I have often wondered what Marshall McLuhan has to say to theologians, and Christians. One man who has been asking these questions for a few years now is Shane Hipps. He is one of the few voices out there actually dealing with the theology of media. Shane argues that Incarnation is the Media in Christianity. Flesh and blood is the way God chooses to work... This idea is powerful but has a tendency to look at community that is not "flesh and blood" as counterfeit. In the following video he explains why. For another perspective on the question look at what Chris Ridgeway is doing over at "Jesus Under Plastic" I myself have an "virtual community" I love dearly... All of you are a part of it! So are all my facebook friends, Reddit.com/r/Christianity folks are a part of it, facebook seems to hold it all together, and of course Twitter. I have Three questions for Shane: 1) You rightly say History is required for community. However I fail to see HOW virtual communities LACK a history. Many of my friends online are people I have had a long history with. Some I have been talking to me for years though we haven't met. Some I talked to for years and were instant friends when I moved to Chicago. Others were friends I had from Michigan but I now only see online. 2) You talk about "message boards" but fail to take into account how we can now have "face to Face" contact over the Web. When my wife and I are apart we video Chat and play boardgames online Just like we do at home. It feels like she's still with me even though she might be hundreds of miles away. I understand that we could not sustain a healthy marriage indefinitely that way, but why not a friendship and a community? 3) Why is Proximity contingent on "flesh and blood"? A simple question, that probably has no easy answer. So do you agree with Shane? Take a look at the video!