Este posibilă digitalizarea credinței?
Is the Digitalization of Faith Possible?

Author(s): Răzvan BUCUROIU
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion
Published by: Editura Doxologia
Keywords: faith; digitalisation; Dumitru Stăniloae; Dumitru;
Summary/Abstract: With the advance of digital technology, one can notice an alternation of pastoral care and catechesis between the physical and online environments, with quantifiable effects and great success in terms of ratings, the latter being recorded as such. People are becoming interested, in impressive numbers, in these convenient (easy) ways of obtaining spiritual guidance that is useful at all times, of theological literacy, of awakening the impulse to pray, of exalting the desire to go on pilgrimages, to attend certain church services, etc. ”Sayings of spiritual use” made available in the virtual environment have a certain appeal to a certain type of public that is religious by nature, in search of points of reference for a life closer to God. In this context, some questions beg to be asked: is the online environment suitable for such spiritual activities/work? Is this type of communication (which excludes direct personal fellowship) convincing, is it credible, is it truly spiritual? Is it conveying that quantity and quality of the Christic and ecclesial message that can persuade, edify and ensure viewer loyalty? What about their souls? We can convey words, information and states of mind as much as the two-dimensional technique of a screen allows. God escapes this flow, He also escapes direct contact, through the senses, with the beloved being, let alone through digits. The Holy Trinity cannot be communicated at all, not to mention the two digit values, 0 and 1, which ensure the digital transmission (as opposed to the analogue one, which is modular, respecting the signal emitted by the source, without ”encoding” it). I believe that the ”mathematisation” of transmission, its reduction to a rapid and astonishing alternation of only 2 digits, its digitisation - in other words - makes it impossible to grasp and to understand clearly a message or the work of grace (Holy Sacraments, blessing services) in which God is present or in which God is invoked. We cannot intercept the right ”waves” with on-board instrumentation planted directly in us by God Himself, let alone use electronic tools to do so...

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