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 response to some of these criticism, explicitly Christian wiki websites have been set up. The majority of them adhere to a specific Christian denomination or tradition, including most that claim to be non-specifically "Christian" in nature. They tend to fall into three categories, Online Bible encyclopedias (of varying completeness and denominational emphases), general Christianity wikis without a specific denominational slant, and wikis devoted to a specific Christian denomination or tradition.
Contents
Bible Encyclopedias
BibleWiki
BibleWiki is a "project to build a wiki of information around the Bible". It contents include the text of the King James Version, Easton's Bible Dictionary of 1897, the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1907, the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906. It is now starting to add commentary texts as well. It aims towards the scholarly approach, rather than denominational doctrines. BibleWiki is produced under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
BibleWiki.net
"The Bible Wiki is a so-called wiki with a lot of information about the Bible. Or in traditional terms, it's a Bible encyclopedia. Throughout all articles in this wiki, it is assumed that the Bible is true. Or, as you might rephrase it, it assumes the point of view from the Bible. This is a sharp contrast to projects like Wikipedia which assumes a neutral point of view (NPOV)." It appears to presume Protestant canon.
TheWikiBible
"TheWikiBible at TheWikiBible.net exists for a single purpose: create an online Bible commentary and encyclopedia that is accessible, collaborative, definitive and, over time, exhaustive." TheWikiBible is produced under the GFDL. It might or might not actually have more than a single article. It has no index and the table of contents has a single entry.
Wikible
"Wikible is a Christian community focused on centralizing all data available relating to the Bible." Its contents are apparently determined from a Protestant standpoint, given that it explicitly rejects any authority for the Apocrypha. Some of its contents include Easton's Bible Dictionary, the Jewish Encyclopedia, text of the King James Version, the text of the New American Standard Bible, and more. Wikible is produced under the GFDL, except for copyrighted works such as the NASB and other copyrighted Bible translations.
General Christianity and Christian Theology Encyclopedias
TheoWiki
TheoWiki is a general theological wiki with Christian emphasis but claims to be different in that it is not "distinctively Christian". As of January 2006, it is apparently inactive.
Why Clublet
Why Clublet has been described as "the first religious wiki". It appears to have been converted to a personal wikiblog.
WikiChristian
WikiChristian claims to be the largest wiki specifically related to Christianity on the internet. It was set-up in late 2004 by an American called Prab R Tumpati and by Graham Grove in Australia. It aims to be a useful reference on all topics related to Christianity. Articles need not be neutral in viewpoint as long as the article is clearly marked as an opinion. WikiChristian uses the GFDL.
Specific Denominations or Traditions
AnglicanWiki
AnglicanWiki is a small wiki dedicated to "attempt to codify the vast expanse of Anglicanism throughout time and space".
CARMPedia
CARMPedia was set-up by Matt Slick, who is the founder of the Christian apologetics website CARM. It adheres to a specific form of Evangelical Protestantism
Compass
Compass is 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. It currently appears to presume acceptance of the doctrines of mainstream Protestantism.
CreationWiki
CreationWiki is a Christian apologetics encyclopedia focused on creation science. It was inaugurated in June 2004 by the Northwest Creation Network.
J6Dpedia
"...Just Six Days Encyclopedia, otherwise known as J6Dpedia. It is an online encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. It will contain articles that defend the Christian faith, or contribute towards its defense. In particular, it is intended to develop an online one-volume Bible commentary." It currently appears to adhere to the Evangelical Protestant expositional tradition.
MormonWiki (.org)
This wiki outlines the history, doctrines, and culture of Mormonism from the perspective of Evangelical Protestantism.
OrthodoxWiki
OrthodoxWiki 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.
Theopedia
Theopedia is a conservative Calvinist theology wiki. It generally adheres to the doctrines of the Reformed churches. It has over 1,000 articles and its claimed strengths are in biographies and general theological topics. Theopedia is under the GFDL.
Tulipedia
A wiki dedicated to the Calvinism.
WikiCath
WikiCath is a new and fast growing Catholic wiki founded in January of 2006. It does not require neutrality but it does require that all articles are as faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church as possible
External links
Bible Encyclopedias
General Christianity and Christian Theology Encyclopedias
- TheoWiki
- Why Clublet (defunct)
- WikiChristian
Specific Denominations and Traditions
Note to users: The wiki is currently operating in safe mode. Editing is limited to users with certain privileges in order to deal with spam. You can create a new user account, and confirm your email ID in order to obtain ability to edit pages. Learn how to be an editor or sysop at WikiChristian.
- Sister projects: WikiMD.com Wellness Encyclopedia & Directory
- Sponsors: WikiChristian is supported by W8MD's medical weight loss and sleep centers.
