Morality of Church Keylogging

HappyHope said:

**Update/Clarification: This includes home networks unconnected to church networks except when tithing online.

I want to present the case of the morality or immorality of churches using keylogging. This is a technology that records every key stroke one makes on their computer. Some companies and institutions can legally keylog employees on work computers but there are also illegal methods and situations where keylogging is used too.

I have come across churches using keylogging not just for those in church leadership or their volunteers but for regular church attenders. They then take their findings and tweak sermons according to the information gained. I can see pros and cons.

Pros: Monitor youth/children's ministry volunteers for the safety reasons. Monitor other church leaders concerning habits that could jeopardize their ministry (adulterous digital footprints/ abundant orders of alcohol suggesting alcoholism...etc... The argument could be made if you have nothing to hide, you should not object to keylogging. Pastors would be more in touch with the goings on in their congregations in order to customize sermons and biblical passages.

Cons: Human Nature tends to abuse power even with good intentions. Pastors and church leaders might misinterpret keylogging data. Perhaps pulpit taunts could happen over differences in the theological nonessentials unrelated to salvation. Or extreme cases where keylogging data is misinterpreted and innocent individuals are removed from their ministry calling without any understanding of why and little to no room for biblical recourse as in Matthew 18 because their "trial" was secretly completed behind closed doors over misunderstood keylogging data. Also, any keylogged information like personal struggles with one's body or emotional health are recorded for church keyloggers. Financial calculations are available for keyloggers to view too. Pastors perversely flirting with or flaming congregants over keylogged information.

My view: I know it's a new world and technology can be a help or a hindrance. Personally, keylogging unsuspecting church attenders seems like an intensely intimate violation even for completely innocent Christian targets. But I can see how some would argue for the use of keylogging today for safety and accountability in the church. I would love to know what other Christians think.

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Hazelelponi said:

If churches are hacking other people's computers they have far more to worry about than moral issues as they would be actively breaking the law.. (both a crime and a sin).

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Most people post everything they do and think on Facebook though, and that is public once posted. It's no crime to pay attention to church members' Facebook and other social media pages to see the kind of people they are and the things they are openly engaging in.

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