As the Metaverse continues to be touted in Christian media like Christian Post and The Gospel Coalition there is a rising disconnect between the perception of what these people think the metaverse is and what the metaverse is in the real world. In reality, the metaverse is not the Matrix. Instead it consist of Minecraft level, if that, graphics and WII level avatars that aren’t even completely formed. In short, this isn’t cutting edge technology, and it looks like Facebook, who rebranded as Meta, is grasping at straws trying to regain a lost dominance in social media among young people.
The most famous church operating solely in the metaverse is VR Church, a tech venture helmed by DJ Soto. Also on the governing board is Christy Childers, Employer Brand Manager for North America at Facebook. A Facebook executive being on the board of directors for a church is hardly a sign of confidence in their theology. But in addition to being egalitarian, the church also has very few articulated beliefs. Their faith statement reads:
We believe God loves the metaverse and wants everyone to know it.
We believe everyone is welcome to church. It doesn’t matter if you believe believe in God or not.
We believe the Five-Fold Ministry is vital to unleash our God-given destiny. Find out which of the five you are by clicking here.
It’s clear that VR Church believes in the metaverse more than it believes in God or the Bible. Additionally, they’ve launched a church inside of a video game, MMO Church.
Conclusions
The metaverse is not what Big Eva is making it out to be. The technology is far underdeveloped to what it could and should be. Additionally, Big Tech seems to have an interest in VR Church. As for the church itself, it appears as though a gimmick and a LARP. The target market is people who love video games so much that they want to combine it with church. This is idolatrous. VR Church clearly is not a legitimate church, despite the credence Christian Post gave them. Moreover, virtual reality is not developed enough for the church to operate within, nor is there a compelling theological reason to pursue Facebook/Meta’s latest fad.
2 Responses
More Gnosticism for the evanjellyfish. Reminds me why
I left that crew late in life and never looked back.
I’m waiting for the day
when the evangeleftists/evanjellyfish start communing cats and dogs.
Not that I would be attracted to the metaverse, but the graphics aren’t even appealing. I thought tech graphics had advanced a tad more. It’s pretty pathetic really. And add a “church” to the mix….