Tag Archives: WhatsApp

Technology bringing words of encouragement into the world

How has technology changed your job?

Years ago one had to write letters to reach the beloved and members of an ecclesia or mission post somewhere in the world. It took some weeks before the letter arrived where it had to be.

Teaching that way took some time, but also had our heads sometimes wondering for weeks.

At the end of last century the computer came as a marvellous tool facilitating correspondence and preaching. We are now able to write something, and as soon it is published, people from all over the world can read it.

It is like magic, how words suddenly reach people and have them react straight ahead. It is like we can talk with each-other as if sitting in the same room. There is Messenger, WhatsApp, Zoom, Handsout, and so many other electronic apps that give us the possibilities to communicate with each other easily.

It is a blessing, making life also so more connected and fruitful.

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Filed under Activism and Peace Work, Cultural affairs, Educational affairs, History, Knowledge & Wisdom, Questions asked, Religious affairs

My perspective: Virtual v Physical church attendance

After several months having the churches being closed, people now allowed again to meet in small circles (with the Covid Safe Ticket or Pass) every individual should check for himself or herself and should examine for the family if it would already be safe to go to gatherings, be it for relaxation, Bible study or church service.

Going to “the grocery store, the restaurants, the beauty shop, the office, the classroom, the gym, and the doctor” is something totally different than going to a church, where people are sitting close together and normally also would sing and say prayers together in an enclosed space making it very easy for a virus to spread.

When people go to the supermarket, they are only limited by the amount of people allowed per square metre, and as such have to follow the red and green light indications or the stewards allowing only the right amount of people entering the wide space. To enter the shops only a regulated amount of people per square metre is allowed and often only two at a time, plus always with a mouth mask.

To go to a café, snackbar or restaurant a person has to have the Covid Safe Ticket or Pass and the same regulation is there for other places (as churches) and events.

For going to a gp or doctor one must make an appointment and maximum two people are allowed in the waiting room, which should be ventilated and normally is spacey enough to receive much more people than two.

For going to church there is in many cases no controlling system, though there should be someone at the door asking and checking your CST.

Worship and Bible class are not simply about our being fed spiritually and matters that can be done on our own or via online meetings. Such online meetings can never take in the place of an actual real-life meeting. But we must be fully aware of the present conditions and dangers for each other when coming together in real life.
For every follower of Christ and every lover of God the gathering between all members of the faith community should be very important and not negligible. But, and a great But, we should be fully aware of the situation.

We must consider one another to stimulate unto love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24), and that the best way to do that would be in connection with assembling together (Heb. 10:25), but this also can be done by going in conversation online by the present technical progress. There are Zoom, Jitsi a.o. to have interaction when meeting online.

That people would stay away from the assembly in present times does not mean that they would be less religious or would have abandoned their faith. It is essential to protect the own health as well as the health of others. This can mean that we still have to wait sometime before coming together in real-time and/or real life.

Our relationship with God and with His beloved son shall not be less or of less value. It is from the depth of our heart that the love for God should rise above all our present limitations.

 

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Preceding

Ideas about Religiosity

May we have doubts

Religious Resistance against vaccination

Covid-19 update | Covid Safe Ticket

New rules in Belgium to stop the spread of coronavirus

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Additional reading

  1. Christian in Christendom or in Christianity
  2. Daily thought for July the 8th and the Summer months
  3. Not created to be on our own
  4. No time yet to relax the CoViD-19 restriction measures
  5. Fourth wave of COVID-19 a pandemic of the unvaccinated
  6. According to Pew Most White Evangelicals Don’t Think COVID-19 is a Medical Crisis
  7. Did the first followers of Jesus have ‘church’
  8. Priorities for our Christadelphian community and for the spreading of Good News
  9. Worship

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Related

  1. Get Back to Church
  2. Is church attendance linked to higher rates of coronavirus?
  3. Enjoying Christian Fellowship
  4. Church attendance is often a distraction from biblical Christianity
  5. Normal Christian Doctrine Explained: Church Attendance
  6. Three good reasons to come back to church
  7. Millions skipped church during pandemic; will they return?
  8. No Family Is Too Busy for Church by Desiring God
  9. Why are people attending church less frequently?
  10. Why We’re Not Going Back to Church

Opie (Simply a mom on a mission to inspire)'s avatarOMT's Digest

This post is dedicated to all the virtual churchgoers like myself and those who are still unsure about whether it is best to worship virtually or physically in a church every Sunday. If this is the first time reading any of my blog posts and you want a straight answer, then please don’t proceed because this post is meant to get you thinking to find the answer within yourself.

Prior to COVID, I wouldn’t say I was a consistent church goer. If there was an attendance register, I am sure I would be called to ask why I get in late or why I have been absenting myself from church. COVID however resulted in a lot of churches going online because of physical safety restrictions so I guess I found it very convenient to wake up and have church right in the comfort of my living room.

Afterall, we learn…

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Filed under Being and Feeling, Headlines - News, Health affairs, Lifestyle, Re-Blogs and Great Blogs, Religious affairs, Social affairs, Welfare matters

Consequences of our digital environment

On “Some View on the World” there is given some attention to “fake news”.

It looks like we have arrived in the age of populism and of authoritarian tendencies, cultural backlash, economic anxiety, ideological polarisation, and widespread conspiracy theories, democratic malaise, support for own gain and popularity.

Concerning religious matters “fake news” and untrue messages is nothing new. Already many decades non-religious groups and  trinitarian groups do everything to keep people away from non-trinitarian groups. But concerning the way of living we got a new era with the treatment of the Corona virus.

The problem with all the news which gets to us is that it is not always easy to recognise a message is a valuable correct informative article versus misinformative or mendacious reporting.

For a few years we have had the blessing of the personal computer and by the years several groups and bloggers offering news and comments on the events of the day. The digital environment became huge and today can mostly come unfiltered in millions of houses. At the beginning people where pleased with the new medium and were loving to spread new serious articles and thoughts about many matters. After a few years, others saw in the internet a very good means to disinform or misinform people. Today this misinformation threatens real news that allows us to become informed citizens.

Today there is also a lot of sharing on social media which brings press releases but also frequent human fabrications up to our daily plate. Disinformation spread via messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal are becoming more difficult to track and intercept because of end-to-end encryption. We can call it a blessing but it can also be a curse how social media allows space for uncensored opinions/ concerns as well as a space for mass groups to convene to address these opinions/concerns. It is incredible how many youngsters receive fake news through private messaging apps regularly and do not mind checking the article but just goes by the title or just believes what is multiplied or liked the most. For lots of people, it has become really very difficult to recognise the truth and false messages. We are unable to determine falsehoods from the truth, and some are quick to believe anything that looks credible. When messages align with their held opinions or views, people much easier shall consider them trustworthy.

While it is definitely worth allocating resources to combating disinformation using AI, caution and transparency are necessary given the potential ramifications. New technological solutions, unfortunately, may not be a silver bullet. (The Conversation)

To remember

A free society depends on the free exchange of ideas and honestly, the most important issues are the ones that are most controversial.

 

 

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Please find to read:

  1. A busy 2017 #3 Fake, gossip and real news
  2. To protect our democratic system #1 Danger of fake and malicious social media accounts
  3. Defeating populism in the EU by education of the young people
  4. 2019 was #3 a Year of much deceit in the News World
  5. Manipulated content on social media
  6. Hollowness of democracy
  7. Undermining security and democracy via the Internet
  8. Safeguarding freedom of expression
  9. Gossip and fake news, opposite fact checking and facts presenting
  10. Conspiracy theories in plenty-fold
  11. Media Literacy

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Additional reading

  1. Here is the truth or the lie
  2. Gates to different belief systems in this world
  3. Non-religious opposing religious people
  4. A convinced voice to debunk false allegations

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Related

  1. The Age of Disinformation
  2. Barnum Circus or European Parliament?Between Freedom of Speech and Stigma
  3. Interview #15 – Going Negative: Causes and Consequences of Attack Politics
  4. Populism in Power: Law & Justice vs liberal democracy
  5. Interview #14 – The Strange Case of Dr. Populist and Mr. Corruption
  6. Robert Fisk on journalism, fake news and truth
  7. Dealing with Fake News: The Social Responsibility of Big Tech and Possible Solutions
  8. Media Literacy
  9. Can AI help in stopping the spread of fake news? May be not
  10. New York Times Complains That Cat Videos Are Being Used to Spread “Misinformation”
    Fake news, zombie papers and fabricated evidence: A thoroughly modern pandemic?
  11. Share This Now! How Conspiracy Theories Swamped North Macedonia
  12. Two-thirds in North Macedonia believe COVID was created to control humans: study
  13. Breaking: Marjorie Taylor Greene To Introduce Legislation That Would Hold Fake News Accountable – “The freedom of press is not the freedom to lie. And that is the biggest thing we have to focus on. There needs to be accountability, and I think that’s something we really need to look at.”

alifriedrich's avatarAli's Almanac

The digital environment today allows a voice for all. While this gives us the opportunity to be agents of change, emerging from it are fake news, cancel culture, and outrage culture.

If you weren’t living under a rock during the years 2016-2020, you might’ve heard the term fake news. This misinformation threatens real news that allows us to become informed citizens. NPR names this time as a “post-truth era.” We are unable to determine falsehoods from the truth and some are quick to believe anything that looks credible because 1. sources take time to verify and it’s easier to believe what you see/hear without fact-checking 2. people will believe something right away if it aligns with their held opinions or views. This is problematic especially in such a polarized political landscape and a time where social media is an outlet for so much misinformation. Being skeptical is so important…

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