Left behind?
Background
There's a new web service available. But, then, where isn't there one?
However, this one is curious, since it makes some
rather... far-reaching assumptions.
The site is, of course, You've been left
behind, a service by Christians for Christians. Specifically, it's
an on-line storage with an emailer function, where (if Rapture
happens) your messages will be beamed out.
They even have a Rapture detector. There's a bunch of people (five,
according to the site) that have
to authenticate to their back-end regluarly (every three days, I
believe they said). If three or more fail to authenticate for the
six concurrent days, out goes the e-mails.
Exercise in trust
This is an interesting exercise in trust. First, you have to trust
these people to actually authenticate to the site on a regular and
frequent basis. Second, you have to trust that at least 60% of them
are good enough Christians that they will be bodily taken to
Heaven. Third, you have to trust that no one can find out who they
are, because if someone can, it would be more than just a little
possible to detain three of them for six days. Fourth, you have to
trust the people to not intercept your stored data and make use of it.
There's a fifth unstated thing a subscriber would have to take on
trust (or faith, as it were) and that is that the whole Rapture
business (and in that, Christianity) is indeed how the world is.
My take on it
First, I don't think Christianity is more than a religion. It's got a
holy book, a multitude of factions (at times even warring factions)
and quite a few believers. I do not, however, think that it has any
application to the physical world. It may comfort people (most
religions do, it'd be hard to convert people if you didn't provide
some edge, be it comfort in a troubled world or a perceived higher
value than non-believers).
I don't think the people behind the site are more deluded than other
Christians. What they have done is, I believe, made as an expression
of faith. The IT equivalent of a vigil, if you want. They seem to
believe that they're providing a valuable service (and in a reality
where Christianity is an accurate description of reality, they would
be), but there are some risks with the whole service.
First, they encourage you to provide powers of attourney over your
worldy possessions, bank account authentication details and all sorts.
If there is a problem with the system and they prematurely send out
the data, it's not entirely good. There would be panic among other
believers ("what? rapture? why wasn't I taken?"). If an accidental
send-out happens, it would be hard to argue for compensation
afterwards, whoever nabs their cash has actually been encouraged to
empty out your accounts.
Secondly, you are placing identity data, bank account details and all
sorts of things in the hand of someone who doesn't have a legal
obligation to treat your private data with the tender care it should
be entitled to.
It is almost impossible to securely make a system where the owner of
the system cannot intercept what you store on the system. It's even
harder if it's a web service. Even worse if you can actually edit the
stored data.
Would I?
I don't think I would make use of this service, even if I was
Christian and actually believed in Rapture. Part of that is I would
have to trust computer systems. Sounds abit funny, but I
don't. Second is that I would have to trust the diligence of five
peopel who I have no idea about. I guess it might be different, if I
had a firm belief in the honesty and integrity of people based on
knowing their religion. I don't know
This is one of Ingvar's essays
By: David Thompson
2008-11-06 14:11
Entertaining! Thanks. One of your quotes struck me: "I do not, however, think that it has any application to the physical world." If you are referring to 'cultural Christianity', it certainly has been applied to the physical world in all sorts of ways at most only distantly linked to the actual teachings of Jesus (e.g., Crusades, the conservative evangelical Christian movement's goals in the US, etc.). If you are referring to the actual teachings of Jesus in the gospels, there are definitely some physical applications worth considering (regardless of your belief in the historicity of things). As examples, consider the 'turn the other cheek' teachings (e.g., Matthew 5:39) or the teachings on how to behave in seating situations (I think the 'take-home' message is on humility and pride) (Luke 14:10). Anyways... there is actually some thought-provoking stuff buried in the components of the Christian "Bible" commonly referred to as the "Gospels"...