The influence of information technologies on theology (Reflections on internet communication and religious expression)

Information systems affect theology in many ways. The Internet makes texts easily searchable and linked - but without any internal guideposts. Anyone can put up a theological Web page, appropriating the name "Catholic" withou t any official sanction. The media audience is not passive; it draws conclu sions quite different from those who create the messages. Logical patterns of analysis have given way to image, word, sound, and movement. E-mail, cha t rooms, videoconferencing, Web sites now merely replace regular mail and t ypewriters; they can develop into something quiet different.