Perhaps there is no more appropriate repository of our collective conscious than YouTube.com.
Building upon the success of its now-ubiquitous search engine, the Google Corporation has created a Web site where any human being that owns a computer can insert whatever — and I mean whatever — they want into the Internet for the rest of humanity to see.
I would hazard to guess the vast majority of you have spent more than 15 minutes on YouTube, so you know how indescribably staggering the resulting phenomenon is.
YouTube, because of the sheer volume of content that is dumped onto it daily, manages to cram together what is great about humanity as well as the parts of humanity we wish we could ignore.
I’ve always thought that if aliens were trying to learn about our culture through YouTube, they would probably be left scratching their round green heads.
Now the fickle mother that is the Internet has given birth to a similar, equally perplexing phenomenon: GodTube.
It’s exactly what you think it is.
The Web site describes itself as “a video-driven social network where users can explore their faith and the tenets of Christianity.”
Essentially, it’s a YouTube focused on Christian matters.
Although it is not nearly as popular, extensive or well-known as YouTube, the Web site is equally as puzzling. The video content ranges from personal testimonies, to recorded sermons and church services, to videos of Christian music both traditional and contemporary, to liturgical dancing and to a myriad of other video-based posts.
Just like YouTube, the meaningful is outrageously juxtaposed with the nonsensical. A powerful movie clip of C.S. Lewis, played by Anthony Hopkins, tackling the question of why God allows suffering sits three posts above an eight-second clip of a random stranger singing “You better be ready because Jesus is coming back!” in front of a psychedelic background.
A moving story of a soldier’s battlefield conversion sits on the same page as a trailer for “Starfish Cove,” which appears to be a low-budget “Finding Nemo.”
Just like YouTube, the Web site has its gems of really good content. Also like YouTube, you have to sift through a lot of insanity, cheesiness and mind-wrenching inanity to find it.
Make ample use of the search feature, or else you’re going to find yourself watching faith dramas in Legos, babies walking for the first time or “Christian Barbie Fashion.”
Another commonality between God Tube and its more secular cousin is its attendant legion of Web-zealots. God Tube’s virtual personal crusaders are generally of the anti-liberal, anti-Muslim, anti-gay or anti-abortion flavor. The videos these “activists” make almost exclusively consist of baseless, angry rhetoric and old, tired mantras and slogans.
If you’re looking for a coherent, rational pro-life argument, avoid God Tube at all costs.
An interesting and unique feature of the Web site is an interactive “prayer wall”, where visitors are free to leave personal prayers in a public space. The prayer wall contains posts that are eloquent and inspiring, angry and disillusioned, frantic and incoherent, and selfish and glory seeking.
In other words, it’s a fascinating cross-section of a very grass-roots prayer effort.
If you are looking to explore the Christianity on an intellectual or philosophical level, avoid this Web site at all costs. If you are considering converting to Christianity, stay away. But if you’re a Christian, God Tube is definitely approachable, in the same way YouTube is — if you are willing to sift through the mess, you will be able to find things that will challenge and inspire you.
Just avoid watching the baby videos. You’ll never get that time back again.
----
Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@lsureveille.com
Nietzsche is Dead: GodTube is exactly like a YouTube for Christians
Published: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Updated: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
16 comments
Your name
you people are so idiot ! in herbew ( i myself have seen that ) that jews have been orderd((" whenever a nation is against you attack that country and don't even let their animal to remain alive !')) if you don't belevie just go and take a look without supporting or hating any side . then christianity is equal peace and love and advancement ??!! if you want to understand the nature of anything you should go and check out it's nature . have you ever heard the story of galileo and the church or hundreds of others ??? are you blind or you only want to foll yourself ???
My name
"You don't know anything but PC bull****. "And since you've been to an "Islamic" country, I should definitely take your word on the people, lifestyle, and all of this other "PC bull****" that you are regurgitating to me. If given the opportunity, I would gladly go to anywhere in the Middle East right now; hell if you fund it and pick the place, I'll videotape my entire experience. Maybe you will learn that not everyone shows their anti-Western feelings through killing. It's a wonder that you keep demanding I read the Qur'an to learn of the hate within it, yet the first testament of the Bible depicts nothing but a spiteful, intimidating god. The point here is NOT to point fingers at other religions, because there are extremists in all of them and none of those people represent the religion. The way you automatically resort to hatred the moment you misunderstand a population scares me. You are on your way to being a terrorists yourself. You're ok though, because god is on YOUR side, right? You can call me a list of terrible names because you are defending YOUR god, right? Maybe your bible study will talk about these feelings of respect amongst cultures one day... until then, keep thinking that every Muslim carries a bomb and every Christian carries a prayer.
Your name
Sort of like how Christians showed love and respect when they detonated a bomb in Oklahoma City? Or when they killed people for the sin of being black, or gay, or Jewish, or whatever today's target is?
Your name
You're an idiot. Of course people can "point fingers." You don't think people can "point fingers" at Naziism? How about Fascism? And Islam is Naziism and Fascism. Islam is the ONLY religion in the world mass-murdering people. Muslims hate Jews, btw. Read the Koran and see for yourself, intellectually-lazy. How about Israel? The Mohammedans just HAVE to have Israel, the only (tiny) non-Mohammedan country in the ME. Hate-Filled? That's Mohammedans and Islam. They hate Jews/Christians and anyone not Islamic. Read the Koran! Read it, you ignoramus! Oh, Mohammedans certainly showed "love and respect" by their "actions" on September 11, 2001, didn't they? You don't know anything about Islam, even after 9/11, and the over 10,000 Islamic Terrorist attacks worldwide post-9/11. Why don't you go live in an Islamic country? No? I didn't think so, you hypocrite. You don't know anything but PC bull****.
My name
Why are all these Christians pointing their fingers at other religions? So, for me to learn that Christians are loving people, I have to place them relative to how I feel about Jews and Muslims? What happened to showing love and respect through actions? I guess if I felt threatened about my religion, I too would find faults in every other religion but my own.
Exactly
"Albright is a one-trick-pony. All he knows is to cut down Christianity to the total exclusion of all other faiths. "Exactly. He knows one trick. Pitiful. Hey albright - why don't you go live in an Islamic country? No? I didn't think so.
Your name
Islam is MUCH more "messed up" than Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism etc.Islam is the ONLY religion that commands the mass-murder of all people not like themselves. Islam has NO TOLERANCE whatsoever. You're ignorant. Islam is the ONLY religion mass-murdering people worldwide.Case closed.Oh, and captain crunch - YOU'RE "asinine."
Your name
"Don't criticize our religion for being bigoted, ignorant, and judgmental. Look at the Arabs and how they do things"Yeah don't criticize us for doing things badly...Look at those other people we can all hate together...Ignore us and our bad stuff, they're the real bad ones with their OTHER religion and DIFFERENT skin color. Oooooooooo DANGER!Please...just because other religions are messed up too doesn't mean Christianity gets a free pass. Perhaps you should work on making Christians really behave with tolerance and love and fixing those issues instead of shifting the blame.
Captain Crunch
all religion is asinine
Christian Joe
Don't criticize our religion for being bigoted, ignorant, and judgmental. Look at the Arabs and how they do things.
Your name
Albright loves denigrating Christianity because he's completely ignorant about all other religions.Muslims are anti-Jewish and anti-Christian. Why do you think Jews and Christians are referred to as "Sons of Apes and Pigs" in the Koran? Why do you think the primary theme of the Koran is "Kill the Infidels?" (Jews/Christians and anyone not Islamic). Furthermore, Islam is rabidly anti-gay, and gay people are treated much worse in Islamic countries than in America. Of course abortions take place in Islamic countries, and all over the world.Albright is a one-trick-pony. All he knows is to cut down Christianity to the total exclusion of all other faiths.
Blaise Blanchard
You write that 'God Tube’s virtual personal crusaders are generally of the anti-liberal, anti-Muslim, anti-gay or anti-abortion flavor.' Let's see. . . God is anti- immorality (that would be liberalism); Christ didn't start the fanatical Muslim religion which has many beliefs and concepts which oppose Christianity; clearly the Christian tradition and the Bible speak against homosexual behavior as immoral; and finally, Christianity (and Christ) has always taught "thou shalt not kill" (and obviously abortion is scientifically/morally proven to be murder of a baby). These things that you condemn about GodTube make me want to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation. Oh, and by the way- why do you hate babies and Christianity so much?
Blaise Blanchard
You write that 'God Tube’s virtual personal crusaders are generally of the anti-liberal, anti-Muslim, anti-gay or anti-abortion flavor.' Let's see. . . God is anti- immorality (that would be liberalism); Christ didn't start the fanatical Muslim religion which has many beliefs and concepts which oppose Christianity; clearly the Christian tradition and the Bible speak against homosexual behavior as immoral; and finally, Christianity (and Christ) has always taught "thou shalt not kill" (and obviously abortion is scientifically/morally proven to be murder of a baby). These things that you condemn about GodTube make me want to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation. Oh, and by the way- why do you hate babies and Christianity so much? Just avoid watching the baby videos.
Al Coholic
There's also a pooh-pooh tube for people who like to take craps. Nietsche is not dead. He only smells that way.
Jesse Morales
Does Godtube have rules about pornographic content?
cb
There's also a TeacherTube that includes educational videos like Schoolhouse Rock.
