Authority and Christianity Online

The internet is full of both positives and negatives.The access to information is very helpful, however that information is not always accurate, which presents a problem. This problem is made visible when looking at Christianity online. The site, Web Church, exists to provide support and resources to Christians. On their site they have a forum where many questions are asked, however the problem is that the people responding lack credentials, and when looking at Christianity through the medium of this blog alone, it appears that this religion lacks any authority structure. Cheong states religious authority is eroded by online religious activity. Cheong also goes on to say that  digital media is framed as an erosion of power for traditional institutions and leaders. (pg. 5) On the Web Church site I found a Christian asking questions regarding Baptism. One of the users who replied to her started off their sentence with  the words,"I'm no scholar, but what I do know is...I'm no scholar, but what I do know is that baptism is only a symbolic ritual, it's not necessary to go to Heaven.". The problem with these online forums is that you have people with zero credentials spooning out information that could very well be wrong. A devout Atheists could get on this site and post information that sounds believable. The internet does undermine authority of the Christian church and information found through this medium should be scrutinized for accuracy.