If someone is saved in Second Life, are they saved in First Life too?
Many of you know of the phenomenon of Second Life, but for those who don’t, the easiest way to explain it is that it is an online world where you can live out your life as someone else. It is kind of like being in a cartoon with a real person behind every character you meet. And you can fly. For more details, see the description on the Second Life website. There are now over five million (yes, million) participants in Second Life.
There seems to be a growing movement by different ministries to begin doing evangelism in Second Life, seeing it as a way to interact with people who may have no interest in going to church in this world. One particular ministry I have been following is LifeChurch.tv, who have been early adopters and innovators in many different areas of technology. They held an Easter service in Second Life this past Sunday, but I have yet to hear of any feedback on how it went. The picture is a representation of their building within Second Life.
So, back to the question, if someone is saved in Second Life, are they saved in this life? I don’t think so. After all, the persona used in the virtual world has no soul. However, by by exposing a participant in Second Life to the gospel, it may spur the person behind the avatar to search for answers back in real world. And in the case of LifeChurch.tv, they have the perfect real world answer: an online campus of their church! Of course, that leads to more questions, but that will be covered in another post.
Lessons From Babel 