There is a homeless man who walks around Campbell with a sign that says “Millions of dollars are wasted on names like Mary and Jesus.” At first I thought this man was an atheist, but the more I think about his sign, the more I think that I was wrong about my initial assumption. What this man is really saying is that people spend so much money on things that should be free (namely, religion). Religion, salvation, the love of Jesus are supposed to be free.
Today, I read “Five Social Media Trends that are Reshaping Religion” by Elizabeth Drescher, the author of Tweet If You ♥ Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation and professor at Santa Clara University. In her article, she talks about how social media has changed religion, and how it can be a lot more accessible now. While I agree that there are many ways that religion can be enhanced with new technologies and social media, I fear that religion will lose its humanity if it is turned too digital. One of my favorite things about the church is the sense of family. While Jesus and salvation are free, the whole Christian experience can be a whole lot more rewarding when it is enjoyed, explored, and supported by other followers. My fear would be if religion become too digital that people will stop congregating in the name of Jesus (kind of like how people have stopped mingling at bars and rely on websites to do their matchmaking).