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The Row Boat"Had we but world enough, and time..." *
Confession in the Age of Voyeurism9/01/2006 14:17:54Today the New York Times ran an article (in its own recent pattern of producing a kind of voyeurism about evangelicals), Intimate Confessions Pour Out on Church's Web Site. It talks about a new site started by Rev. Craig Groeschel of the LifeChurch chain of churches, mysecret.tv, where people can post confessions of things they've done and regret. Predictably there are other sites on the internet, secular and religious, that offer a similar service. This one does not claim sacramental powers, only references to the church's main site and an invitation to join the community. Browsing the posts that are up there is certainly an adventure. Confessions are listed by categories like addiction, pornography, lying, adultery, and sexuality - apparently modern replacements for the defunct lists of medieval mortal and venial sins. They begin with a statement in red: "Warning: Some of the confessions below should be considered content appropriate for adults only and should not be viewed by those under 18 years of age." A lot of it is pretty indistinguishable from the sort of amateur erotic literature that is everywhere on the internet, advertised as for pleasure. But now you can get it on your church's website. Of course this sort of thing is to be expected in the habits of religion, the discovery (through invention) of sacredness in the utterly profane. The more base a power, the more powerful is its transformation. The innovations in voyeurism made possible by technology are tremendously relevant to theological propositions because they affect our all-important sense of being watched. For instance, surveillance could form new techniques of spiritual direction, something that people would take on willingly. What progress could be made if the guru were watching constantly? If God is thought of as always watching, why not allow his vicars to do so also? In this kind of world where the old kinds of communities (with their observation and gossip) fall away because of technology, it is fascinating to see how we turn to technology to fashion new kinds of communities and intimacies, selflessnesses out of our own selfishness. A little bizarre too. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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