Through the development of social networks and online learning communities, distance education programs can provide spiritual formation just as effectively as the traditional classroom, an expert in online Christian education has argued. Dr. Mary Lowe, Associate Dean of Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity and co-author of Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth Through Online Education, said she’s often asked to identify how online spiritual formation differs from an in-person spiritual formation. Her answer is simple: It doesn’t. “Formation is formation,” she said. “At the time of redemption and salvation, the entire person is transformed and redeemed. It’s not just the spiritual component, it’s the social dimension, the intellectual, the moral, the emotional — all of those dimensions of the person are being transformed. We believe that goes to the heart of what it means to be spiritually transformed. Persons who are studying online or at home and dri...
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