I have become aware that I spend a great deal of time in virtual reality. In saying this, however, I admit I am not using the term, virtual reality, in its true meaning. I will explain this in a moment. First though, many of us know that we are on computers more than probably most of us have been. Zoom is a word that has entered the vocabulary of so many of my friends who previously would only have used the word to enlarge a picture on their computer! Now it refers to a business, is a verb and leads to a new syndrome called “zoom fatigue!”
Now back the liberty I am taking with the notion of “virtual reality.” It is a term familiar to many folks. I have been using it for a few years. I was not curious enough to explore the earliest use of the word. If you look up that term, you will find advertisements for stores bearing that name, headsets and more. I had no idea! I know I have loosely used the term to describe time on the computer, instead of a walk outside. I was not surprised to learn that video games are a form of virtual reality. I don’t spend any time on them. But my students sure do!
Let’s take video games as a good example of virtual reality. I did look up the technological definition of the term. I found out that virtual reality is the “three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person.” That certainly fits the video game. And they are designed with addictive potential. It made me think of the much older versions of this. For example, pin ball machines were enticing and addictive. They truly were interactive. If you build in competition---winning and losing---it enhances things, whether video games or pin ball machines.
I want to push the definition much further. I want to include time of the computer---whether it be zoom for business or YouTube for pleasure or just surfing the web, as so many people mindlessly do. This seems to me to opt for a virtual reality instead of dealing with the real thing. Perhaps it is only a technological version of daydreaming, but it does seem more addictive that the old fashion pastime.
I have no interest of writing off virtual reality as sinful or evil. Perhaps it could potentially be, but that is not where I want to go. I have reflected on my increased time on the computer. Most of what I do is legitimately part of my work or interaction with friends and family. Some of it is important and the rest of it (well, most of it) is not a waste of my time. But there is a level at which I still feel something is lacking. I can say it is enough, but it is not ultimately satisfying. This provokes me to move toward spirituality.
The distinction I draw is between reality and virtual reality. Reality has to do with how people interact with their world. The five senses play a key role in this interaction. Senses and our perception create the world, but it is our real world. I feel very real to myself. I am embodied. My kids are like me, but they are a different body. Trees have a density. I am willing to believe I am made up mostly of water, but nevertheless, I feel real. If I bump into a tree, it is real enough to repel me. Virtual reality mimics all this, but there is nothing “really there.”
As I thought about all this, it dawned on me that there is one aspect of the Christian message that is key to my spirituality. That is the idea of incarnation. The incarnation is the basic affirmation that God came to be present in the world. In Christian terms God became human. The New Testament names that human to be Jesus. To read the stories of Jesus is to gain some sense of how God would be present and active in the world. Jesus embodies God’s love. That resonates with me.
I would add that I think God was present in the world before the historical time of Jesus. We know that came in the Roman imperial times. God was present in the world before Roman times. God was “really” present as a creative, loving presence which permeated this world. This creative, loving God brought cosmos (order) out of the chaos of the world. God does the same thing in the lives of people---transforming chaos into cosmos.
One final step is to recognize that the creative, loving presence asks something of each of us. That presence asks us to embody---incarnate---that creative, loving presence in our little part of the world. In faith I affirm God became human. I trust that God continues to come into humans---you and me---to continue that divine activity in the world. Of course, we have freedom. We have freedom to do our own thing. Too many of us choose in our freedom to bring chaos into the world. One only has to watch the six o’clock news to recognize the many forms of chaos humans wreck on each other---on even on ourselves.
We can make a new world---much more than virtual reality. We can create peace, bring joy and all that. Or we can make a mess of things. Unfortunately, those who are making messes are doing it for real, too. I am confident God never gives up on the project of a new world. And I trust enough of us will embody that hope to bring it into reality.
Now back the liberty I am taking with the notion of “virtual reality.” It is a term familiar to many folks. I have been using it for a few years. I was not curious enough to explore the earliest use of the word. If you look up that term, you will find advertisements for stores bearing that name, headsets and more. I had no idea! I know I have loosely used the term to describe time on the computer, instead of a walk outside. I was not surprised to learn that video games are a form of virtual reality. I don’t spend any time on them. But my students sure do!
Let’s take video games as a good example of virtual reality. I did look up the technological definition of the term. I found out that virtual reality is the “three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person.” That certainly fits the video game. And they are designed with addictive potential. It made me think of the much older versions of this. For example, pin ball machines were enticing and addictive. They truly were interactive. If you build in competition---winning and losing---it enhances things, whether video games or pin ball machines.
I want to push the definition much further. I want to include time of the computer---whether it be zoom for business or YouTube for pleasure or just surfing the web, as so many people mindlessly do. This seems to me to opt for a virtual reality instead of dealing with the real thing. Perhaps it is only a technological version of daydreaming, but it does seem more addictive that the old fashion pastime.
I have no interest of writing off virtual reality as sinful or evil. Perhaps it could potentially be, but that is not where I want to go. I have reflected on my increased time on the computer. Most of what I do is legitimately part of my work or interaction with friends and family. Some of it is important and the rest of it (well, most of it) is not a waste of my time. But there is a level at which I still feel something is lacking. I can say it is enough, but it is not ultimately satisfying. This provokes me to move toward spirituality.
The distinction I draw is between reality and virtual reality. Reality has to do with how people interact with their world. The five senses play a key role in this interaction. Senses and our perception create the world, but it is our real world. I feel very real to myself. I am embodied. My kids are like me, but they are a different body. Trees have a density. I am willing to believe I am made up mostly of water, but nevertheless, I feel real. If I bump into a tree, it is real enough to repel me. Virtual reality mimics all this, but there is nothing “really there.”
As I thought about all this, it dawned on me that there is one aspect of the Christian message that is key to my spirituality. That is the idea of incarnation. The incarnation is the basic affirmation that God came to be present in the world. In Christian terms God became human. The New Testament names that human to be Jesus. To read the stories of Jesus is to gain some sense of how God would be present and active in the world. Jesus embodies God’s love. That resonates with me.
I would add that I think God was present in the world before the historical time of Jesus. We know that came in the Roman imperial times. God was present in the world before Roman times. God was “really” present as a creative, loving presence which permeated this world. This creative, loving God brought cosmos (order) out of the chaos of the world. God does the same thing in the lives of people---transforming chaos into cosmos.
One final step is to recognize that the creative, loving presence asks something of each of us. That presence asks us to embody---incarnate---that creative, loving presence in our little part of the world. In faith I affirm God became human. I trust that God continues to come into humans---you and me---to continue that divine activity in the world. Of course, we have freedom. We have freedom to do our own thing. Too many of us choose in our freedom to bring chaos into the world. One only has to watch the six o’clock news to recognize the many forms of chaos humans wreck on each other---on even on ourselves.
We can make a new world---much more than virtual reality. We can create peace, bring joy and all that. Or we can make a mess of things. Unfortunately, those who are making messes are doing it for real, too. I am confident God never gives up on the project of a new world. And I trust enough of us will embody that hope to bring it into reality.
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