Articles
"Wiki-Faith"
A modern joke: “Last night the internet connection was down at our house, so, the family spent some time together…. They seem like good people.”
“Wikipedia,” “Wikitionary,” “Wikibooks,” “Wikihow,” and “Wikitravel,” are just a few of the 55,000 “Wiki” sites on the internet (according to one source).
The term “Wiki” is an acronym for “What I Know Is…” The “Wiki” platform is based in the idea that users can write and/or add what they know to a particular topic. These are not always experts, but often the contributors are knowledgeable about the topics they contribute to.
The internet is filled with useful information, and it is also filled with a lot of useless (and sometimes harmful) information. The “Wiki” sites are no exception.
I learned that when you do a Google search on “Wiki-faith” there are 2,530,000 sites that come up. There are three sites that come up saying, “Wikifaith.” One is a Unitarian Church, another is Presbyterian, and the 3rd is a First Baptist Church. Taking just these three, when you found out “what they know,” would they all “know” the same doctrine? A second (and more important) question is, would it be in accordance with what God knows and in agreement with what His Scriptures reveal?
“Wikifaith” is not the same as “the faith.” Biblical faith does not come from the writings and teachings of uninspired men and women on the internet. Biblical faith “comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (Jn. 5:39).
Consider the example of the Bereans in Acts 17. When Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to them, they received that preaching with all readiness of mind. But they did not accept it as God’s word until they “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
“Wiki” sites are, in some ways, likened unto the people of Athens. Acts 17:21 says, “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.” Are we raising up a generation that would rather spend time “surfing the net” (for things that do not pertain to God), watching videos, playing games, etc., et al? Do we seek to impress our friends with “some new thing” we learned on the internet? Do we ever discuss with our friends something we learned while “surfing” the Bible?
Christians must guard themselves that their faith does not become “Wiki-faith.” We must have a faith that is based in “TSTL,” that is, “Thus Says The Lord…” The Bible is the only “site” to go to for what Jesus knows about salvation. Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” This is “Saving Faith.”
