Saturday, September 20, 2008

Spirituality in the Age of Technology

When I was a kid, I used to skip Sunday mass just to watch my favorite Chinese martial arts movies on TV. And when caught which always was the case, I would be severely chastised by religious elders in the family.

I remember my grandmother listening to Sunday mass through the radio when she got sick. Until now daily broadsheets contain passages of the Bible with commentary. These days I have received and read biblical quotes being forwarded through text messaging. I have also had my share of email messages usually in Powerpoint presentations reminding recipients about the Bible. There are also some blogs which proselytize. And today, Father Reyes launches his parokyasaweb.org, which makes available the Sunday homily through a pre-taped podcast and guarantees that confessions can be made and absolutions can be obtained.

I grew up in a religious family and community. But getting older helps me gradually define and constantly redefine my spiritual being. And perhaps getting into UP gave me opportunities like getting atheist professors, having Muslim friends and INC orgmates among others. Add to these the advent of the technological advancements abovementioned.

I can only welcome these developments not because I would rather watch my favorite series of legal dramas on Sundays but because they make easier finding one’s own spirituality and not adhering or focusing too much on religiosity. Very true indeed to its nature as a postmodern phenomenon, technology i.e. the Internet offers various ways and the fields it engulfs does not excludespirituality.

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