Education in Virtual Worlds, Identity and Expression, Second Life

Missionary Position on Second Life

As far as untapped populations go, Second Life has one that soon could be a target of missionary activity.

(Um. You said it, not me.)

World Gospel Mission, (WGM) an organization that “connects in ministry with churches worldwide to make disciples of Jesus Christ among all nations,” is currently reviewing the pluses and minuses of missionary work in this virtual world.

WGM recently posted an entry on its blog with one main intriguing question for the missionary-minded: “Are the temptations of the virtual world so compelling that missionaries should avoid an online presence, or is it possible to be an influence for good within it?”

This separation between a person being “in the world” but not “of the world” comes directly from verse: Jesus, in John 17:13-19, sends his disciples into the world but says they are “not of the world.”

Not being “of” the world, of course, means trying to rise above the temptations of what is “in” world. In Second Life, this can means sex, porn, and violence.

WGM still has no answer to these concerns, but if a missionary approaches you in the near future in Second Life, rest assured that the controversy has been resolved. Hmmm. Or maybe they want to RP, but I’ll leave it at that.

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