Sermon index

As anyone who has searched will know, searching for sermons or Christian literature online can be a discouraging and time-consuming task. Though there are many wonderful and faithful websites, sadly, there is also much that is misguided, false, or blasphemous, often deliberately so.

Therefore, the idea behind a new Canadian-led website - www.sermonindex.net - is welcomed. The site aims to provide, in one place, an extensive range of Christian sermons. From Charles G. Finney to Charles H. Spurgeon, John Stott to Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Billy Graham to Iain Paisley, and George Whitefield to Watchman Nee; the website acts as a central database of sermons (mainly audio though some are written). The range of preachers is wider than that generally available on other websites, and therefore requires the listener to be more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of particular preachers.

At present the catalogue is limited, though still impressive. Five preachers have more than 100 sermons available - A.W. Tozer, Stephen Kaung, Leonard Ravenhill, David Wilkerson, and Carter Conlon. However, users (or 'posters' in cyber-speak) can upload material themselves, thus building a globally accessible storehouse of Christian sermons - in a sense, creating a Christian (and legal) version of the illicit Napster music website that proved so popular before it was shut down.

My impressions were not always so favourable. If users do not have the ability to play the audio material (in MP3 format), then they are confined to what is written, which is far less substantial. In tone, the website is charismatic; in doctrine, it is generally Arminian. 'Calvin' is a name greatly disliked in the chatrooms. There is also something distasteful about the star ratings and appraisals given by users to each of the sermons - in the same way that someone might rate a book on Amazon.com. What right do I have to judge the sermons of godly men?

Anachronisms

However, some wonderful sermons, evidently unpopular, stand without star or comment. The old, crackly, recordings of Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones are left free of judgement - although the quality of the sound does not always make listening easy. Beware too of anachronisms. Certain preachers may not sound quite as you would expect them to - e.g. here, as on other sites, Spurgeon has acquired a quite uninspiring, American drawl.

In other ways too, the site does not appeal. There is much glitz and too many superfluous add-ons, seemingly designed to deter a sober-minded viewer. Peel away the chaff - the league table of 'top posters', the webcam, the chatrooms, the appeals for money, and the petition to make a sister site one of the top100 in America - and the only substance is in the sermons. Directing a viewer to these sermons does not appear to be the central aim of the site (click on the 'downloads' option, secreted away towards the top of the page to find a list of preachers) and it was only after a few visits to the site that I discovered that there was a list of all the preachers. Up until then I had thought that the site was dedicated to Charles G. Finney, revival and the various advertisements on the homepage. Had I continued under that impression this review might well have turned out to be very different.

The question of what advertisements a Christian website should carry is itself an interesting question. Advertisements are often a very lucrative source of funding but do much to alter the whole tone of a site. Here they completely detract from the best parts of the site. Other very useful websites have succumbed to debatable advertising as well (e.g. a popular Christian site has long carried an advertisement that reads: 'Fulfil your ministry potential with a combination of God's call and a distance learning degree').

If you have the ability to download audio material on your computer then this site is worth a look. There are better and more useful sites, but many more that are worse.

Looking at a new Christian website

Anachronisms

Stephen Doggett

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