Internet Policy
2012-01-12
Introduction
With all the dangers on the Internet: pornography, violence, evil ideology, and other ungodly influences, I thought it best to write something that I would follow as guidelines to protect my mind from these influences, for the Bible says in Psalm 101:3: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.” It really is bad out there. I know this from experience. There is a lot of good that comes from technology, such as easier ways to do things. But we need to be careful.
Web Browsing
The following are good and practical reasons to be online:
- Business and School: Looking for a job, working from home, and doing schoolwork that requires online resources.
- Email: Checking email for important correspondence.
- Online purchases that are either far easier or far cheaper to obtain than in a traditional store.
There are some bad reasons to be online:
- Just for browsing: Browsing for no reason opens the door to malicious ideas or images entering into my eyes and therefore my mind. It is just like the television in this respect.
- News: There would be exceptions if there is a major event that it is imperative to read about (terror attacks, severe weather). But reading the ungodly news media fills the mind with pluralism, atheism, and ungodly endorsements of wicked activities. These things become implicitly acceptable to me the more I read them.
- Christian teaching: There are all sorts of sites that claim they know things about Christ, the Bible and the Faith, but there is a lot of confusion out there. When I find myself reading more from these sources than from the Bible, there is a problem. The Bible should be read far more than any articles online.
- Social networks that do not have practical value in “good” list above. Job networking is the main reason why I may try to use LinkedIn. Facebook is filled with the trash from people I knew in the past, such as their false religions, proud sins, and other things contrary to God.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that when I am bored online, I get into trouble! Like the television, I just close out reality, and let the bad information pour into my mind right through my eyes. This is a very bad precedent, and I need to move on from this. The Internet ought to be a tool I use, not an idol I worship.