As The Internet progresses and adapts, it provides us with new ways of interacting. It gives us a voice. The Internet is also unusual in that rather than having hubs where everything is controlled, it largely abdicates control. No one owns The Internet.

My argument is that this provides a new analogy for God. The Internet God accommodates to an absolute truth or a relative truth.  The Internet God can transcend geography and national boundaries. It can handle specifics and generalities, emotion, intellect, love and hate.

In one sense, this is simply to restate the old addage that God is Man. But the more I think about the Internet as a metaphor for God, the more it seems to reward my attention. Perhaps in the future we will look back at the arrival of The Internet not so much as a technological achievement as a contribution to philosophical and religious thought.

The birth of The Internet may come to be seen not just for its scientific and sociological importance but also as a moment in history when our understanding of the world, and our place in it, shifted.

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Whilst I accept the Archbishop’s position that community needs to be more than Facebook, I think it is unfortunate to be framing the discussion about social media as if it is a problem for the young. Social media is a valuable and life enhancing phenomenon of our time for the use of people of all ages. It is for all of us to use to enrich our lives in the best way possible. My guess is that most young people know how to use social media in a more balanced way than most adults and that even Archbishops could learn from them on this!

As with most views on social media, there is always another way of viewing each opinion. I prefer to think of social media as another element of life’s rich tapestry; as another tool to community.

And whilst I understand the risks of slavish obsession with any communication tool, I also know that social media can be a lifeline for the lonely and dispossessed. I argue in my essay on The Internet is God that, if God exists, he or she exists in social media and on The Internet too!

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I am indebted to my partner in this project, Tasos Alvas, who not only read the initial essay but has guided the process of designing the site and making the idea of community involvement a possibility. The site would never have got off the ground without his analysis and design skills mixed with his understanding, patience and common sense!