Christian wikis

The history of wiki websites specifically related to Christianity is much more recent than that of wikis in general. A wiki website is a site that allows users to add content, as on an internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content.

Wikipedia with hundreds-of-thousands of articles is the most well-known wiki website and is a testimony to the effectiveness of wikis in allowing exhange of information through collaborative effort. It contains thousands of articles related to religion. One of the criticisms that adherents to various religious groups have however is that in attempting to maintain a neutral point of view, some of the teachings of their religion can be "watered-down" or altered. These critics also state that the neutral point of view is in the eye of the beholder.

In recent years, in response to some of these criticism, small numbers of Christian wiki websites have been setup. The first religious wiki was Why Clubbet although this has been called a failure by some. Currently the largest Christian wiki is WikiChristian which aims to be a major reference site for all topics relating to Christianity. OrthodoxWiki, for the Eastern Orthodox church and Theopedia, for evangelical Bible-based Christians are two denomination-specific Christian wikis.

Why Clubbet

Why Clubbet was the first religious wiki. It no longer appears to be operating as it was originally.

WikiChristian

WikiChristian (www.wikichristian.org) is the largest wiki specifically related to Christianity on the internet. It was set-up in late 2004 by an American called Prab R Tumpati. Shortly after, it was joined by Graham Grove in Australia and from there the site has grown. It was set up in the hope that it would become a useful reference on any topic related to Christianity. Articles do not need to be of a neutral point of view - the author can voice an opinion as long as the author of the article makes it clear what his or her background is. It also intends to be a reference point for factual information, historical texts, song lyrics and personal testimonies of Christians.

Compass website

Compass at www.theconnexion.net/compassis a small wiki that has a distinct discussion forum feel. Users are encouraged to write down their thoughts about a particular topic. The website was set up by a minister in England called Richard Hall.

Theopedia

Theopedia at www.theopedia.com is a Christian wiki where users are expected to agree to a Protestant and Bible-based approach to Christianity. It was set up by an American from Ohio named Aaron Shaf.

OrthodoxWiki

OrthodoxWiki at www.orthodoxwiki.org is a wiki specifically for all issues related to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It was inaugurated in November 2004 and has grown considerably with many active contributing users.

CARMPedia

CARMPedia at www.carmpedia.com is a relative new-comer. It was set-up by the well-known Matt Slick, who is the founder of the popular Christian apologetics website CARM. It is similar to Theopedia in that users are expected to agree to a Protestant and biblically-based approach to Christianity.

AnglicanWiki

AnglicanWiki at www.theanglicanwiki.org is a small wiki dedicated to "attempt to codify the vast expanse of Anglicanism throughout time and space".

BibleWiki

The BibleWiki at bible.tmtm.com/ is a "project to build a wiki of information around the Bible". It contents include the KJV text, Easton's Bible Dictionary of 1897, the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1907, and the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906. (It is probably obvious from this that it does not expect the hold to an Evangelical Protestant perspective). Commentary is currently being seeded from Barnes.

ChristianMusic at WikiCities

ChristianMusic at christianmusic.wikicities.com/wiki/Main_Page is a new wiki set up to be a reference for all Christain music. It currently almost empty of content.

Wikible

Wikible is a Christian community focused on centralizing all data available relating to the Bible.

J6Dpedia

J6Dpedia at www.justsixdays.co.uk/site4/index.php/Main_Page is an online Bible commentary with a 6-day-creation viewpoint.

See also

Christian wiki sites