Considering that political commentator Bill Maher theologically describes himself as an apatheist (someone apathetic towards theism), I rarely agree with his views. Last week, while talking about Mitt Romney, he stated that Mormonism has more in common with Islam than it does with Christianity. This is a view with which I have agreed for some time.
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Category: Theology
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Similarities between Mormons and Muslims
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Response to Hawking on premier of “Curiosity”
Brilliant British cosmologist Stephen Hawking was the premier of a new Discovery Channel series called “Curiosity” last night. Part of his focus was why God is not necessary for the existence of the universe.
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Did I just see who I think I saw?
In the summer of 2005, I had an internship working with youth program at a church in Dublin, Ohio. Yesterday was the last Sunday service for that church’s pastor and associate pastor – two men for whom I have much respect. And naturally, I wanted to attend their last Sunday at the church and show my support as they both move on to new positions.
Now it is a Methodist church. One of the first things that happened in the service was that the pastor baptized a baby. Theologically, I’m not a proponent of baptizing infants. There are certainly a lot of people and a lot of denominations who would disagree with that stance, but that’s just what I believe. I don’t think that it has any negative spiritual consequences; however I think that the point of baptism is more geared towards people who already have faith, and not towards babies who are incapable of having faith (unless that baby is John the Baptist).
And so I sent a text message to a friend of mine poking fun at the fact that this church was baptizing an infant that morning. I was jokingly referring to the practice as something cultish and went as far as to speculate as to whether or not some sort of voodoo dance would be happening next.
So the church service continues, it was a great message. Afterwards, I was standing outside of the sanctuary trying to look around for familiar faces. I happen to notice a man wearing a beige, pinstriped suit. I also couldn’t help but notice his unorthodox hairstyle. Thought to myself, “Hopefully he doesn’t have a run in with the fashion police today. He’ll be doing hard time.”
I continued to look around the room, and see some changes that had happened to the church since the last time I had attended. Then I see the man in the beige suit again, and I see his face, look at him for a second, and a thought entered my mind.
“I’m pretty sure that is former Ohio State football star AJ Hawk.”
So I went on to do the logical thing, and as indiscreetly as I could, I held up my phone and nonchalantly snapped a picture. Looked down at the picture – fearful that when I looked back up I was going to have AJ Hawk sprinting towards me – and I was still unsure.
But I thought, “If that is AJ Hawk, I would assume his wife would be with him.” He is in a pretty high profile marriage. Hawk is married to the sister of former Notre Dame and Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn. Famously, in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl when Ohio State played Notre Dame, the camera constantly showed Laura Quinn (now Laura Hawk) in her half Ohio State half Notre Dame football jersey.Then I saw a woman who looked like Laura Quinn Hawk. Considering that the Quinn family is from Dublin, it seemed possible that they could be in attendance at this church. While I was still processing this in my mind as to whether or not they were the Hawks, whom do I see walk out of the sanctuary? Brady Quinn.
I could not believe it.
And then they left the church as I hurried to text one of my college fraternity brothers that I had just seen AJ Hawk and Brady Quinn.
So I eventually make my way over to the younger son of the pastor of the church: a guy who is a couple of years younger than I am, and who had been in the youth group when I worked at this church. I ask him, “Were AJ Hawk and Brady Quinn at church today?”
He says, “Yeah. Hawk has a baby and my dad baptized her this morning.”
I thought, “THAT WAS AJ HAWK’S KID WHO WAS BAPTIZED?!”
I could not believe it.
Not only did I see AJ Hawk’s kid get baptized, I was making fun of the practice of baptizing children while I was watching AJ Hawk’s kid get baptized.
Needless to say, if AJ Hawk ever happens to read this: he has a lovely family, and I think that it’s great that they value such a significant spiritual activity in the lives of their children.
Also, later that afternoon, the fraternity brother who I had texted when I saw Hawk and Quinn texted me back that a friend of his who works at a local golf course had just texted him that the two football players were both getting ready to tee off.
jrb
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Geolocations: the Future of Social Networking
(note: this is the first in a series of commentaries on social networking and geolocation technology)
Since the summer, Facebok and Twitter have both been announcing changes to get more involved in the geolocatoin tracking game. Today, Facebook mace several announcements pertaining to Places, the site’s location platform. Along with Google, all of these sites are pushing location updates more and more. The reasons are numerous, but many are uneasy about the idea of updating a GPS location online for all to see.
Is it safe?
To some, the answer seems like an obvious no, and for many others, there is an inherent uneasiness with the changes that are being made.
One thing is certain. There will be people who utilize geolocations for illegal and immoral purposes. To think anything else would be naieve. People have already used social networking site like Facebook and Twitter to commit crimes.
If a person updates their location, for instance that they are eating at a specific restaurant, the update is making one thing clear: If they are at a restaurant, then they are NOT at home. So can it be dangerous? Yes, but it can also be dangerous to have a job where you work the same hours everyday, and are predictably away from home at the same times everyday.
We shouldn’t live our lives in fear. People may use social networking sites for illegal purposes, but it’s not the fault of the site when they do it. It’s the fault of the criminal. Eliminating geolocation technology would not ensure a crime wouldn’t happen. It would simply mitigate a resource that a potential criminal would have. Anyone who has enough determination to do something illegal is going to commit the illegal action, regardless of resources.
I see numerous status updates of friends on Facebook and Twitter everyday that say things like “going to (insert name) mall,” or “grabbing coffee at…” If an individual says where they are in a status, then how is that any different than showing where they are?
Geolocation tracking is the future. I think there is value in embracing technology and where the world is going. Last month, Facebook reached over 200 million worldwide users who use the site through mobile phones, triple where they were a year ago according to the Facebook blog. In two years, smart phones will be as ubiquitous in America as regular cell phones are today.
We will be a nation of people with our own personal GPS devices. I see value in embracing where social networking is going, instead of cowering in fear and trying to remain cocooned from the world. I don’t understand the point of social networking if you’re trying to be fearful of a world where information is public.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe that people should ALWAYS have the right to determine what they post and what they make public. I also advocate for smart social networking. I don’t think updating a geoloco status from your home or a friend’s home is a good idea. Nor would I think it is a good idea to tag your location without thinking about what you’re doing: i.e. don’t Tweet, “Walking down that same dark alley that I always walk down alone at this exact same time on Wednesday nights with an unlocked briefcase full of money.”
I digress. And I realize no one would ever Tweet that. (You couldn’t, it was longer than 140 characters).
Considering as much emphasis that all of the major social networking sites are placing, as well as the increasing number of networking sites specifically created for mobile phones, it’s clear that Silicon Valley expects geolocation to be big. There will be bumps in the road at times, but I think there is a lot of good that can also come from this expanding technology.
For people who are concerned, I can’t fault you for being uneasy about geoloco. But I believe that if you look into the technology, there are ways to do it safely.
jrb 11/3/10
