FSJ on the iPad: Sad but true...
Apr/04/2010 19:32
It’s no secret, I’m an Apple user and am known to enjoy using Apple products for most of my computing needs. (That’s an understatement - see my side bar) Some have claimed that I fall into the category of Apple “Fan-boi” although I disagree. Tonight however, something so sarcastic, yet so profound literally dropped into our laps and cannot be ignored. I’m speaking of today’s ironic, caustic, yet utterly profound blog post from the pen of “fake Steve Jobs.” 
Fake Steve (otherwise known as Dan Lyons), known for his witty and abrasive writings wrote about Apple’s iPad in such a way today that seemingly makes my point better than I could myself. It’s what Christians have been saying all along yet no one believed us. It’s something that Apple has locked onto better than any other American company in recent memory; the promise of fulfillment through technology. Fake Steve said,
“But let’s get back to you people who are waiting in line. I mean it’s not like you’re in Bolivia and there’s just been an earthquake and you need to line up to get food and clean water. It’s not like you’ve time-traveled back into the Depression and you’re waiting in line at a soup kitchen. And yet, in fact, that’s exactly what you’re doing. Spiritually speaking, we are living in the Great Depression, and you are waiting in line for sustenance.”
And again,
“The truth is, this is all about spiritual emptiness. That is why you’re standing in line. Except for Scoble, who is an attention whore and just doing it to get attention.
The truth is, all over the world, across every culture, there exists a sense of yearning. A kind of malaise. An emptiness. At the risk of sounding like Dr. Seuss: There is a hole in your soul. That is what we’re addressing at Apple. That is the hole we aim to fill.”
While these words come not from Steve Jobs himself, but an impostor, they nevertheless reflect a profound, underlying understanding of the real reason people are lining up to purchase something that they neither need or can’t get through other means. Look at the picture from Mashable, we have a deep (yes) spiritual longing that Apple has positioned itself cleverly to fill. While I appreciate their attempt ultimately we will be disappointed and they will disappoint because no one can do that but God. While I know that Fake Steve Jobs was trying to be funny, he ended up being deeply profound, almost... prophetic. In the meantime I’ll watch and wonder if this poor kid really deserved this from his parents:
and wonder if these words did not really come from the lips of the big iMan himself...
Fake Steve (otherwise known as Dan Lyons), known for his witty and abrasive writings wrote about Apple’s iPad in such a way today that seemingly makes my point better than I could myself. It’s what Christians have been saying all along yet no one believed us. It’s something that Apple has locked onto better than any other American company in recent memory; the promise of fulfillment through technology. Fake Steve said,
“But let’s get back to you people who are waiting in line. I mean it’s not like you’re in Bolivia and there’s just been an earthquake and you need to line up to get food and clean water. It’s not like you’ve time-traveled back into the Depression and you’re waiting in line at a soup kitchen. And yet, in fact, that’s exactly what you’re doing. Spiritually speaking, we are living in the Great Depression, and you are waiting in line for sustenance.”
And again,
“The truth is, this is all about spiritual emptiness. That is why you’re standing in line. Except for Scoble, who is an attention whore and just doing it to get attention.
The truth is, all over the world, across every culture, there exists a sense of yearning. A kind of malaise. An emptiness. At the risk of sounding like Dr. Seuss: There is a hole in your soul. That is what we’re addressing at Apple. That is the hole we aim to fill.”
While these words come not from Steve Jobs himself, but an impostor, they nevertheless reflect a profound, underlying understanding of the real reason people are lining up to purchase something that they neither need or can’t get through other means. Look at the picture from Mashable, we have a deep (yes) spiritual longing that Apple has positioned itself cleverly to fill. While I appreciate their attempt ultimately we will be disappointed and they will disappoint because no one can do that but God. While I know that Fake Steve Jobs was trying to be funny, he ended up being deeply profound, almost... prophetic. In the meantime I’ll watch and wonder if this poor kid really deserved this from his parents:
and wonder if these words did not really come from the lips of the big iMan himself...
“Hold your iPad. Gaze at it. Pray to it. Let it transform you. And do it soon, because before you know it we are going to release version 2, which will make this one look like a total piece of crap. Peace be upon you.
Dear Leader”
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The numbers behind pornography
Jan/11/2010 12:27
Remember, pornography is the symptom, not the root and Jesus is the answer.
(Gizmodo via 9gag.com)
Laughing at Culture
Oct/20/2009 13:12
I was struck by the depth of my need for Jesus this week.
As one who claims to love people and culture I sure enjoy laughing at people at their worst. The conviction struck me while I was imbibing in a very funny website at work, laughing it up with co-workers and ridiculing the people portrayed on it. "Is this becoming for a Christian?" I thought.
If you work in the technology industry or spend a lot of time around the internet as I do, you'll know the kind of website I'm talking about. In the last few years, the internet has created a humor sub-culture which collects the worst of human behavior, mistakes, flubs, tricks, and pranks and lays them out for everyone to see. This humor-mill has turned into a full on media cash bonanza with start-ups raking in wads of cash and expanding their reach farther and farther afield. Make no mistake, some of these sites are extremely funny, especially those that capture people in their most failed moments.
However, as I read that site this week, the thought occurred to me that I was not laughing with people, I was laughing at people. People made in the image of God. People for whom Christ died. People who needed to hear the message of Jesus from a missionary, not the laughter and scorn of an anonymous prankster. My call to maturity meant putting away the juvenile, to stop wasting time. It was a gentle reminder from the one who showed us what it means to really love people that he didn't laugh at me when I was at my worst. I'm just glad there's no video evidence of me.
As one who claims to love people and culture I sure enjoy laughing at people at their worst. The conviction struck me while I was imbibing in a very funny website at work, laughing it up with co-workers and ridiculing the people portrayed on it. "Is this becoming for a Christian?" I thought.
If you work in the technology industry or spend a lot of time around the internet as I do, you'll know the kind of website I'm talking about. In the last few years, the internet has created a humor sub-culture which collects the worst of human behavior, mistakes, flubs, tricks, and pranks and lays them out for everyone to see. This humor-mill has turned into a full on media cash bonanza with start-ups raking in wads of cash and expanding their reach farther and farther afield. Make no mistake, some of these sites are extremely funny, especially those that capture people in their most failed moments.
However, as I read that site this week, the thought occurred to me that I was not laughing with people, I was laughing at people. People made in the image of God. People for whom Christ died. People who needed to hear the message of Jesus from a missionary, not the laughter and scorn of an anonymous prankster. My call to maturity meant putting away the juvenile, to stop wasting time. It was a gentle reminder from the one who showed us what it means to really love people that he didn't laugh at me when I was at my worst. I'm just glad there's no video evidence of me.
