Pastoral challenges in the context of interpersonal relationships on the internet

Abstract

From the Middle Ages until the beginning of the Enlightenment, culture and cultural activity were understood as a service to God’s cause. Societies that emerged from Christianity, however, are currently described by the model of secular and lay culture. Today's man demands autonomy from God for himself and for the society that surrounds him. Man has taken on the role of his own savior, and yet he realizes that being alone is not enough for him as the "center of his own being". On the contrary, he always strives anew to "connect with others around him" (Scruton, 2002, p. 94 – 101). The question of relationality, i.e., the degree of depth of interpersonal relationships opens up even in the Internet environment, in which each of us already "exists". So, if we recognize that our online existence is an existence in its essence, exploring its character must be crucial for us. The paper deals with selected theoretical starting points that characterize the concept of pastoring an individual on the Internet. The subject of the study is the presentation of current pastoral challenges in the context of the individual's online relationships with others.