What would Jesus blog? This was among the questions considered by a conference of God bloggers in California at the weekend, which heralded their growing numbers as potentially the most important development in the spread of Christianity since the Gutenberg printing press began churning out bibles in the 15th century.
The three-day gathering at Biola University brought together around 135 Christian bloggers to discuss topics ranging from their relationship with the traditional church to their growing influence on mainstream politics.
Blogs - online diaries or commentaries - are at the vanguard of a new personal publishing revolution outside the mainstream media. A recent Guardian/ICM poll showed that a third of all young people with access to the internet in Britain have launched their own blog or website.
Joe Carter, author of evangelicaloutpost.com and one of the delegates at the conference, compared Christian blogging to the 95 Theses said to have been posted by Martin Luther on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg nearly 500 years ago that launched the Protestant Reformation in Europe. "It's like putting 95 blogs out there," said Mr Carter, who added that God bloggers offer an "uncensored and unadulterated" view of contemporary Christian thought on politics and organised religion.
Some commentators believe the growth of religious blogs will have political ramifications in the US. Christian conservatives make up the Republican "base" that was primarily responsible for putting George Bush in the White House, and the God blogging phenomenon could make them an even more effective political force. It is "certainly going to be [of] more benefit to Republicans than Democrats", Carol Darr, director of George Washington University's Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet, told Fox News.
The Guardian
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