인터넷 윤리의 신학적 토대와 실천과제에 대한 기독교윤리학적 연구

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the theological foundation and practical tasks of the internet ethics from the perspective of Christian ethics. Today, the internet has become an indispensible instrument for everyday life in our culture. As a result of spreading of the internet, the critical argumentation against the internet by the theological fundamentalists has decreased. Every church operates her own homepage and tries to utilize the multimedia for church education. However, we need a critical approach and an in-depth analysis in our church on the internet culture based on theology, because the internet is not a mere technical means but a cultural phenomenon, expressing new world-views and creating new communication methods. Especially, the internet causes many ethical problems such as internet addiction, computer crimes, pornography, spam-mail, hacking, cyber stalking, etc. Christian ethics should try to elucidate the socio-cultural and socio-political implications of the internet from the perspective of theology and help to overcome the ethical problems caused by a lack of morality in the use of the internet and its production. It requires a responsible ethical approach against the internet for the purpose of humanization instead of demonization or idolization of the internet. In the concrete, it should develop the netiquette on the side of the users, make a institutional regulations and laws for protecting the privacy and the socio-political equity, strengthen the ethical responsibility of the computer professionals, and enhance the global ethical consciousness of the internet users as well as the internet producer to meet the global needs of the internet.