POPE GOES HIGH TECH Even Pope Benedict XVI strongly endorses the use
of social networking by the Roman Catholic faithful. “New horizons are now open that were until recently unimaginable,” the Pope said, commemorating the 45th World Day of Social Communications. “If used wisely, they can contribute to the satisfaction of the desire for meaning, truth, and unity which remain the most profound aspirations of each human being.” Following the Pope’s directive, the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops issued guidelines for their congregations, saying in part: “Social media is the fastest growing form of communication in the United States, especially among youth and young adults. Given the size and scope of these communities, they off er excellent forums for the Church’s visibility and evangelization.” Last December, the Pope sent his fi rst tweet from his
newly created handle, @Pontifex. He greeted followers with an inspirational message: “I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.”
The religious action isn’t
limited to Facebook. Most large churches now have active Twitter accounts. Rick Warren, pastor of the super-congregation Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., has more than 800,000 Twitter
JESUS ON FACEBOOK The Jesus Daily Facebook page gets more activity than any other Facebook page.
followers. Joel Osteen of Houston’s Lakewood Church has more than 1,200,000 Twitter followers.
There are also several ongoing Twitter eff orts,
@BibleSummary and @JanaRiess, for example, to “tweet” the entire Bible one 140-character message at a time. More than 25,000 people follow Bible summary tweets, which started in August 2010.
TORAH IN YOUR POCKET “I don’t think the use of technology needs to be for
everybody. But we have found a community online,” says Rabbi Laura Baum of Congregation Beth Adam in Cincinnati. She says nothing beats face-to-face contact. But she also says social media is a great tool. She hosts
Baum’s Blog on the popular site OurJewishCommunity. org, which has multiple pages with video podcasts and streaming services. You can follow the rabbi on Twitter as well. She’s under the handle @RabbiBaum. For the faithful seeking guidance on the Torah and the
Haftarah, there’s an app for that. PocketTorah provides the extire text complete with translation.
JESUS GOES VIRAL The bishops’ endorsement of the technology is a nod to growing proof that God can indeed be a powerful force in cyberspace. Consider that over the summer, more people signed onto,
shared, and commented on The Jesus Daily page than on any other single Facebook page, according to the social networking analytics site
AllFacebook.com. Getting more interactive attention than pop star Justin Bieber on Facebook is hardly surprising given that 31 percent of U.S. Facebook users list a religion in their profi le and more than 43 million people on Facebook are fans of at least one page categorized as religious. The Jesus Daily was started in 2009 by 41-year-old Dr.
Aaron Tabor, who uses Facebook to post inspirational messages. “I want it to be about encouragement,” Tabor tells The New York Times. Pastor Henry Brinton of Fairfax Presbyterian Church
in Fairfax, Va., uses Facebook and writes a popular blog, but he stresses that the faithful need to “hold hands in a service of worship or greet one another in the passing of the peace.” That’s not possible through online worship alone, he says. “I am not saying there isn’t value to the connections that get made through social networking. “But they can never replace the importance of people being together physically in the service of worship.”
MARCH 2013 | NEWSMAX MAXLIFE 67
LAPTOP COMPOSITE: JESUSDAILY/
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