and ugly things on the Internet, or you have done some other thing wrong, or just simply need encouragement to keep carrying the banner of Christ G. Whatever you need, let us help you as we stand and sing