Religiously Environmental

The American Academy of Religion conference will be held in Montreal on November 7-10. That it is in Canada is an extreme rarity and I'm registered to attend (I'll blog my sessions). In the course of planning for this conference, I had a discussion with a prof who has given up conference travel for environmental reasons. I've often thought of this over the past few years both from fiscal as well as environmental standpoints. Such conferences are great learning experiences and even greater networking opportunities. But it is a lot of travel and expense for what is usually 3-4 days. As a Christian I need to be concerned with these questions. Sometimes I think Christians get so focused on the future "new heaven and new earth" (Revelation 21) that we neglect this one. Don't get me wrong; the idea of an earth restored into what it should have been in God's original intention is fantastic and I want to live in such a world! But from the very beginning of the Bible there is also the idea that human beings rule the earth only as regents or stewards (Genesis 1). We enjoy its benefits but it is not ours to do as we please. I do believe God will hold us accountable for our poor stewardship. So where does that leave me? I think it is valuable for me as a young scholar to attend this conference, but I need to find ways to reduce my carbon footprint. First, I'm taking the train to Montreal. It is a longer but greener trip. I plan to find other ways to reduce. Anyone know of any good virtual conferences upcoming?

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Church in SecondLife?

SecondLife is an online adult simulation that has existed since 2003. Those who haven't explored this virtual world may not realize how popular it is. Mainstream religion is starting to discover the hundreds of thousands of people who frequent this world, and are creating their own places. As I write this, my avatar is sitting in a service of Calvary Chapel SecondLife, a evangelical Scottish virtual congregation. There are about two dozen other avatars here listening to the sermon. It is an interesting experience to participate in this environment. It is a "come as you are place"; no suits here (in fact not everyone here even looks human.) But it is a form of community made up from people around the globe. Am I at Church? Sounds like church...looks alot like church (except comfy chairs not pews). Religion in the digital age will continue to blur the lines. Oh, there is a round of "Amens" as the sermon ends...gotta go, I like this worship song! ;-)

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