COMPUTERIZED CHRISTIANITY

What I don’t like about computers is that they do what I say and not what I mean. Example: I mean to hit the “control” button but hit the “CAPS LOCK” BUTTON AND ALL OF A SUDDEN GIANT LETTERS DOMINATE THE SCREEN. i LOOK AT THE SCREEN AND SAY, “tHAT’S NOT WHAT i MEANT!” AND i correct my mistake.

Now I know I shouldn’t be so hard on the mACHINE (OOPS, DID IT AGAIN). After all, it’s just a tool. It can’t read my mind (though considering what it cost, it should at least keep me from making the same mistake over and over). A computer computes. It doesn’t think. It doesn’t question. It doesn’t smile, shake its monitor, and say, “Max, Max, I know what you are trying to do. You don’t intend to be hitting the delete button, removing the very letters you want to keep. If you’d look at your screen you would see that. But since you won’t and since you and I are good friends and you leave me plugged in, I’m going to give you what you need and not what you request.”

Computers don’t do that. Computers are legalists, impersonal pragmatists. Push a button and get a response. Learn the system and get the printout. Blow the system and get ready for a long night.

Computers are heartless creatures. Don’t expect any compassion from your laptop. They don’t call it a hard disk for nothing. (Even the shell is hard.)

Some folks have a computer theology when it comes to understanding God. God is the ultimate desktop. The Bible is the maintenance manual, the Holy Spirit is the floppy disk, and Jesus is the 1–800 service number.

Call it computerized Christianity. Push the right buttons, enter the right code, insert the correct data, and bingo, print out your own salvation.

It’s professional religion. You do your part and the Divine Computer does his. No need to pray (after all, you control the keyboard). No emotional attachment necessary (who wants to hug circuits?). And worship? Well, worship is a lab exercise—insert the rituals and see the results.

Computerized religion. No kneeling. No weeping. No gratitude. No emotion. It’s great—unless you make a mistake. Unless you err. Unless you enter the wrong data or forget to save the manuscript. Unless you’re caught on the wrong side of a power surge. And then … tough luck, buddy, you’re on your own.

Religion by computer. That’s what happens when …

you replace the living God with a cold system;

you replace the ultimate sacrifice of Christ with the puny achievements of man.

When you view God as a computer and the Christian as a number-crunching, cursor-commanding, button-pusher … that is religion by the computer.

God hates it. It crushes his people. It contaminates his leaders. It corrupts his children.

__________________________
from And the Angels were Silent
Copyright 1992 Max Lucado

Manny PACK-ee-owww!!!

I am a boxing fan since i was a kid. I remember watching Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson and even the Filipino Dodie Boy Penalosa with my dad and neighbors.

Yesterday was like going back 15 years ago when almost the whole of Sunday, I was glued on the television with my brother-in-law and Joy (without any choice but to watch with me. :-) ). It’s worth it.

They even find it hard to pronouce his name, but as what a San Antonio, Texas based portal said, “Now, the world knows”.

I’ve never saw Manny so fast and so powerful as yesterday’s fight, at the expense of what the world considered the best featherweight, Marco Antonio Barrera.

I just hope Manny will keep it cool — fame could destroy harder than a punch if never contained.

Beat Credit Card Fraud!

We were planning to open an e-commerce site. But with how things are going on right now in as far as credit card fraud is concerned, I have to think twice. YesPinoy, thru the help of NBI, caught 3 guys for suspicious online transactions. And now, MyAyala.com, one of the biggest Philippine based e-commerce sites, recently asked the NBI’s help. They said, they too are experiencing credit card fraud.

How to beat credit card fraudis a serious task.

Secured in Grace

In Romans 8, Paul asked 4 questions.

1. Question of Protection “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (8:31)

2 Question of Provision – “Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?” (8:32)

3. Two Questions about Guilt and Grace – “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.” (8:33,34)

4. The Question of Endurance – “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?” (8:35)

THE ANSWER:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.(8:38,39 NIV)

Communities of Grace Fellowship – Nov. 8, 2003

How to really win any election in the Philippines

Funny by true, there are factors that make a candidate win in an election. But in the Philippines, these factors are most often do not involve the real qualification of a good candidate. Kung sino ang popular, panalo! Kaya mag showbiz ka nalang. At least, our site, Election2004.PHilippines tries to break this mentality by providing adequate information on the candidates.