There is this thing called “Second Life”. It’s a 3-D interactive virtual environment. (I just made that up). It’s like being inside a videogame. You can talk with other people, you can write with other people, you can see the people you are talking with. Of course, the people you see are avatars, images that people have created to represent themselves.
At first, I think, the appeal was the novelty. Today, however, one friend watched and listened to the shuttle landing from SL. Another friend went to a meeting with people from a major trade magazine. Other people are attending concerts, meeting other people, having parties. The first friend even went to a memorial service there yesterday for a person who died in real life, but who had SL friends who wanted to pay their respects.
So I started thinking: what if Jesus were planning to visit Second Life? I know, the response from some people is, “He does every time one of his followers is there.” But let’s take our thinking further.
- Would his avatar be the most polished, most fabulously fashioned figure, or would it be kind of average?
- Would he throw really big parties or would he just be invited to ones that were already happening?
- If he was invited, would he say, “I don’t go to THOSE kind of places” or would he say, “Hey, thanks. Where exactly?”
- Would he build an island, or would he just move from place to place, not having any place to lay his head?
- If you talked with him, would you walk away from the conversation feeling guilty, or feeling like someone finally saw your soul?
- Who would mostly likely be mad at him for being in SL, the people who are there, or the people who wouldn’t dream of wasting their time on such a thing?
- Would he be the last person to look for noobs, or the first person to make them welcome and help them feel like they matter?
I don’t know. I’m not in SL. Not yet, anyway. But maybe someday, I’ll follow him over there.
So, does this make sense?
Technorati Tags: second+life, jesus, social+network, Church2.0
Powered by ScribeFire.
