There are now bibles online where you can click for different versions, different
translations, different interepretations, historical context, etc.
The same is true, or will be soon, for other faith's holy books as well.
Will there come a day when people bring their laptops (or smaller devices) to church?
They can claim that they are looking up things in their online bible.
Some will indeed be looking up bible passages.
Some will be balancing their checkbook.
Some will be reading blogs.
Some will be looking at porn.
Will the church need to deal with this?
If it does not distract others (and smaller devices won't) than perhaps not.
But the notion of looking at porn while you are in Church is troublesome.
How does this compare to the laptops-in-classroom debate that we had
here?
-
Nothing I have said here is particulary to Christianity-- All
faiths will have these problems. I wonder when it will come up
and how they will deal with it.
People could have been looking at porn, on paper, for centuries. The marginal benefits of having multiple study tools available discreetly and instantly during a service will, for many people, outweigh the marginal cost of extra porn in the church.
ReplyDeleteI think the most trouble will come from people finding heresy (for whatever value of heresy) online, leading to debate within the congregation much more often.
Instead of "Are laptops appropriate in church," how about "Is this post appropriate for a blog called 'Computational Complexity'"?
ReplyDeleteIf this blog has too many more off-topic posts, I will no longer read this blog or recommend this blog to others. I doubt that I am the only one who feels this way.
But the notion of looking at porn while you are in Church is troublesome.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it troublesome ? I am all for encouraging this sort of behavior -- might be finally we will be able to get rid of this scourge called religion and porn will accomplish what Marx could not.
Seconded, I vote for more porn in churches, whether on computers or paper.
ReplyDeleteBill—
ReplyDeleteThere are already iPhones in church. No point bringing the big iron and making a spectacle of yourself.
Whats with the posts on religion recently? I don't particually care what goes on in churches and religious services, I'd prefer not to open that black box. They can handle themselves, they've already pulled off the biggest scam ever, I'm sure they can handle technology issues.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anonymous #1. This blog used to be much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when you feel a need to fill every day with something. The last time I suggested there didn't need to be a blog post every day I was attacked. Maybe they should to change the address back to weblog.fortnow.com to match the content. Maybe we should just stop checking the blog. Maybe there will be a blog post by Lance and Bill telling us how they see their blog.
ReplyDeleteCome on Guys. Bill is discussing
ReplyDeleteabout Church and porn.
Any blog which mixes these
two together is very
interesting.
I am curious why this sudden outburst against off topic posts should be raised when (somewhat) religious topics are posted. Those whose blood boils on seeing Lance and Bill post on religious topics (if you think objectively) seem unwilling to allow religious freedom in society --- the same freedom that allows atheists to live and speak freely.
ReplyDeleteYou are free to walk away from a blog. I for one, want this blog to be written by scientist (who are fundamentally human and must have the freedom to speak about topics that they find interesting).
while there are many so called "off-topic" posts, i don't really mind this. however, bill and lance have VERY DIFFERENT POSTS.. in every imaginable way.. it's almost like TWO blogs in one..
ReplyDeletewhy don't you guys split it up?
or at least have different feeds. i won't specify names but I for one enjoy exclusively only ONE of the authors posts.
why don't you people get a life or watch more porn instead of telling other people how they should manage their blog?
ReplyDeletePeople who write blogs want people to read them. To the posters who say things like "you don't have to read it" and "don't tell them what to do with their own blog" I would say "the reader can give comments so that the blog authors know what some of their readers think" and then the authors get to learn about their audience.
ReplyDeleteIs there such a thing as false advertisement in the land of the web log? If my blog were called "Knitting for Fun" and all of a sudden half of my blogs weren't about knitting or anything relating to the knitting world would the name of my blog constitute false advertising? Some of the off-topic things are interesting but I can see the root of some of the frustration being expressed.
ReplyDeleteIn my weekly Bible studies, one participant downloads and reads the day's verse on his G-phone (here G stands for Google not God). Little strange at first, but a lot easier than lugging a Bible around. I also wonder if he always has the Bible verse up, but so far, no one has caught him looking at the news, email,....or porn :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I bring my laptop to the education hour. Accordance is wonderful. Lots of translations, original languages, commentaries, fast searches, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm also inclined to wonder a bit about all the kvetching from anonomous commentors. Maybe that's just me.
"All faiths will have these problems."
ReplyDeleteI think I can say with confidence that the Orhtodox-Jewish community will not run into this problem...