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Virtual Integrity
characters. Yes, there are times when anonymous posts or pseud
onyms make safety sense, and your accountability partner(s) can
help you figure out appropriate boundaries. The key to all of this is
openness, transparency of actions, preventing deceptive situations,
and not using anonymity as a means to evil.
In conclusion, practicing humble au then ticity on line will
strengthen your character and coun ter many of the tempting
strategies you will face in cyberspace. You will gain a healthy
understanding and confidence that dangers are often packaged
in new ways, and you’ll avoid cyber cliffs. At the same time, you
won’t fear the virtual worlds you do enter. Best of all, you will
receive blessings from above. “God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble.”53
Habit #7: Become a Cyber Ambassador for Good
Once an authentic Christian identity is clear, what should char
acterize our demeanor as we interact in cyberspace? How can we
make a positive difference on the Internet? If we don ’t place our
ultimate trust in technology to save us, what outward expressions
will help us maintain our virtual integrity and at the same time
help others online? The last habit is to become a cyber ambas
sador for good.
In a series of outstanding vision papers, Redeemer Presbyterian
Church in New York City provides an excellent model for us to
follow. The first paper lays out their key beliefs.
The gospel is the good news of gracious acceptance. . . . The gospel
is the good news of changed lives. . . . The gospel is the good news of
the new world coming. . . . This pattern creates an “alternate king
dom”or “city” (Matt. 5:14-16) in which there is a complete reversal
of the values of the world with regard to power, recognition, status,
and wealth. When we understand that we are saved by sheer grace
through Christ, we stop seeking salvation in these things.54
Redeemer’s last vision paper focuses on Christians and culture.
Far from running away in fear or hiding from others in the “big,
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