Violence in the Age of Technology: Theological Reflections on Cyber Crime.

Abstract

It is generally believed that our societies are becoming more and more violent day by day. This is indeed not entirely true in that there are certain violent deeds that have subsided while other have been on the rise. This can be observed in the current age of information technology more so fashioned over the internet and related telecommunication services and gadgets. This paper debunks violence in terms of cybercrime from a theological reflection. With the escalated expansion of globalization and advancements in information technology, digitalization is an invaluable tool that is transforming the private, public, and professional lives of people; both Christians and non Christians. Virtually, people depend on the internet and digital devices from communication to business transactions and so on. There are millions of websites and blogs offering various services and information to the population enabling people to acquire the readily available massive information. As much as we celebrate and enjoy the technology, it equally has liabilities due to cyber violence perpetrated by fraudsters, conmen, hackers, and other cyber criminals. Concerns such as impersonation, forgery, falsification, fraudulent representation, and presentation of facts as well as counterfeiting are common parlance, but the implication is adverse. Most internet users are vulnerable to traps set by conmen. The crimes are real as elucidated by the two personal examples given in this paper. People and governments are losing millions of monies daily through advance free fraud. It is prudent for Christians not to wait until one becomes a victim in order to acknowledge the risks and become vibrant participants in the mitigation of digital crimes.