So, this article from Jon Carroll of the San Francisco Chronicle is fabulous. He brings in some of his readers' remarks, including the following (unsourced) quote from Umberto Eco:
As a Roman Catholic and a mac user, especially in this week when so many papal commentators have been arguing that the Protestant/Catholic divide has lost its relevance to analysis, one wonders if the power of differing theologies of salvation is still working itself out in stranger places....Insufficient consideration has been given to the underground religious war that is transforming the modern world: the division between users of the Macintosh computer and users of the MS-DOS-compatible computers. I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. Indeed, the Macintosh is counter-reformist and has been influenced by the methodical path of the Jesuits.
It tells the faithful how they must proceed step by step to reach -- if not the Kingdom of Heaven -- the moment in which their document is printed. It is catechistic: the essence of revelation is dealt with via simple formulae and sumptuous icons. Everyone has a right to salvation.
DOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It allows free interpretation of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions, imposes a subtle hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that not all can reach salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment