We often ask students,
whom we have the privilege to teach, where to find Bible related information.
The automatic answer these days is to use an online search since they are fast
and convenient. However, websites are written by different authors and the
person writing may not hold a biblical view of Christianity.
Christian related
websites are probably safe for material nouns such as person, places or things;
for example, the tomb of Jeremiah or the temple in Jerusalem. However, great
care is needed when searching theological topics such as salvation by faith and
security of salvation. Despite these concerns little hard evidence exists, to
our knowledge, if Christian websites provide either accurate or misleading theologically
related information.
Teleios recently
evaluated the accuracy of websites in presenting biblically related information
by searching the term ‘gospel’ using the search engine Bing. We assessed if the
plan of salvation, as described in the Bible, was presented accurately and
clearly. We included the first 55 websites that appeared in order. To emulate a
person searching for the contents of the gospel we limited the time on each
linked website to one minute to determine if the gospel message could be
clearly found.
The study assessed the
presence of the four basic elements of the gospel message from Romans 3:23-26 and Ephesians 2:8-9 on each site provided by the online search:
• Man sinned
• God is just, requiring a punishment for sin
• But out of love God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who by dying on the cross, provided forgiveness of sins in taking man’s deserved punishment
• Therefore, by accepting with faith alone Christ’s gracious sacrifice for forgiveness of sins, man can gain eternal life
• God is just, requiring a punishment for sin
• But out of love God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who by dying on the cross, provided forgiveness of sins in taking man’s deserved punishment
• Therefore, by accepting with faith alone Christ’s gracious sacrifice for forgiveness of sins, man can gain eternal life
These four points were
found in 22 (40%) sites. Incomplete or no gospel information was found on 27
(49%) sites and doctrinal errors were found on 6 (11%) sites (4 added works to
salvation while 2 minimized the importance of the substitutionary death of
Christ). Of the 22 (40%) sites that correctly presented the gospel, we judged
the 4-step plan to salvation was easily found and understood within one minute
on 9 (16%) sites.
This study shows for someone
who searches for ‘how to become a Christian’ using a popular search engine with
the term ‘gospel’, the plan of salvation is easily found and understood within
one minute in about one-sixth of sites.
Further, in searching online for the gospel:
· It may take some persistence and surveying a
number of websites before finding the gospel correctly stated.
· Many sites are verbose, and information is
difficult to find.
· Some sites have doctrinal errors or incomplete
information which may be confusing.
Consequently, the seeker
might need to confirm the information found online with a knowledgeable Christian
friend, pastor or by comparing to other websites. Also, they might compare the
website information directly with scripture using a search function as in e-Sword
(https://e-sword.net/).
This study was limited
to one question, although a very important one. More research is needed to
determine more completely the advantages and disadvantages of internet search
engine queries for a Christian studying scripture.
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