Mac Musings
Daniel Knight - 2001.04.13 -
There are a lot of parallels between Macintosh evangelism andreligion, an issue which has come to the forefront this week thanksto Rodney O. Lain's 'Fallacies ofChristianity' piece on Applelinks. But this time the focus ison the Christian faith and church more than on the Macintosh.
Rodney is an iconoclast. (The term refers to those who destroyedimages in the Roman Catholic churches during the Reformation andalso to the earlier IconoclasticControversy in the Byzantiine church.) He knows where he standsand states his position without mincing words. You've gotta respectthat.
You've also gotta understand what the church did to him: Theyencouraged him in ministry, grew jealous of his success, andexcommunicated him. Excommunicated. They cut him off from thechurch, from fellowship, from the Lord's table.
- Nov 28, 2020 - 'In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.' -Brennan Manning. See more ideas about tobymac speak life, speak life, life quotes.
- The Wolf Among Us, Episode One: Faith for Mac. The Wolf Among Us, Episode One: Faith for Mac. $24.99 Telltale Games Mac OS X 10.6/10.7/10.8/10.9 Version 1.0 Full Specs.
Okay, that's Rodney's spin on things; I'm sure his former pastorwould tell a very different story. Still, I'm inclined to believeRodney's tale is closer to the truth, because I've comeface-to-face with an ugly truth the church is loathe to admit: Thechurch is flawed.
FAITH is a pixel horror game inspired by the era of MS-DOS, Apple II, Atari, and ZX Spectrum classics. 'A truly eerie horror game.' - IGN 'Aside from being well-drawn, this is a well-paced, well-written, tense and fairly scary horror game.' - PC Gamer 'A remarkable game.' - Rock Paper Shotgun 'FAITH puts a fresh spin on spiritual horror' - Rely.
Sure, we confess our need of salvation on Sunday and our needfor grace, but we like to pretend our fear and pride stop at thechurch door. Sorry, but it just isn't so. Churches are imperfectand filled with imperfect people, from the pastor on down.
When the dysfunction reaches the point of church discipline, youhave three choices: grin and bear it, find another church, or turnyour back on the whole lot of hypocrites. If the dysfunction isinstitutionalized in the leadership of the church, staying reallyisn't an option.
For reasons that remain unclear to us many years later, my wifeand I were put in a similar position by our previous church. We'dbeen members for years and were both actively involved in ministry.We knew there were some unspoken problems, but we avoided churchpolitics.
Evil can twist the good, just as Satan tried to tempt Jesus byquoting Scripture. 'Jump! God won't let you stub your toe.' In ourcase, the church had used the Network program developed by WillowCreek Church to help us discover our style, our gifts, and ourpassions. Mine is building communities. My wife's is buildingfamilies.
Of course, with the Network results in our file, when theleadership decided it was time for us to move on, all they had todo was attack the things that were most important to us. In ourcase, they attacked us as parents using exactly the phrases asocial worker (Linda) would see as most damning. They attacked hercore; our family never attended that church again.
We spent months trying to find a comfortable church - and endedup in one with several other refugees from our previous church.
It's not the same. In some ways, it's a whole let better. Theydon't condemn people and attack kids for being different; they love'em and minister to 'em. But I miss my choir and other aspects ofour old church. Still, after the way they tore into my wife,there's no way we can go back while the present leadership isentrenched.
(Since leaving, we've talked with many other individuals andcouples who have been 'nudged' out of that church. The pattern issimilar: someone perceives a threat, cuts to the core, and drivesyet another 'troublesome' family or individual away. It seldom, ifever, comes to excommunication; we leave first.)
So Rodney went through a period of disillusionment. Count on it.It hurts being betrayed by 'the body of Christ.' On one level, itgives us some idea how Jesus felt when Judas betrayed him with akiss.
I'm not going to debate theology with Rodney. There's no point.You don't make disciples that way, but you can deepen the riftbetween God's child and God's community.
At core, you either go on believing that God exists, call it alla lie, or try to ignore the issue. If God exists, you continue totrust him, but you've grown wary of his followers. It's not the waythe church is supposed to be, but what do you expect from humanbeings?
Unless you turn your back on God, you trust that all things willsomehow work out for those who trust him - sometimes against allevidence to the contrary. You hope, but you also know betrayal. Youtry not to let the bitterness grow within you and turn your warmfaith to ice.
Rodney's experience with churches was far more negative thanmine. Then again, some traditions are a lot more into authority andcontrol than others - as are some people.
I grew up in a tradition that tried to teach us to think andlive as Christians. As is true of all organizations, some followedlike sheep and some learned to find their own way within the faith.I'm now two steps removed from that tradition, deeply appreciatethe good that came from it, and see the shortcomings even moreclearly from the outside than I did on the inside. It's a goodtradition, but I've found another that fits better.
What About the Mac?
Yeah, the church can be abusive, but they're far from unique inthat regard. Look at all the sheep who use the OS with 63,000 knownbugs, fears and laughs about the blue screen of death, and thinksreinstalling the operating system is just part of the computingexperience.
Yet for the most part, people stay with the state church,following the faith of their IT staff. Few are willing to becomeProtestants, whether Lutherans, Baptists, Calvinists, Pentecostals,etc.
Even among Mac users, we may not be safe. There is the OS Xcult, which condemns those who don't jump right in as luddites.There is the Traditional Mac OS faction, which just wants things towork as they always have. Here there are even cults of System 6 andSystem 7 fans. There is the power cult, which can't comprehend howanyone could still be using a Quadra, let alone a Mac Plus. Andthere is the Compact Mac cult, which things everything larger thanthe Color Classic was untrue to the original Macintosh vision.
At the same time, we tend to be pretty civil in ourdisagreements - at least until someone says something nice aboutMicrosoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, or even(shudder) Windows. That's been the cause of more flames on theLow End Mac lists than religion,politics, handguns, and other 'off topic' subjects.
In the words of Rodney King, 'Can't we all just get along?'
Looking at the history of the fragmented Christian church, myanswer is, 'Probably not.' But we should still hold that as animportant goal.
Ifaith For Mac
Links
- Weaning you offthe Kool-Aid™: Fallacies of Christianity and the Macreligion, Rodney O. Lain, Mac Spirit, Applelinks, 04.09
- What is good about the 'Mac religion'?, David Schultz,Applelust, 04.11.
- Testimony andCredo: A reply to Rodney O. Lain, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks,04.12.
Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Google+, or subscribe to our RSS news feed
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, andhas been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Lombard PowerBook G3, introduced 1999.05.10. This was the first PowerBook with USB, first to hit 400 MHz, and trimmed almost 2 lb. from WallStreet
Recent Content
- Go to our home page for a listing of recent content.
Product Description
Abraham, Enoch, and You!
Life-Changing Lessons From the Heroes of Faith
Rodney is an iconoclast. (The term refers to those who destroyedimages in the Roman Catholic churches during the Reformation andalso to the earlier IconoclasticControversy in the Byzantiine church.) He knows where he standsand states his position without mincing words. You've gotta respectthat.
You've also gotta understand what the church did to him: Theyencouraged him in ministry, grew jealous of his success, andexcommunicated him. Excommunicated. They cut him off from thechurch, from fellowship, from the Lord's table.
- Nov 28, 2020 - 'In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.' -Brennan Manning. See more ideas about tobymac speak life, speak life, life quotes.
- The Wolf Among Us, Episode One: Faith for Mac. The Wolf Among Us, Episode One: Faith for Mac. $24.99 Telltale Games Mac OS X 10.6/10.7/10.8/10.9 Version 1.0 Full Specs.
Okay, that's Rodney's spin on things; I'm sure his former pastorwould tell a very different story. Still, I'm inclined to believeRodney's tale is closer to the truth, because I've comeface-to-face with an ugly truth the church is loathe to admit: Thechurch is flawed.
FAITH is a pixel horror game inspired by the era of MS-DOS, Apple II, Atari, and ZX Spectrum classics. 'A truly eerie horror game.' - IGN 'Aside from being well-drawn, this is a well-paced, well-written, tense and fairly scary horror game.' - PC Gamer 'A remarkable game.' - Rock Paper Shotgun 'FAITH puts a fresh spin on spiritual horror' - Rely.
Sure, we confess our need of salvation on Sunday and our needfor grace, but we like to pretend our fear and pride stop at thechurch door. Sorry, but it just isn't so. Churches are imperfectand filled with imperfect people, from the pastor on down.
When the dysfunction reaches the point of church discipline, youhave three choices: grin and bear it, find another church, or turnyour back on the whole lot of hypocrites. If the dysfunction isinstitutionalized in the leadership of the church, staying reallyisn't an option.
For reasons that remain unclear to us many years later, my wifeand I were put in a similar position by our previous church. We'dbeen members for years and were both actively involved in ministry.We knew there were some unspoken problems, but we avoided churchpolitics.
Evil can twist the good, just as Satan tried to tempt Jesus byquoting Scripture. 'Jump! God won't let you stub your toe.' In ourcase, the church had used the Network program developed by WillowCreek Church to help us discover our style, our gifts, and ourpassions. Mine is building communities. My wife's is buildingfamilies.
Of course, with the Network results in our file, when theleadership decided it was time for us to move on, all they had todo was attack the things that were most important to us. In ourcase, they attacked us as parents using exactly the phrases asocial worker (Linda) would see as most damning. They attacked hercore; our family never attended that church again.
We spent months trying to find a comfortable church - and endedup in one with several other refugees from our previous church.
It's not the same. In some ways, it's a whole let better. Theydon't condemn people and attack kids for being different; they love'em and minister to 'em. But I miss my choir and other aspects ofour old church. Still, after the way they tore into my wife,there's no way we can go back while the present leadership isentrenched.
(Since leaving, we've talked with many other individuals andcouples who have been 'nudged' out of that church. The pattern issimilar: someone perceives a threat, cuts to the core, and drivesyet another 'troublesome' family or individual away. It seldom, ifever, comes to excommunication; we leave first.)
So Rodney went through a period of disillusionment. Count on it.It hurts being betrayed by 'the body of Christ.' On one level, itgives us some idea how Jesus felt when Judas betrayed him with akiss.
I'm not going to debate theology with Rodney. There's no point.You don't make disciples that way, but you can deepen the riftbetween God's child and God's community.
At core, you either go on believing that God exists, call it alla lie, or try to ignore the issue. If God exists, you continue totrust him, but you've grown wary of his followers. It's not the waythe church is supposed to be, but what do you expect from humanbeings?
Unless you turn your back on God, you trust that all things willsomehow work out for those who trust him - sometimes against allevidence to the contrary. You hope, but you also know betrayal. Youtry not to let the bitterness grow within you and turn your warmfaith to ice.
Rodney's experience with churches was far more negative thanmine. Then again, some traditions are a lot more into authority andcontrol than others - as are some people.
I grew up in a tradition that tried to teach us to think andlive as Christians. As is true of all organizations, some followedlike sheep and some learned to find their own way within the faith.I'm now two steps removed from that tradition, deeply appreciatethe good that came from it, and see the shortcomings even moreclearly from the outside than I did on the inside. It's a goodtradition, but I've found another that fits better.
What About the Mac?
Yeah, the church can be abusive, but they're far from unique inthat regard. Look at all the sheep who use the OS with 63,000 knownbugs, fears and laughs about the blue screen of death, and thinksreinstalling the operating system is just part of the computingexperience.
Yet for the most part, people stay with the state church,following the faith of their IT staff. Few are willing to becomeProtestants, whether Lutherans, Baptists, Calvinists, Pentecostals,etc.
Even among Mac users, we may not be safe. There is the OS Xcult, which condemns those who don't jump right in as luddites.There is the Traditional Mac OS faction, which just wants things towork as they always have. Here there are even cults of System 6 andSystem 7 fans. There is the power cult, which can't comprehend howanyone could still be using a Quadra, let alone a Mac Plus. Andthere is the Compact Mac cult, which things everything larger thanthe Color Classic was untrue to the original Macintosh vision.
At the same time, we tend to be pretty civil in ourdisagreements - at least until someone says something nice aboutMicrosoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, or even(shudder) Windows. That's been the cause of more flames on theLow End Mac lists than religion,politics, handguns, and other 'off topic' subjects.
In the words of Rodney King, 'Can't we all just get along?'
Looking at the history of the fragmented Christian church, myanswer is, 'Probably not.' But we should still hold that as animportant goal.
Ifaith For Mac
Links
- Weaning you offthe Kool-Aid™: Fallacies of Christianity and the Macreligion, Rodney O. Lain, Mac Spirit, Applelinks, 04.09
- What is good about the 'Mac religion'?, David Schultz,Applelust, 04.11.
- Testimony andCredo: A reply to Rodney O. Lain, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks,04.12.
Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Google+, or subscribe to our RSS news feed
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, andhas been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Lombard PowerBook G3, introduced 1999.05.10. This was the first PowerBook with USB, first to hit 400 MHz, and trimmed almost 2 lb. from WallStreet
Recent Content
- Go to our home page for a listing of recent content.
Product Description
Abraham, Enoch, and You!
Life-Changing Lessons From the Heroes of Faith
Faith. It's not a message or a movement. It's the only way to please God. That's why it is important to understand what faith is, how God sees it, and how you can strengthen yours.
Whom better to learn principles of faith from than the Bible's 'Hall of Famers'—people recognized for their faith in Hebrews 11? In this first volume of Mac Hammond's series on faith, you'll find out:
- Why Cain's sacrifice did not please God (and why Abel's did)
- How Enoch's walk with God demonstrated His faith in God
- The similarities between Noah's covenant and our covenant with God
- The three phases of faith's operation
- Faith's greatest enemy
Ifaith For Mac Download
Understanding how faith operates is vital to Christianity. As it says in Hebrews 11:6, 'Without faith it is impossible to please Him' (KJV).
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Take a step toward pleasing God—learn life-changing lessons from the heroes of our faith.
