Tuesday, June 2, 2015

What does the Bible say about "Blogging"?

As an active reader of the Bible I know that there are many issues that the Bible is silent about.  Some actions are morally neutral and do not merit commentary from the Bible.  Examples might include favorite sports teams, drinking from the bottle verse decanting to a glass, shaken vs. stirred.

There are other issues that, while not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, are subject to its guidance.

One of the factors that makes the Bible a robust instrument for guiding moral behaviors is that it includes enough context so that its guidance can be extrapolated to technologies that did not exist in Biblical times.  The Bible often tells us WHY in addition to WHAT.  In other instances, the objects being discussed are sufficiently distinct that one can safely generalize.  An example of this is Deut 20:20 Rules of siege....trees

Are the trees of the field human beings, that they should be included in your siege? However, those trees which you know are not fruit trees you may destroy. You may cut them down to build siegeworks against the city that is waging war with you, until it falls.

A fruit tree is an element of critical, durable infrastructure.  It might take half a generation to come into bearing.  It would be easy to destroy those trees in the passion of war...camp fires...war engines.  But then the livability of the besieged city would be vastly diminished by the damage inflicted upon the city's resource base.  It would become a prize not worth having.

That verse can be generalized to something like:  "Even when in the grip of anger, do not inflict damage that will impair any person's long-term ability to feed their family"  Don't destroy his tools.  Don't diminish his professional credibility.  Don't email his computer a virus.


History rhymes


I am currently chewing my way through the book of Ezekiel.  The following text is very heavily trimmed to eliminate redundancy and to make it easier for the casual reader.

From Chapter 7, starting about verse 10...

The day is here! Look! it is coming! The crisis has come! Lawlessness is blooming, insolence budding; the violent have risen up to wield a scepter of wickedness. But none of them shall remain; none of their crowd, none of their wealth, for none of them are innocent.  The time has come, the day dawns. (Does this sound like any of the cities that have been in the news?)
The buyer must not rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is coming upon all the throng....They fling their silver into the streets, and their gold is considered unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them on the day of the LORD’s wrath. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their bellies, for it has been the occasion of their sin. (Sometimes interpreted to mean that commerce will cease with a minor riff on gluttony.)
In their beautiful ornaments they took pride; out of them they made their abominable images, their detestable things. For this reason I will make them unclean.(Tats and piercings?)
I will hand them over as spoils to foreigners, as plunder to the wicked of the earth, so that they may defile them. I will bring in the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to their proud strength, and their sanctuaries will be defiled. (Who owns US debt???)

From Chapter 9
...and the LORD said to him: Pass through the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark an X on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the abominations practiced within it. ("...grieve and lament"  Sounds like bloggers to me.)
To the others he said in my hearing: Pass through the city after him and strike! ... do not take pity. Old and young, male and female, women and children—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone marked with the X.

So, there you have it.  Only bloggers will be spared in the coming apocalypse.

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