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Email To God (taken from Manila Bulletin here's the link : http://www.mb.com.ph/archive_pages.php?url=http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2008/05/20/YTCP20080520124575.html) EMAIL TO GOD Melanie Hoffman The web portal GodTube.com, a Christian version of the wildly successful YouTube site, also offers a digital link to God... WASHINGTON (dpa) -When 28-year-old Trent Paul was seriously injured in a bad accident and hospitalized, his friends spontaneously decided to pray for him. They didn’t go to church, however. Instead they turned to the internet. Specifically, they went to facebook.com where a group called Prayer Chain for Trent Paul formed and within a few days grew to 900 members. "Trent has always been there for us. It’s time we’re there for him. Let’s help him - PRAY!’’, says the group description at the interactive website. "Trent, we believe in you and pray for you! Keep it going!’’ is an example of one friend’s petition posted on the web site. This spiritual effort for Paul is just one example of a new trend in the United States. The number of Americans who make their concerns known to God over the internet is skyrocketing. Websites like facebook.com and myspace.com, along with the websites of churches and religious communities offer a new dimension in faith: pray online. Their growth leaves no doubt that religious internet web sites are booming. Booming More than 23 million people visited a religious website in February, according to a study by the market research firm ComScore. The number represents an increase of 18 per cent over the number of people who visited a religious website in February 2007. The search words "online prayer group" typed into the search engine Google return more than 2 million hits. Facebook.com has more than 500 and myspace.com has more than 1,000 prayer groups that pray for individuals, world peace or for some simple desire. In addition, the websites of numerous churches across the country give believers a chance to make their petitions known and ask others to include them in their prayers. "Online prayer requests are an excellent way for people to help out and for those who need help,’’ said Kathrin Love, assistant director for evangelics, prayer and renewal for the Evangelical- Lutheran Church in America. "Many people are unchurched. But there is still a god, and so they turn to the internet." Love said in 2001 about 800 requests were received monthly. Now the number is about 30,000. The requests for prayers come from all over the world. People want as many fellow believers as possible to notice their prayers or they want to be a part of "something bigger" and discover new paths. The web portal GodTube.com, a Christian version of the wildly successful YouTube site, also offers a digital link to God. GodTube says it has nearly 320,000 members. It offers them the opportunity to share videos and to light virtual candles at the site’s "prayer wall." Even non-Christians can use the site, however, most of the videos have a religious context. An example is a recording submitted by a young man named Coffey, who in the video sings a Christian version of Rihanna’s hit song Umbrella and provides an explanation of the guitar chords. The most popular video available at GodTube shows a four-year-old girl reciting the 23rd Psalm by heart. There is some skepticism about religious life on the digital network. Mike Gilbart-Smith, assistant pastor at a Washington, DC, Baptist church, said general prayer websites might be helpful, but he said they serve only as artificial communities. He feels prayer requests are best kept within congregations. Despite the prayer efforts for Trent Paul, he died of his injuries on March 14, just a few days after his accident. But the prayer group decided not to disband and actually continues to grow. Its members have dedicated the site they set up to pray for him to celebrate his life and share their own stories of the experiences they had with him. shagged on 5/20/2008 03:01:00 PM Comments: Post a Comment