As Attila Dimedici stated, I don't think it's Christianity you originally believed in (or, if you did, you had no understanding of your faith). Christianity acknowledges that we are all imperfect - nobody is safe from sin. It is only through the saving grace of the Lord that one is "made pure." However, nowhere...NOWHERE...does the Bible say, "Okay...you're saved. Now, sit around on your ass acknowledging how great you are until it's time to die." That is a twisted misinterpretation by people who want to do what they want to do. And, unfortunately, it makes an entire faith look bad.

In actuality, books like James make the call (54 times in 108 verses, as a matter of fact) to live a life that represents the faith you believe in. There is no need to live in guilt, due to the saving grace of God, but there is ALWAYS room for improvement in a person's life. (Some of the topics include: giving into temptations, responding to trials, putting faith into action, taming the tongue, etc.)

In any case, you have already made your decision, and probably don't care what I have to say. Maybe this will be useful to someone else who thinks they know what Christianity is about.

It saddens me to see that you were modded Insightful. The GP's question is very far off and would never work for a wide variety of reasons. However, your flamebait response against religion shows your lack of knowledge of what religions embrace. The fact of the matter is, any major religion, and anybody practicing such religion, realizes that humans, as a whole, are a pretty messed up bunch. Nobody is immune from the tragedy that is human nature, and I have seen this acknowledged by many people who practice their faith. More often than not, it is those who don't understand the concepts of a sinful or selfish nature that think an idea expressed in the GP's post will work.

And, as an aside, removing religion would not end the wars, genocides, judgement, etc that pervades our cultures. Religion provides a focal point more often than not because of the topics it attempts to address. However, if you removed religion from this world, I can guarantee you that something else would quickly take its place. The problem isn't religion...it's people.

If you truly think this way, then you are extremely naive to the nature of people. You could *attempt* to eradicate every bad thing that ever existed, but that would not remove the selfish nature the pervades an individual's mind. Humans will still kill, steal, pillage, destroy and hurt others because that is one aspect of our nature. Some call it "original sin" or "self-preservation" or whatever else, but the fact of the matter is that it's there. You have to remember, all that history had to start somewhere. There was a time in which nobody "knew" about genocide...yet it still happened. By removing all references to history (including aspects of an excellent novel like Huckleberry Finn), we only do a disservice to the history that has been lived by previous generations and miss out on the rich (if imperfect) history that permeates our cultures.

Sorry. The iLike device is patented by Apple. My guess is you will soon be hearing from them.

Thank you. This is a point I did not make, but really wish I had. A heretic will wash, rinse, and repeat over and over and never actually change anything.

I would argue that you haven't tried to fix the system. You just bitched and complained. "Offering ideas" really means nothing most of the time - EVEN if you are offering them to the person who has the absolute go-ahead to get things done (which, even a president or CEO doesn't have that kind of power).

The fact of the matter is, if you REALLY wanted to change something, you would have to do the work yourself. You may have to do it in your own time at times. Anything else is...well...just complaining.

False. Very false. It's human nature to think, "Everybody else is a moron and I could do better." The fact of the matter is that EVERYBODY thinks that and you are everybody else to everybody else.

The "Heretics" who complain about a company being run by morons are rarely (read: never) coming from the standpoint of actually understanding what is involved with runny a company. Any company of any reasonable size (read: bigger than 10 people) is going to have imperfect aspects to it. It's the nature of working with people (who are also imperfect). As a result, there will always be flaws in the system. Any reasonable person understands that. A good employee will even do what he or she can to improve that aspect of the system. However, a "Heretic" (of which I work with two) will spend his or her time complaining that he or she could do a better job without ever doing anything. The lack of action, first of all, is extremely unhelpful and actually damages a team or company because everybody else begins to buy into the mindset. (In my experience, Heretics tend to be extremely vocal.)

I'm of the opinion that the REAL issue with a Heretic is a combination of a smart person (who knows a lot), combined with a know-it-all attitude (but they don't know everything...even though they think they do)...who wants COMPLETE CONTROL of the system. This last part is the critical component. Any company of any size...even one of five or more people...cannot be run by a single person. There is not enough time in the day. However, the Heretic only THINKS they can do a better job on their own. The sad fact of the matter is that this (generally) smart person sounds like a whiner and a complainer and, in the end, may actually be a detriment to the company.

In one sense, I think the question "Have we entered an era in which electronics serve as mother, cop and coach because we can't manage our own desires?" is flamebait, but, on the other hand, it does pose an interesting question.

First of all, using technology to help humanity - whether it is something major, like producing more/better food, or something minor like making sure we can wake up at the correct time in the morning - is what it is. It's the growth of technology. So, in that respect, nobody is doing anything different than any other person who has had technology...it's just different technology.

However, I find it interesting that the summary posts a question about managing desires. While I know everybody likes to think they are more special than anybody else, and that THEY have no problem managing their desires and wants and needs, all you have to do is pick out any person out of a crowd and there were be SOMETHING that they struggle with. Eating too much. Spending too much. Pornography. Too much time in front of the TV. Overexercising (yes, I know someone who does that). Smoking. Drinking. Whatever. Everybody has something that brings them a great deal of pleasure - so much that they go overboard with it.

So, the question is, is it a bad thing to use this technology that we have at our disposal to get in control of some of our foibles? I would say no. For example, I have a friend who looked at a great deal of pornography. While he enjoyed it, it was greatly affecting his marriage because his wife couldn't live up to the standards he was setting in his mind. In addition, he also neglected his marriage due to his addiction. So, my friend began to use an application on his computer which monitored his web browsing habits. It blocked him where it could, and would email out a weekly email to his wife, myself, and his mother (!!!) regarding websites he visited. When he would screw up, we would be able to call him out on it.

Now, you could say, "Weakling. He should have managed his own impulses." And, I know he wanted to. He knew he was destroying his marriage and didn't want to do that, but, the ease of pornography access was too great for him to resist. He had to control it. Using that application helped a great deal and, after some counseling, he and his wife are happily married. (And, yes, I still receive weekly emails.)

In any case, I think making a statement like, "Have we entered an era in which electronics serve as mother, cop and coach because we can't manage our own desires?" is not only flamebait, it's also seriously judgmental and unrealistic. I do think none of these things should be FORCED on anybody...but there is absolutely no shame in using technology to help control or manage a part of your life that you need help with.

Ah...but you seem to be forgetting that the South Seas is where the investments are at! Never mind that we don't have a business plan...it's the south. And it's the seas. It must be worth something!

I tried to do that too, but he's pretty good-natured and rarely gets angry.

I highly doubt that realityimpaired is blocking Zynga to "stick it to the man." More likely, he wants to block Zynga because he hates seeing all the messages and advertisements coming up on his News Feed all the time. It's easier to block an entire publisher than block said publisher's 50 games.

Actually, I think rules about opening a spouse's mail would be called "Laws of the Letter."

Try the veal...etc, etc.

I don't know if I would call it "puppy-dog." I actually get a little freaked out every time I see his face on Wikipedia. I have kind of stopped visiting anymore because the eyes just follow me...

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