Thanks for Tom's SMH reference yesterday - I had the paper but missed the article. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/05/1073267967934.html
I was led to more "inquiring" use of the Internet from a much more mundane expectation of it: that I'd be able to point to the Synod minutes on the web. There are back-issues of the bi-monthly newsletter going back years .. but nothing on the decisions made at the recent gathering at Canterbury. When I typed "synod minutes" into the search engine, back came years-old debates from the 90's, asking the same questions that I was asking myself. So from that I was led to seek subscription to this list. (In fact this is my first post, so I should introduce myself; but I'll stay on topic for now!). Then, cleaning up my room, I found reference to another e-mail list, after the Bishop Shelby Spong talk at Pitt Street Uniting a few months back. OK, I'm on holiday: I joined that. Suddenly I'm being engaged on different topics: still "religious", perhaps more "insightful". I had already been a member of worship-rcl - a list group that shares contributions relevant to the Revised Common Lectionary. Whilst some of the contributions there are beautiful, it is about the "nuts and bolts" of preparing of organised worship. Just as my seeking of Synod minutes was for the "nuts and bolts" of church life at a corporate level. I wonder how much the Internet is being used for this sort of thing, as opposed to inquiry at a "higher" level? The article reports an analysis post-September 11, with prayer requests and research on Islam ranking strongly. (What do I mean by "higher"? Maybe personal engagement at a spiritual or intellectual level?) Anyway, as Chris McGillion says, "The anarchic nature of the web makes it harder for religious authorities to control information". For that reason, I still feel that posting the Synod minutes on the web is a wise thing to do. It is relatively easy to do, and guards against the perception that the Synod gathering had something to hide. And it provides some recourse for members of congregations who may be unhappy with what they hear back from Synod members (I was one and I didn't report back well. I wanted the minutes. Now I have the book, and it's too much work.) David -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Tom Stuart Sent: Tuesday, 6 January 2004 09:50 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Accessing the Internet for Religious Content doubles This is sort of interesting http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/05/1073267967934.html Tom [EMAIL PROTECTED] ... ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
