The Hatred of the Internet

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The newspaper Ta Nea (5/19/2025) conducted an investigation titled "The Keyboards of... Hate", in which the data of the Ministry of Citizen Protection on cases of abusive speech on social networking media were presented, and "testimonies of victims of abusive speech" with the consequences in the psychological sphere are recorded. In fact, "the perpetrators act with the belief that they will not be prosecuted."

In the main article of the same newspaper simply titled "Hate" it is written:

"In recent years, a new type of hatred, extremely dangerous and complex in its forms, has spread with disproportionate consequences. The hatred of the Internet. Today's research by 'NEON' not only describes its versions. Not only does it emphatically note its effects. But it also underlines the current legislative framework and the institutional shield that we have or must expand against the carriers of this hatred.

"Life Is Not Digital" (Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew)

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was interviewed on May 25th 2025 by George I. Androutsopoulos, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Athens, which was published on Sunday, May 25, 2025, in the University of Athens newspaper, “Vima tis Kyriakis”. We quote below a portion of the interview:

Question: I thank you very much, on behalf of the university community, for the honor and opportunity of our conversation. Let us start with the young people. One - the positive - side is that the students of our University record excellent performance when they continue their studies abroad or participate in international competitions. The other, however, is that our children and young people today spend a large part of their time on Instagram and TikTok, while the rise in the phenomena of violence among young people is impressive. Have the standards and the path of prudence and virtue been lost in our days? How could the University and the Church contribute to a restart?

Answer: Christ is Risen! Thank you very much for the invitation. I am familiar with the newspaper of the University of Athens and I congratulate you for the initiative to create this forum for dialogue and reflection, but also for the effort to highlight the multidimensional work that is being done in your historic educational institution for the benefit not only of the academic community, but also of the entire Greek society.

Preaching and the Internet: A Contemporary Pastoral Problem

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The case of Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou in regards to his talk on homosexuality and his persecution, without knowing what the outcome of the case will be, revealed a problem that exists in contemporary society.

It is a given that the Metropolitan of Morphou is a pious Hierarch with an ecclesiastical consciousness and an ecclesiastical mindset, who reveres the traditions of the Church and very much reveres the saints he met in his life, namely Saint Porphyrios and Saint Iakovos. He manifests these gifts in many and various ways.

The Drama Of My Life: Blogs, Cell Phones, and the End of Privacy

By Father Geoffrey Korz

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." - Matthew 6:24

As much as our southern cousins like to take credit for him, the inventor of the telephone was Canadian. Although born and raised in Scotland, Alexander Graham Bell's best years were spent on his family homestead outside Brantford, Ontario, where his early experimentation with sound and language flowered into detailed studies of the Mohawk language on the nearby Six Nations Reserve. It was also here that Bell invented the telephone, the device that would transform modern communications, and which would later branch out into the Internet technologies we know today.

A Christian Response to Being Unjustly Accused of Sexual Assault

By John Sanidopoulos

I was asked today by email the following question (which I condensed so as not to reveal any personal information of the inquirer):

"As you are aware, these days much is being is said in the media about sexual assault, and for the most part I think this is a good thing, as it needs to be exposed and women should feel comfortable to expose it if in fact they are the victims of such abuse. What troubles me is that many people are also saying that we should believe every accusation a woman makes regarding sexual assault, I guess because women feel they have been forced to keep silent for too long, or for whatever other reason. This troubles me because I personally have been accused of a sexual assault in the past, and it devastated my life because I knew none of it was true. My comfort at the time was reading scripture and the lives of the saints, and thankfully my wife believed me. Now this took place for me about twenty years ago, and the woman personally apologized to me about the false accusation not long after, and it was all swept under the rug as I moved on to another job, but because I know firsthand of myself and others I know that these accusations can be false unless proven not to be or at least examined, I was wondering, with your vast knowledge of Church history and the lives of the saints, if there are any specific examples of honorable people who were unjustly accused of sexual assault. Thank you."

The Ethics of Facebook, Twitter and Social Media

By Douglas Groothuis

SYNOPSIS

Social media are growing explosively and are changing the way people around the globe think of friendship and community. While media such as Facebook offer us unique opportunities, they also present real dangers. Christians should realize that not all forms of culture are advantageous to human flourishing and that every medium has it limitations. We are shaped in profound ways by every medium of communication. Yet, for all its immediacy and possibilities, the computer world of social media cannot replace the significance of embodied interactions. Friendship, fellowship, and community cannot be duplicated at the deepest levels in social media. Nevertheless, if we resist gossip and gullibility, and are careful not to overexpose ourselves in these media, we can engage these forms of communication wisely and usefully. The following principles can help guide our involvement with social media: (1) Monitor yourself for unhealthy behavior. (2) Restrict late evening and early morning for other activities. (3) Avoid narcissism and present one’s true self. (4) Pay special attention to specific Facebook friends each month. (5) Be skeptical of how others present themselves on Facebook. (6) Periodically abstain from Facebook. (7) Develop a philosophy of what a Facebook friend should mean to you. For me, this means presenting thoughtful material to as many people as possible, which includes apologetic engagement.

Information Overload: From the Printing Press to Social Media

Don't Touch That Dial!

A history of media technology scares, from the printing press to Facebook.

By Vaughan Bell

A respected Swiss scientist, Conrad Gessner, might have been the first to raise the alarm about the effects of information overload. In a landmark book, he described how the modern world overwhelmed people with data and that this overabundance was both "confusing and harmful" to the mind. The media now echo his concerns with reports on the unprecedented risks of living in an "always on" digital environment. It's worth noting that Gessner, for his part, never once used e-mail and was completely ignorant about computers. That's not because he was a technophobe but because he died in 1565. His warnings referred to the seemingly unmanageable flood of information unleashed by the printing press.

Read the rest here.