the internet is leaking
December 25, 2007 @ 12:51
I hope everyone has a great day today regardless of if you are celebrating the holiday or not. If you are celebrating Christmas then spare a thought for if this Jesus guy actually did what the Bible says he did, what does that mean for you?
Have a good day people!
Posted in Christianity
December 8, 2007 @ 19:16
The Catholic League in the US has called for a boycot of The Golden Compass, the film based on Philip Pullman’s novel Northern Lights.
I had the chance of seeing the film this afternoon and enjoyed it. The story is fairly predictable (in the film anyway) and the trailers I had seen ruined some of the twists and turns for me but this didn’t detract overly from my enjoyment of the film. The main reason I went to see it, to be honest, was for the CGI which met far exceeded my expectations. I wish my grandparents were still around so I could show them some of the imagery that we can create with computers now, I think they’d be pretty blown away.
Apparently the novels are a lot more directly anti-Church but this doesn’t really seem to come across in the film. From what I’ve read from Wikipedia even the novels aren’t that controversial, being more anti-dogma and encouraging free thought rather than blind adherence to what those in authority tell you. I don’t find this to be a negative message really at all, in fact I think it is a good one to give to our children.
When I’ve worked with children I’m always amazed by those who seem to want kids to stop thinking and just accept what they are told. This is the way to mental stagnation and the decline of the sciences and, ultimately, halting the advances in our society.
I want to try and read the books for myself rather than relying on second-hand summaries but, as far as I can see, Philip Pullman doesn’t attack my faith but he challenges me to form my own beliefs rather than relying on others to find the answers for me . There was another guy who liked to criticise and rebuke the guys in authority around 2007 years ago. It’s his birthday soon….
Posted in Christianity
December 5, 2007 @ 23:37
Some stuff happened a few weeks ago which put a sour taste in my mouth about my blogging. Those who follow my posts regularly can probably work out what it was but I’m not going to say anything explicitly.
I’ve been toying around with the ideas of free speech the last few weeks and how free is free enough. I don’t have the right to make rascist insults or violent threats. Is this a bad thing or simply sensible?
I was reading James the other day and it talks about the tongue being “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” and sometimes I feel mine is certainly like that. So much of we say can upset others or make us look foolish. How does this affect free speech though?
“Sticks and stones will break my bones but words shall never hurt me” is told to children in the UK. This can’t be further from the truth. The question is not whether free speech can be a bad thing; it is clear it can hurt and cause damage, violence and hatred, but what limits we put on it and what sacrifices are acceptable in its name.
There was some controversy two weeks ago with two controverisal speakers at an Oxford debate being allowed a free platform to speak at the prestigious university. Some claim this gave legitimacy to their views and furthered their movements. Also we saw Aaron Seigo ask for people to give constructive criticism rather than just “sucking lists” for the KDE4 release and there was some heated discussion about whether this was a fair ask or not.
Even although these two discussions probably hurt some people and annoyed others I feel both were beneficial. Abraham Lincoln once said “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt” and I feel this is pertininet in these days when free speech is under discussion and heated debate fills the internet.
If you try and force people not to say certain things; be they complaints, rascist comments or denial of history then these views don’t simply die, instead they tend to occur behind closed doors and cliques and this is far more dangerous than being aware of them. The best way to confront idiotic or bigotted views is through public debate where they can be reasoned with rather than ignored.
With this in mind I personally think anyone should be able to say what they want, where they want and to whom they want. If it isn’t true, if it is offensive then they should be verbally repremanded but I don’t believe words and ideas should be punished simply for being.
With this in mind I’m glad to see the amount of heated discussion that occurs on Planet KDE and elsewhere on the internet. It may appear brash or rude but people only argue when they care and I think KDE is lucky to have a bunch of developers that cares so much about the software being great, even when sometimes their methods of vocalising it could be improved.
Posted in Christianity, My Life
October 28, 2007 @ 05:03
I just had a great but unexpected evening of discussion with new friend. He’s a Catholic and was also at boarding school so we have a fair amount in common to discuss.
The first thing we were talking about is the bizarre way in which some people will behave in a working environment. I’ve always found people sucking up or tow toe the line a bit odd but it seems even stranger that some people intentionally misrepresent themselves at work; somehow hoping that this will be more likely to result in a promotion or recognition. Perhaps this results from society seemingly viewing how high you are on the work ladder and/or having a fancy title as being more important than actually being respected for your ability at your job.
As Christians we are also very good at misrepresentation. Frequently this is the misrepresentation of the core message of Jesus.
Check the following verses from Matthew 22:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
This is Jesus’ message. This is Christianity. This is what every Christian should be focusing on every single minute of every single day and in their every single action. Why, then, do we add to this simple message?
I think this is because this message is so easy to recite but so hard to live. It is easier for us as Christians to judge others (and ourselves) according to rules selectively plucked from the Bible, not concerning ourselves that their meaning varies depending on their context or if they a relevant to our lives.
If we as Christians worried about this simple love (of God and other people) would people like Richard Dawkins really be complaining about the damage caused by our religion? Or instead, perhaps, would those who did not share our faith be glad for our contributions to the world.
Love God. Love People. This is what Jesus asks of Christians. How about we stop worrying so much about the other stuff and just get on with that instead?
Posted in Christianity, My Life