“Man Arrested For Playing Pokemon Go In Church Found Guilty In Russian Court.” That’s one headline of many reports last week about a blogger who went into a Russian Orthodox historic cathedral with the clear intention to play Pokemon Go inside. He actually made a “profanity-laced” video of his actions and posted it on YouTube. He was found guilty of “inciting hatred” and “insulting the feelings of religious believers.”
The blogger had expected to go to prison, and had prepared for it—packing books, clothes, and other articles. He was well aware that his actions were against Russian law. But he doubted whether anyone would actually be arrested or convicted. He got his answer. The prosecution had recommended prison time, so the suspended sentence was a great relief. Even though he apologized for offending believers, he still did not think that what he did was wrong.
I am not about to propose that some similar laws be enacted in the United States. I do not think playing a digital game inside a “holy place” warrants an arrest, and possible jail time. But I do think that actively and intentionally being disrespectful of other people’s beliefs is unacceptable.
Now it is easy to condemn the blogger’s actions. But I also started wondering whether believers unintentionally do something similar. I am not thinking about desecrating a holy place with unacceptable actions. I am thinking more about how we conduct ourselves when believers are gathered for the purpose of worshipping our Lord.
It is hard to ignore that less believers bring printed Bibles to the place of worship. A Bible app in smartphones is becoming the norm. No longer do we turn pages. We swipe the screen of our phones. Using the Bible app can be convenient. In addition to the biblical text, we also have Bible dictionaries or other study tools. We can also use our phones to type in our sermon notes. We can have all these in one handy gadget.
But there is a down side. Our smartphones also have other apps (like games) and are able to access the Internet. And we have notifications for emails and social media posts that could distract us while gathered for worship. So, perhaps it is valid to wonder … When a person is swiping on the screen of her phone during worship, is she following along in the reading of the biblical text, or is she reading a recent Facebook post? When a person is typing something on his phone, is he taking sermon notes, or is he writing an email or text message?
This is not a call to police one another when we gather to worship, but a call to remind ourselves to focus on the reason why we are gathered and be smart in the use of our gadgets in worship.
—Keith Y. Jainga