Christian Cyberspace Companion

Christian Cyberspace Companion. By Jason D. Baker. 2d ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997, 250 pp., $15.99 paper.

With the impact of cyberculture upon the evangelical Christian community, Jason Baker's provision of a guide to the basics and configurations of the electronic environment for applications in mission and ministry is a welcome addition to the literature. Attempting to address the novice user and to a lesser extent the experienced online searcher, Baker seeks to present the issues and strategies for effective and efficient use of the electronic resources available to the Christian community.

After a brief introduction to the "New Frontier," which lauds the possibilities of cyberculture for Christians, Baker proceeds to answer "FAQs" (Frequently Asked Questions) gleaned from lists posted on the Internet. Most of the questions are introductory in nature, and experienced searchers will most likely find them too elementary. However, the addition of the FAQs is an improvement from the first edition (1995) and should have been expanded to include more advanced FAQs.

The bulk of the text is a practical "how-to" approach to assist the novice Christian cyberspace user to access and retrieve pertinent information via the Internet. Subjects covered include TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), WWW (World Wide Web), FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and IRC (Internet Relay Chat). A selective glossary, which has been updated since the first edition, assists the reader in identifying the numerous acronyms and vocabulary of cyberspace. The discussion of commercial online services and Internet service providers is necessarily restricted to the major companies, but comparative information on Christian resources, proprietary information and pricing is very helpful.

Certain editorial changes from the first edition may be questioned, considering the novice user is the primary audience for whom the book is intended. For example, condensed discussions of Christian bulletin boards and USENET groups should be expanded with step-by-step instructions. Similarly, Telnet, FTP and Gopher, while needed less frequently, nevertheless deserve detailed treatment to be practically useful. The chapter on "Tourist Attractions" gives detailed descriptions of selected Web sites and "Netiquette" provides courtesy rules and shorthand jargon for online communication. "Publishing on the Web," however, lacks sufficient detail to help actually write HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) programs apart from purchasing recommended software. Expanding Appendix B ("HTML Quick Reference") to include more detailed instructions related to publishing on the Web would correct this deficiency.

The added discussion of the "Internet Red-Light District" is to the point, but should refer the reader to broader moral and ethical discussions such as Douglas Groothuis' The Soul in Cyberspace (Baker, 1997), Jeffrey Zaleski's The Soul of Cyberspace (HarperEdge, 1997) or David Lochhead s Shifting Realities: Information Technology and the Church (World Council of Churches, 1997). In fact, the entire book would be strengthened by further documentation and a suggested reading list. To his credit, however, Baker provides numerous references via Web sites with URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) that are interspersed throughout the text. The outstanding Christian Internet Directory with URLs is highly commendable, and the latest updates are provided at the Christian Cyberspace Companion Web site (http://bakerbooks.com/ccc or http:// www.goshen.net/). One only wishes that annotations for the sites in the directory had been provided as in the first edition.

Christian Cyberspace Companion contributes to the literature of evangelical Christianity and the electronic environment by providing a more detailed introduction than Quentin Schultze's Internet for Christians (Gospel Films, 1995). For experienced users engaged in scholarly research, however, Patrick Durusau's High Places in Cyberspace (Scholars, 1996) is clearly the better choice. For comparison see the Highplaces Web site (http://scholar.cc.emory.edu/scripts/highplaces.html). Many may find Baker and Durusau together as the best way to cover the cyberworld for the Christian community.

Keith P. Wells

Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Dec 1998
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