In many ways the Linux community acts too much like creationists/fundamentalists, no matter what science comes up with there's a knee jerk "oh we're not all monkeys you devil worshipping bastards" reaction.
Linux zealots being equated with Christian fundamentalists? Yeah! I like it!!!
Elderfelder
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Windigo the Feral, name-calling is for those who do not have anything substantive to say.;-)
I would like to address the issues raised by WtF:
1. I must say that we all have agendas, not just the religious right (now, now, let's not have any name calling. BTW, who is mean-spirited?). For Christians to fight for what they believe is not, repeat not inherently wrong. It seems that the anti-Christian left thinks that to push their own agenda is virtuous; but for Christians to do so is somehow a violation of our precious "rights".
2. A "fundamentalist theocracy" is not the goal of committed Christians. Those who know American history know that the beloved "separation of church and state" principle, as well as the First Amendment, were created to prevent a situation like in European countries of the 18th century, where the head of state was also head of church. That church was the only sanctioned church, with all others in violation of civil law. Whether people like it or not, America was founded on Christian principles; and it was those principles that made America great. The subversion of those principles is what has brought us into the present morass in which we find ourselves. This subversion has largely taken place at the highest levels of society and government, as well as in the public school system.
If it is a "cult", engaged in brainwashing and mind-control, it is not Bible-based. I should know, I have studied the Bible in-depth. The Bible, and religion that is truly based on it does not need, nor should it resort to, these tactics. Only those who have nothing solid to offer need to coerce retention of members. Those, however, who offer the unadulterated word of God know that God offers every person a choice. True Christians extend that same choice to others. Go ahead, start a school for Satanist kids! Just don't deny me my rights to educate my own children in accordance with my beliefs.
4. "Beating the living hell out of kids" is an egregious wrong, abominable to God and to man. Spanking is not; it is far different from what the liberals want people to believe. True love disciplines. Discipline involves punishment tempered with that same love. Those who punish without love and those who coddle are both wrong. Respect must not be forced, nor bought. It must be earned.
5. A parent has rights to his/her child. The government does not. The parent has the responsibility to raise the child to be a responsible, productive person. To that end, we train children much the same way we train roses or tomatoes. Their natural inclinations are toward what is most convenient, and what is easiest. This, however, is far from the best. These inclinations must be trained out, and good character must be introduced. [rant] Of course parents would shield their children! You don't take a child to a hostile environment and abandon them, in hopes they'll find their own way home! You give them the tools and skills to judge (you hate that word, don't you) between right and wrong, and put them in an environment, a greenhouse of sorts, where they can flourish and grow in a good direction. Then you can turn them loose and they will make right decisions on their own. [/rant]
6. Do libraries, or any institution for that matter, not have the right to determine content on any computer owned by them, whether public access or not? If you want porn, pitch in with several other like-minded individuals, buy a PC, 21" monitor, DSL connection, and have a blast! I won't stop you! However, don't cry that anyone else's money has to provide this for you.
7. James Dobson is the president of Focus On The Family, not Bob Dobson.
8. Don't think that the liberal left "owns" Slashdot. You might have a larger presence, but don't co-opt their name.
9. If I was affiliated with the Family Research Council (I'm not), I would want to know how to make my software better. Wouldn't any programmer consider this a blessing?
10. I said all of this without calling anyone a name! Wasn't that splendid?
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
There's an old axiom that says that you can't always trust your friends to tell you the truth, but you can trust your enemies. Mr. Katz has some serious problems with this "Christian" shoot-'em-up, and so does the Bible. To this end I have two points to make:
1. The real threat to Satan is not some WWJD-emblazoned teen wearing down the "fire" button on the demon horde, but the Christian who takes seriously what it means to be Christ-like, being "in the world", but "not of it". We need look no further than the person of Jesus Christ. When confronted face-to-face with Satan himself, His personal purity and holiness were what overcame the devil. Please refer to Ephesians 6:10-17 for the true meaning of spiritual warfare.
2. I fear that this game and its emerging genre are a cheap substitute for living a 24/7 life of personal purity and waging a victorious battle against the real forces of darkness, away from the PC, in the real world. I suppose this game will be popular fare in the same churches that use WWF style "entertainment" as a ministry tool. We need to understand that the Bible teaches that "harmless" imitations of evil are themselves evil!
All God asks is that Christians "come out from among them and be separate", and then maybe Mr. Katz wouldn't have to write an article like this.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
Slashdot Mirror
In many ways the Linux community acts too much like creationists/fundamentalists, no matter what science comes up with there's a knee jerk "oh we're not all monkeys you devil worshipping bastards" reaction.
Linux zealots being equated with Christian fundamentalists? Yeah! I like it!!!
Elderfelder
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Windigo the Feral, name-calling is for those who do not have anything substantive to say. ;-)
I would like to address the issues raised by WtF:
1. I must say that we all have agendas, not just the religious right (now, now, let's not have any name calling. BTW, who is mean-spirited?). For Christians to fight for what they believe is not, repeat not inherently wrong. It seems that the anti-Christian left thinks that to push their own agenda is virtuous; but for Christians to do so is somehow a violation of our precious "rights".
2. A "fundamentalist theocracy" is not the goal of committed Christians. Those who know American history know that the beloved "separation of church and state" principle, as well as the First Amendment, were created to prevent a situation like in European countries of the 18th century, where the head of state was also head of church. That church was the only sanctioned church, with all others in violation of civil law. Whether people like it or not, America was founded on Christian principles; and it was those principles that made America great. The subversion of those principles is what has brought us into the present morass in which we find ourselves. This subversion has largely taken place at the highest levels of society and government, as well as in the public school system.
If it is a "cult", engaged in brainwashing and mind-control, it is not Bible-based. I should know, I have studied the Bible in-depth. The Bible, and religion that is truly based on it does not need, nor should it resort to, these tactics. Only those who have nothing solid to offer need to coerce retention of members. Those, however, who offer the unadulterated word of God know that God offers every person a choice. True Christians extend that same choice to others. Go ahead, start a school for Satanist kids! Just don't deny me my rights to educate my own children in accordance with my beliefs.
4. "Beating the living hell out of kids" is an egregious wrong, abominable to God and to man. Spanking is not; it is far different from what the liberals want people to believe. True love disciplines. Discipline involves punishment tempered with that same love. Those who punish without love and those who coddle are both wrong. Respect must not be forced, nor bought. It must be earned.
5. A parent has rights to his/her child. The government does not. The parent has the responsibility to raise the child to be a responsible, productive person. To that end, we train children much the same way we train roses or tomatoes. Their natural inclinations are toward what is most convenient, and what is easiest. This, however, is far from the best. These inclinations must be trained out, and good character must be introduced.
[rant]
Of course parents would shield their children! You don't take a child to a hostile environment and abandon them, in hopes they'll find their own way home! You give them the tools and skills to judge (you hate that word, don't you) between right and wrong, and put them in an environment, a greenhouse of sorts, where they can flourish and grow in a good direction. Then you can turn them loose and they will make right decisions on their own.
[/rant]
6. Do libraries, or any institution for that matter, not have the right to determine content on any computer owned by them, whether public access or not? If you want porn, pitch in with several other like-minded individuals, buy a PC, 21" monitor, DSL connection, and have a blast! I won't stop you! However, don't cry that anyone else's money has to provide this for you.
7. James Dobson is the president of Focus On The Family, not Bob Dobson.
8. Don't think that the liberal left "owns" Slashdot. You might have a larger presence, but don't co-opt their name.
9. If I was affiliated with the Family Research Council (I'm not), I would want to know how to make my software better. Wouldn't any programmer consider this a blessing?
10. I said all of this without calling anyone a name! Wasn't that splendid?
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
So, does this mean that all my cool Lego spaceships I built-then-took-apart are still there in a parallel universe...somewhere?
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
There's an old axiom that says that you can't always trust your friends to tell you the truth, but you can trust your enemies. Mr. Katz has some serious problems with this "Christian" shoot-'em-up, and so does the Bible. To this end I have two points to make:
1. The real threat to Satan is not some WWJD-emblazoned teen wearing down the "fire" button on the demon horde, but the Christian who takes seriously what it means to be Christ-like, being "in the world", but "not of it". We need look no further than the person of Jesus Christ. When confronted face-to-face with Satan himself, His personal purity and holiness were what overcame the devil. Please refer to Ephesians 6:10-17 for the true meaning of spiritual warfare.
2. I fear that this game and its emerging genre are a cheap substitute for living a 24/7 life of personal purity and waging a victorious battle against the real forces of darkness, away from the PC, in the real world. I suppose this game will be popular fare in the same churches that use WWF style "entertainment" as a ministry tool. We need to understand that the Bible teaches that "harmless" imitations of evil are themselves evil!
All God asks is that Christians "come out from among them and be separate", and then maybe Mr. Katz wouldn't have to write an article like this.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."