RFID, Sign of the (End) Times?

andy753421 writes "Wired is running an article featuring Katherine Albrecht who, with her new book 'The Spychips Threat: Why Christians Should Resist RFID and Electronic Surveillance', is warning that RFID tags may in fact be the "mark of the beast". Among her arguments are that in a futuristic world anyone who wishes to buy and sell goods would be compelled "to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads," as is foretold in the book Revelation. Others are skeptical saying that many new technologies, such as the printing press, bar-codes, and several others, have also created fears about the beginning of the end."

Comments

Fallacy

[XanC]

Just because those other inventions weren't the mark doesn't mean this one isn't.

Re:Fallacy

[Nutria]

And why the sobbing at funerals? Aren't they happy their loved ones went to be with Jesus?

The (original, non-commercialized) New Orleans Jazz Funeral recognizes this fact.

The band plays dirges while the casket travels from the Church to the cemetary. Then, from the cemetary to the deceased's house, the music is lively and happy, celebrating the fact that the deceased is now in Heaven.

Re:Fallacy

[porcupine8]

Why do parents cry when their child graduates high school or college? Aren't they happy their loved one will finally become a useful, productive member of society?

Of course they are, but they're also sad that the child is moving away from them. Most people crying at funerals aren't nearly as sad for the person as they are for themselves, having lost the person.

Re:Fallacy

[croddy]

It doesn't matter whether you are religious or not -- an identification system that can be read remotely and surreptitiously is a friend to no one but evil.

Re:Fallacy

[Thangodin]

The funny thing is that the whole book of Revelations is far more likely to be about events in the first century, with either Jerusalem or Rome being the Whore of Babylon and the Beast being the Emperor or the Roman Army. The Mark of the Beast probably refers to the tatoos that were given to slaves to mark them as such, usually in an easily visible place like the face or the hand. Early Christians also wore tattoos as a sign of their faith. Facial tattoos were sometimes worn by Roman Soldiers, although the Romans regarded tattoos as barbaric.

In fact, the Book of Revelations was a controversial addition to the early Bible, and several Bishops argued against including it in the canon due to the difficulty of interpreting it, and hence, its potential for abuse--particularly the type of abuse so typical of fundamentalists, who keep claiming that the end times are upon us. Other portions of the Bible specifically warn against doing this, because only God knows the time when the world will end. To this day the Eastern Orthodox Church does not consider it part of the Canon.

If you're a non-believer, like I am, all of this is moot--the whole thing is either about the world John lived in, or he got dosed with some grain ergot while in prison. If you are a Christian, however, steer clear of belief that these are the end times. It's a definite no-no in the religion. And if you believe in the Rapture, rest assured that the people who compiled the Bible would have denounced you as a heretic, and you probably would have ended up being used for sword practice by a Roman Legionnaire. This is a spin from the lunatic fringe on a single line of a book that almost ended up in the fireplace of history. It is also a morally corrosive doctrine because it undercuts personal responsibility, encouraging people to believe that God is going to solve all of their problems for them, kill all their enemies, and build them a whole new world.

Re:Fallacy

[Tom]

Why didn't anyone ever think to just explain it to them?

Because for much of history since then, they killed anyone who tried.

Re:Fallacy

[letxa2000]

Interesting that RFID usually seems to be part of the evil things Slashdot hates (Microsoft, SCO, patents, privacy violations with RFID, etc.), but as soon as it's brought up in a religious context, suddenly RFID is not evil... religion is evil and RFID is defended.

I love Slashdot, but..

[aychamo]

why are you guys posting articles by some flakey Christian who thinks progressive technology is the devil?

Re:I love Slashdot, but..

[MobyDisk]

Ooh, I have a non-troll answer to this one! It is a valid question.

Slashdot seems to consist of people who are equally interested in new technology, but also smart enough to be concerned about its effects. RFID could be very beneficial. And it could be very oppressing. While most Slashdotters probably don't believe that the number 666 will literally mean anything, or that it really matters which hand it will be or who the antichrist is. But they do heed the warning that it implies. The fact that it is a Christian mythology doesn't make it any different than if it was in a modern dystopian novel like 1984. Whatever sort of fiction it is, it was forward thinking and applicable now. And so, people will be interested.

Now, back to your regularly-scheduled trollish Christian-bashing replies.

So.. its RFID today is it?

[nurb432]

40 years ago, it was the 'social security card'....20 years ago people said barcodes were it.. in anoher 20 it will be something else... no need to panic.

Now if some guy with horns and a tail, and breathes fire, comes out waving an RIFD injection machine THEN you can panic..

oh cmon

[lpret]

Revelations is a perfect specemin of apocalyptic literature. Here's a good definition of such literature: Hermeneutics.

It's written to warn and to use descriptive language to explain what the future holds. The idea of head and right hand are frequently used to depict what we think (head) and what we do (hand). As such, in this particular instance, the warning is not when we have implants in our heads or hands, it's when we think and do evil things.

Interpreting apocalyptic literature as truth verbatim is not only stupid, it's dangerous.

Other Technology isn't readable without contact

[thegrassyknowl]

Others are skeptical saying that many new technologies, such as the printing press, bar-codes, and several others, have also created fears about the beginning of the end.

Barcodes and print can be covered. Credit cards and magnetic stripes have to be practically inserted into the machine to read em.... the field strength is too weak otherwise. If you keep em in your wallet your are safe.

All of the other technolgies that might be used to track your actions require you to willingly and deliberately use them. You don't have to use plastic to pay for purchasses is one example. Use cash.

With RFID tags, they can be read from within metres of you so anyone just passing by you on the street can access all of the tags on you if they like. Anyone outside your house can read all of the RFID tags on your household equipment, books, porno, etc and figure out a bit about you completely without your knowledge.

RFID is this technology that nobody really cares about except the people who would want to misuse it and the tinfoil hat brigade. Problem is that the tinfoil hat brigade will be made out to look like crackpots by the people who seek to abuse the technology.

Yes, it's very unfortunate...

[bADlOGIN]

That one group of Church leaders under the direction of then Roman emperor (Constantine) chose to include Revelations instead of The Apocalypse of Peter (see the APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS for all the rest of the stuff left out) when they were whimsically throwing together a collection of writings that they believed were correct according to thier power induced plans of what direction Christianity should go in a full 300+ years after Jesus was dead.

If only that had been arbitrarily put in and Revelations left out. We'd all be talking about how Jesus went to hell and that after the Apocolypse, if those who ascended to heaven asked to for clemancy for those in hell, it would be granted. Guess it just didn't have the fire and brimstone to keep the stupid peasants under controll that all the 666 bullshit and no redemption theme Revelations does.

The worst thing about modern so called "christians" is that they don't know thier own history.

Re:Crazy Cult Believes End of Times Coming

[donscarletti]

In this case, the cult is Christianity. If they were any other group, we'd be laughing at them. Unfortunately, they are large enough that their crazy belief system may cause trouble for the rest of us (yet again).

Christianity does not believe end times are heralded by RFID tags, some Christians do. That is what separates Christianity from crazy cults, since it is large and diverse enough to have people make up their own minds on such things. Cults need centralized leadership to tell its adherents what to do and what to believe, Christianity hasn't got a central authority and so its adherents are free to interpret the canon however they see fit and form groups where they share crucial facts of their interpretation. Most Christians believe the book of Revelation to be a non-literal message about what kind of persecution the church has faced and will face in the time between Christ's first and second coming, others believe it is an allegorical prophecy of the history of the thousand years after it was written in about 50AD and some (like the RFID nutter) believe that it is an allegorical prophesy of the thousand years before Christs second coming (whenever that may be). What almost all scholars agree on is that whoever the beast may be is irrelevant when one simply holds to the principles that the bible teaching when dealing with the beast as with dealing with anyone, thus finding the beast is pointless. Unfortunately, not all Christians are scholars and some like to draw shaky parallels and make accusations without merit.

I know I have just bitten a troll, but someone had to clarify it.

Re:Clarify this, Pilate!

[donscarletti]

I never said the roman catholic church wasn't a cult. If you confuse the roman catholic church with Christianity as a whole you are doing your understanding a grave disservice. As for the "Paul is a Roman spy" theory, I won't pretend that is the first time I heard it but I would like to see your evidence. For the first 50 years of Christianity almost all of its members were ethnically Jewish, many of whom were Roman citizens. And may I point out that most evidence seems to suggest that Paul was executed by the Roman authorities after spending much of his last few years in jail for illegally preaching, this doesn't seem like what the empire would do to one of their own. I would also point out that the Christian extermination policy never really started up until after Pauls death, until Paul, Christianity wasn't even on the Roman radar and if it was, it was largely tollerated by the Romans in Judea since it took people away from Judaism. By the time Christianity was first persecuted in earnest, doctrine was largely based around Pauls letters. This makes no sence whatsoever in the context of your theory.

Limbo (together with pergatory) however was never part of the bible, it was simply part of that pagan stuff that was folded in by the Roman church to allign it with other popular beliefs of the day, it is part of what protestant churches reject. The catholic church actually did the bible a service by getting rid of that dogma. I don't think you personally know what the bible says, how different churches interpret it. I think you should learn a little about theology and church history rather than a bunch of crazy conspiracy stories if you want to talk rationally about something.

I don't let my personal Atheism prejudice my study of faith, I don't see why you should either.