OFB Community Mailing Lists

[Don Parris]

On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 16:48:02 -0500, Alvin Smith <email at alvinsmith.com> wrote:
> Brothers,
> 
> Please forgive me if I am out of order here.
> 
> I have two issues:
> 
> 1.  Our response to B Gates.
> 2.  Our response to MS vs Linux.
> 
> As Christians, does anyone disagree that our response to BG is to love him?
> Matt 5:48.  Verbal abuse gets us nowhere.  The World responds this way.  We
> however have been called out. to respond in a decidedly differrent manner,
> like Christ.  How does the use of verbal assault against BG promote the cause
> of Jesus Christ or the concept of "Kingdom Building"?
> 
> Our enemy is not BG, nor is it MS, nor is it any flesh.  Eph 6:12.
> 
> How can we maintain that one OS is evil and another is virtuous based on men
> and their motivations?  How many know that Linus is an atheist?  Software is
> just a tool that is to be used for the glory of God and for the building of
> His Kingdom regardless of the licensing philosophy.
> 
> Before you drive a nail, do you always stop to contemplate the motives of the
> maker of the hammer?
> 
> Yes, I choose Linux.  Not because I hate MS, but because I believe it is
> better.  I also believe it is the best choice for the Church as well for many
> reasons.
> 
> II Cor 5:18-20 surely guides us in our response to the machinations of the
> world system.
> 
> peace,
> --
> Alvin Smith
> 
Thanks for bringing this up.  It's actually very timely.  I have
wrestled at length with the moral question raised by Stallman, and
others, regarding free software.  You are absolutely correct that our
real enemy is Satan, rather than Mr. Gates, per se.

While I do not share the animosity that some seem to hold towards BG,
I am aware that he and his wife (through their foundation) have
contributed a tremendous amount of money to organizations whose values
conflict with mine, specifically, Planned Parenthood.  Microsoft, as a
corporation, has also contributed to the same organization.

Additionally, Microsoft has, in fact, been found guilty of several
violations of the US Legal Code, and possibly that of other countries
as well.  Were this a local contractor, would you continue to do
business with them?  Hardly!

Finally, they develop proprietary software.  I know it's legal to do
so in this - and most countries.  So is gambling, drinking, and in
some states, prostitution.  Just because it's within a business'
rights to develop proprietary software, doesn't mean it's o.k. from a
moral perspective.  I pray for their business, as they are likely to
lock themselves out in the long run, if they are not wise.

Stallman & Torvalds could be viewed in a light similar to Cyrus, or in
the modern era to O. Hobart Mowrer - one of the "psychologists" who
debunked much of Freud's theories.  Dr. Jay Adams spent the summer
with him, and subsequently developed nouthetic counseling.  Adams
makes clear that Mowrer's secular "confession" falls short of the
biblical standard.  In other words, we can learn much from the heathen
- God uses them too, ya know.

As to the attitudes some of us display towards the spiritually blind,
well we've all got some growing to do.  And you're right - we could
demonstrate a more loving attitude towards our fellow man.

-- 
DC Parris GNU Evangelist
http://matheteuo.org/
gnumathetes at gmail.com
Free software is like God's love - 
you can share it with anyone anywhere anytime!