It would be nice as Christians though to keep his gifts to the planet in perspective…very well made technology that could have been used for the glory of God. The only problem is…it can also be used, and is often used, to work against God especially with His young children. If we really wanted to honor the great work of Steve Jobs, how about we eliminate internet porn for starters so his inventions can be used for much more good than evil?
You might be thinking to yourself, “Has Father Athanasios gone out to lunch? What’s the big deal? It’s not like we’re praising Hugh Hefner.” My perspective is one of Orthodox Christianity. All sin is the same and when someone has been given a gift by God and doesn’t praise God with it, it should be a cause for somber reflection on a wasted gift rather than how fast I get to update my Facebook status.
But who am I fooling? The American God is wealth and prestige and Steve Jobs had both, so I guess…let the praise of Saint Steve of Apple continue….
3 comments:
This is an interesting account of Steve Jobs, pointing out both the positive and negative impact of his work. Regarding internet porn, however, I think it is society rather than the internet that is to blame. I would be more likely to attribute the spread and acceptance of porn to poor parenting, the entertainment industry, and permissive public schools. Also, I think porn can be addictive. Anything can be abused. Christians can get involved in activist organizations that address the molestation of children, and pray. I appreciate your concerns and priorities; and I thank you for a thought-provoking post.
Aunt Melanie,
My comment about porn is really more about how Steve Jobs' work has been used for so many negative things that (to my knowledge) he never spoke against. I agree with the idea that it is more a society issue but a society must first agree that a common morality is a potential. I no longer think this is light of the selfish "Me Generation" trends I continue to see in society.
Father Athanasios,
I think that I have a better understanding of what you meant. Just today, on a TV news program, I heard about an Apple iPhone APP that enables people to track where their friends are calling from. Well, what happened is that a man tracked his wife's phone call and she was not calling from the location at which she claimed to be. She was at a different location and cheating on her husband. Without the tracking device, the husband would not have discovered her infidelity.
It would seem that Apple (and other companies) have used their genius to invent novelty and create a market for it, while apparently not having any concern for the potential abuses or side effects. It reminds me of the cigarette manufacturers which used to add more addictive nicotine to cigarettes--to maintain a market. Actions (and inactions) like these, combined with a lack of a common morality base, produce extreme familial and societal problems.
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