kebahagiaan itu TIDAK SEMU

Jane-Alter Berakhir Bahagia Andi Saputra - detikNews Senin, 19/12/2011 10:52 WIB Jakarta - Masih ingat kasus pernikahan Jane dan Alter? Baru saja Mahkamah Agung (MA) menolak upaya hukum kasasi yang ditempuh jaksa dalam kasus pemalsuan surat dan keterangan palsu dengan terdakwa Alterina Hofan. Dengan penolakan kasus ini, maka kisah cinta Alterina Hofan-Jane Deviyanti Hadipoespito berakhir bahagia. "Menolak kasasi jaksa," demikian bunyi putusan MA yang dilansir situs resmi MA, Senin, (19/12/2011) Putusan ini di putus oleh ketua majelis hakim agung Mansur Kartayasa dan hakim agung anggota Sri Murwahyuni, dan R. Imam Harjadi. Putusan bernomor 704 K/PID/2011 di putus dalam sidang majelis pada 31 Mei 2011. "Kasus ini terkait pasal keterangan palsu," terang Mansur. Seperti diketahui, Alterina telah menikah dengan seorang perempuan bernama Jane Devianti di Amerika Serikat pada 9 September 2008. Sebagaimana diungkapkan sendiri oleh Jane, dia mengaku bahagia hidup dengan Alterina. Lagipula, perubahan status kelamin Alterina menjadi laki-laki telah diputus oleh Pengadilan Negeri Jayapura berdasarkan penetapan No 12/Pdt.P/2010/PN.JPR. tanggal 29 Maret 2010. Namun pihak keluarga jane tidak terima dan melaporkan kasus tersebut ke polisi. Namun oleh PN Jaksel, Alterina divonis lepas dari segala tuntutan. Majelis hakim PN Jaksel yang diketuai Sudarwin menyatakan meskipun perbuatan yang didakwakan penuntut umum terbukti, tetapi apa yang dilakukan Alterina bukan tindak pidana. (asp/anw)

STOP ramalan KIAMAT

William Miller is perhaps the most famous false prophet in history. In the 1840s he began to preach about the world's end, saying Jesus Christ would return for the long-awaited Second Coming and that Earth would be engulfed in fire sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. He circulated his message in public gatherings and by using the technologies of the day — posters, printed newsletters and charts. Moved by those messages, as many as 100,000 "Millerites" sold their belongings between 1840 and 1844 and took to the mountains to wait for the end. When that end didn't come, Miller changed the date to Oct. 22. When Oct. 23 rolled around, his loyal followers explained it away yet again and went on to form the Seventh-day Adventist movement. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072697,00.html #ixzz1gK4ZqW75 Harold Camping's prediction that the world will end Saturday, May 21, 2011, is not his first such prediction. In 1992, the evangelist published a book called 1994?, which proclaimed that sometime in mid-September 1994, Christ would return and the world would end. Camping based his calculations on numbers and dates found in the Bible and, at the time, said that he was "99.9% certain" that his math was correct. But the world did not end in 1994. Nor did it end on March 31, 1995 — another date Camping provided when September 1994 passed without incident. "I'm like the boy who cried wolf again and again and the wolf didn't come," Camping told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995. "This doesn't bother me in the slightest." Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072703,00.html #ixzz1gK4gMDRb The year 2012 means many things to many people, few of which bring good news. A New Age belief cites 2012 as the year humans will undergo a physical and spiritual transformation, while some people predict that sometime that year, Earth will collide with a black hole or a planet named Nibiru. But perhaps the most popular belief is attributed (falsely, many scholars argue) to the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar from the ancient Mayan civilization. Interpretations suggest that the fourth world, in which we live now, will end on Dec. 21, 2012. This belief inspired the disaster movie 2012 starring John Cusack, in which a tsunami tosses the aircraft carrier U.S.S. John F. Kennedy onto Washington, crushing the White House and killing the President (played by Danny Glover). Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072704,00.html #ixzz1gK4lnx9Q Just before sunset on Feb. 28, 1963, residents of northwestern Arizona watched what the Arizona Republic called a "strikingly beautiful and mysterious cloud" glide across the desert. That same day, Pentecostal pastor William Branham — who founded the post–World War II faith-healing movement — climbed Sunset Mountain and claimed he met with seven angels who revealed to him the meaning of the seven seals from the Book of Revelation. Days later, Branham returned to his congregation at the Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Ind. He preached seven sermons in seven nights, explaining the meaning of the seals and the seven visions he had received, leading him to predict that Jesus would return to Earth in 1977. He did not live to see the day. In December 1965, as Branham was driving with his family in Texas, a drunk driver smashed into his car. Branham died six days later, on Christmas Eve. View the full list for "Top 10 End-of-the-World Prophecies" Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072684,00.html #ixzz1gK4rpvwc In the tumultuous years that followed the Protestant Reformation, myriad radical sects emerged, preaching an apocalyptic, millenarianist creed that perturbed even theological dissidents like Martin Luther. The Anabaptists derived their name from the Latin for "one who baptizes over again" and rejected most forms of political organization and social hierarchy in favor of an idealized theocratic commonwealth. In the 1530s, riding on a crest of peasant revolts, a clutch of Anabaptists assumed control of the German town of Munster and hailed it as a New Jerusalem awaiting the return of Christ. But the situation in Munster was far from the ideal Christian commonwealth. Jan Bockelson, a tailor from the Dutch city of Leiden, declared himself the "Messiah of the last days," took multiple wives, issued coins that prophesied the coming apocalypse and in general made life hell for everyone in the city (except for a few fellow proselytizers who lived lavishly — and, according to some accounts, in a great state of debauch). The Anabaptists' hold over Munster ended in a bloody siege in 1535. Bockelson's genitals reportedly were nailed to the city's gates. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072746,00.html #ixzz1gK4xEBd5 If you follow Hal Lindsey, you've probably changed the "end of the world" date in your calendar several times. His Late Great Planet Earth, which was the best-selling nonfiction book of the 1970s, predicted that the world would end sometime before Dec. 31, 1988. He cited a host of world events — nuclear war, the communist threat and the restoration of Israel — as reasons the end times were upon mankind. His later books, though less specific, suggested that believers not plan on being on Earth past the 1980s — then the 1990s and, of course, the 2000s. But Lindsey did more than just wrongly predict the end of days; he popularized a genre of prophecy books. Adding stock to Lindsey's original claim, Edgar Whisenant published a book in 1988 called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, which sold some 4.5 million copies. Whisenant once famously said, "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong." When 1989 rolled around, a discredited Whisenant published another book, saying the Rapture would occur that year instead. It did not sell as well, nor did later titles that predicted the world would end in 1993 and again in 1994. The genre's most popular tales are in the Left Behind series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which, though they do not predict an end date, provide a vivid fictional account of how Earth's final days could go. The 16 novels have sold more than 63 million copies worldwide. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072696,00.html #ixzz1gK540diM It was the day that was supposed to finally prove what Luddites and other tech haters had been saying for so long: computers — not sin or religious prophecy come true — will bring us down. For months before the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, analysts speculated that entire computer networks would crash, causing widespread dysfunction for a global population that had become irreversibly dependent on computers to hold, disseminate and analyze its most vital pieces of information. The problem was that many computers had been programmed to record dates using only the last two digits of every year, meaning that the year 2000 would register as the year 1900, totally screwing with the collective computerized mind. But it just wasn't so. Aside from a few scattered power failures in various countries, problems in data-transmission systems at some of Japan's nuclear plants (which did not affect their safety) and a temporary interruption in receipt of data from the U.S.'s network of intelligence satellites, the new year arrived with nothing more than the expected hangover. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072599,00.html #ixzz1gK5A4sP3 David Koresh led his Branch Davidian sect, an unsanctioned offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to its doom in a compound near Waco, Texas, in 1993. How did he do that? He convinced his followers that he was Christ and that they should hole up at what was called the Mount Carmel Center to prepare for the end of the world. Their ideas were based on the beliefs of an earlier Adventist splinter group. When authorities learned that the Branch Davidians were allegedly holding a trove of weapons on the site and that there were possibly instances of abuse of women and children, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search on the compound in February 1993. The Davidians fought back; four agents were killed as well as six members of the sect. Koresh persuaded his followers to remain at Mount Carmel and refuse to surrender. For 50 days, a tense standoff ensued. On April 19, the FBI stormed the compound, a fire erupted (the source of which is still debated), and dozens of Davidians, including Koresh, died in the building. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072680,00.html #ixzz1gK5FlHdQ The onset of World War I freaked a lot of people out. But it was especially trippy for the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, a group that's now called Jehovah's Witnesses. The society's founder, Charles Taze Russell, had previously predicted Christ's invisible return in 1874, followed by anticipation of his Second Coming in 1914. When WW I broke out that year, Russell interpreted it as a sign of armageddon and the upcoming end of days or, as he called it, the end of "Gentile times." History proved otherwise. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072682,00.html #ixzz1gK5L8pSS In the Christian tradition, the number 666 is described as the "mark of the beast" in the Bible's Book of Revelation. So it was no surprise that Europeans worried as the year 1666 approached. It didn't help that the year before, a plague had wiped out about 100,000 people, a fifth of London's population, leading many to predict the end of times. Then on Sept. 2, 1666, a fire broke out in a bakery on London's Pudding Lane. The fire spread and over three days burned more than 13,000 buildings and destroyed tens of thousands of homes. But in the end, fewer than 10 people perished in the blaze, which, while catastrophic, was not the end of the world Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2072678_2072683_2072707,00.html #ixzz1gK5WvPvR

cerdaS, gauL ... $14L

Jumat, 09/12/2011 16:02 WIB Tewas Ditusuk, Christopher Terus Genggam BlackBerry Pemberian Sang Ayah Rivki - detikNews Jakarta - BlackBerry tipe Onyx terus digenggam Christopher Melky Tanujaya meski dihujani tikaman dari Abdul Jalil (24). Peraih juara Olimpiade Matematika 2009 tingkat SMP ini mempertahankan HP pemberian ayahandanya, Sephanus Hans Tanujaya, hingga akhir hayatnya. Kapolres Jakarta Utara, Kombes Pol Andap Budhi, menceritakan kejadian itu berawal saat Christopher turun dari Halte TransJakarta Penjaringan, Jakarta Utara pada Senin 5 Desember 2011 pukul 18.45 WIB. Ia ingin mengunjungi rumah kakeknya yang tinggal di Pluit Barat III nomor 2. Christopher berjalan kaki sambil memainkan handphone BlackBerry tipe Onyx warna putih. Bersamaan dengan itu, kata Andap, pelaku Abdul Jalil alias Adul alias Ayup membuntuti Christopher kurang lebih sekitar 200 meter di Jalan Pluit Selatan I, persis di depan SDN 01 Pluit. Situasi saat itu sepi dan jalanan gelap. Abdul menepuk pundak Christopher dan meminta handphone Christopher. Namun, Christopher menolak dan berusaha keras menolak karena handphone tersebut dari ayahnya. "Karena handphone tidak diberikan oleh Christopher, Abdul Jalil lalu mengeluarkan pisau dapur yang diselipkan di pinggang bagian kanan. Pisau langsung ditusukkan ke leher Christopher, lalu ke pinggang kanan, serta ke pundak kiri," kata Andap di Mapolres Jakarta Utara, Jalan Yos Sudarso, Jakarta Utara, Jumat (9/12/2011). "Namun perbuatan merampas handphone tidak terlaksana karena tangan korban memegang erat BlackBerry tersebut. Berdasarkan pengakuan, pelaku cemas korban berteriak," ujar Andap. Menurut dia, Abdul Jalil lalu lari menuju rumahnya dan Christopher dibawa ke RS Atma Jaya oleh saksi mata, Setyohadi (31). Christopher akhirnya meninggal dunia. Abdul Jalil kini ditahan di Polres Jakarta Utara. "Pelaku sebelumnya sudah niat mau merampok tetapi secara random. Selasa, pelaku tidak keluar rumah," kata Andap. Ia mengatakan Abdul Jalil mencoba menghilangkan barang bukti dengan merendam bajunya yang ada noda darah. "Sehabis itu, pelaku yang tadinya berambut ikal menggunting rambutnya menjadi lebih pendek," kata dia. Abdul Jalil ditangkap di rumahnya Jalan Bakti RT 007 RW 007 nomor 23, Penjaringan, Jakarta Utara, pada Kamis 8 Desember 2011 pukul 19.00 WIB. "Saat penangkapan pelaku tidak melakukan perlawanan," kata Andap. (aan/vit) Selain Cerdas, Ternyata Melky Juga Gaul Fabian Januarius Kuwado | Tri Wahono | Rabu, 7 Desember 2011 | 22:44 WIB JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Selain dikenal sebagai anak yang cerdas dan berprestasi, Christopher Melky Tanujaya, korban penusukan di daerah Pluit, Jakarta Utara dikenal para sahabat sebagai sosok yang pandai bergaul. Perilakunya yang supel menjadi kenangan tersendiri bagi para sahabatnya. "Dia baik banget, dia hebat di segala hal, pelajaran bagus, olahraga bagus, baik pula, Dia udah excellent pinternya, tapi dia masih bisa gaul, malah suka jahil," ujar Reynard (17), sahabat asrama Melky di Singapura. Indra (16) seorang teman asrama Melky lainnya menceritakan contoh kejahilan Melky pada saat ulang tahun salah seorang temannya di Puri Indah, sesaat sebelum peristiwa penusukan terjadi. "Pas makan di Hanamasa, dia ambil tiga hati sapi, terus dimakan, dia bilang belom matang, akhirnya sisa hatinya dibiarin aja gitu sampe gosong," kenangnya. Kenangan lain bersama Melky diungkapkan Indra pada saat bersama-sama di asrama St. Joseph, Singapura. "Udah gitu pas mandi di asrama, kan atasnya kebuka, dia suka siram pake air gitu," lanjutnya sambil tertawa. Indra menambahkan bahwa dirinya kerap dibantu oleh Melky dalam hal pelajaran. "Kalau kita tanya-tanya dia mau bantu, walau kita masih enggak ngerti juga, dia terus ajarin kita sampai ngerti," tambahnya. Meski hingga saat ini para sahabat masih tak percaya dengan kepergian Melky, mereka mengaku pasrah dan ikhlas dengan kejadian mengejutkan tersebut. "Ya masih nggak percaya, soalnya siang masih sama-sama malemnya udah begini, tapi ya mau gimana lagi serahin aja sama polisi karena pelakunya enggak bisa balikin dia lagi. Dia sudah seneng di sana, sudah ada tempat terbaik di sisi Tuhan," tutup Indra. Christopher Melky Tanujaya adalah pelajar Indonesia yang mendapat beasiswa di St. Joseph, Singapura karena berprestasi. Ia ditusuk orang tak dikenal saat berjalan ke rumah neneknya di daerah Pluit Barat, Jakarta Utara. Melky mendapat luka tiga tusukan di leher dan satu di pundak. Ia menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya di RS Atmajaya, Jakarta Utara.

emang TIDAK SESAT, tapi KENAPA?

Jemaat Gereja Yasmin: Kami Bukan Aliran Sesat "Saya menyampaikan kepada Bapak Presiden SBY, tolong kami. Kami juga warga negara." Minggu, 30 Oktober 2011, 23:35 WIB Elin Yunita Kristanti, Dwifantya Aquina VIVAnews - Para jemaat GKI Taman Yasmin, Bogor, hanya bisa mengiba dan menangisi peristiwa pengusiran yang dialami mereka saat beribadah, Minggu 30 Oktober. Mereka meminta perhatian dan ketegasan dari Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhono untuk segera mengambil sikap atas konflik beragama yang telah lama membelit mereka. "Sungguh suatu hal yang menyakitkan di mana kami bertujuan ingin beribadah tapi kami dihalangi, di negara Pancasila yang warga negaranya punya hak sama, kami diperlakukan, diusir seperti binatang," ujar salah satu perwakilan jemaat GKI Taman Yasmin, Bogor, Dori, di kantor Kontras, Jakarta Pusat, Minggu, 30 Oktober 2011. Sambil terus terisak, Dori mengungkapkan keinginannya untuk bisa bebas beribadah seperti umat beragama lainnya di Indonesia seperti dijamin dalam Undang-undang Dasar 1945. "Sebagai warga negara dan umat beragama, tolong suara kami didengar. Berikan kami waktu beribadah, kami bukan aliran sesat kami melakukan di jalur hukum yang benar," tuturnya terbata-bata. Dia meminta Presiden SBY untuk menegakkan hukum, dan memohon kebijaksanaan untuk tidak melakukan diskriminasi kepada para jemaat GKI Taman Yasmin. "Saya menyampaikan kepada Bapak Presiden SBY, tolong kami. Kami juga warga negara seperti lainnya, berhak untuk hidup di negara kami sendiri, hidup di rumah kami. Tolong perlakukan kami seperti rakyat yang lain, dengarlah jeritan hati kami," kata dia. "Ini hanya contoh kecil dari rakyat lain yang diperlakukan tidak adil. Kasih Tuhan menyertai kepemimpinan bapak SBY, Gubernur Jabar dan Walikota Bogor," imbuhnya. Sebelumnya, Minggu tadi, pengusiran jemaat Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Taman Yasmin, Bogor, kembali terjadi untuk kesekian kalinya. Hal ini terjadi usai sekelompok orang yang menamakan dirinya sebagai Forum Komunikasi Muslim Indonesia (FORKAMI) berusaha menghentikan kegiatan ibadah para jemaat GKI Taman Yasmi dengan cara intoleran. Sejumlah Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja kota Bogor berjaga di depan GKI Taman Yasmin, menghalangi para jemaat untuk tidak beribadah di sana. Sementara, para jemaat bersikeras melakukan ibadah dengan berdoa di trotoar. Kericuhan nyaris terjadi dalam insiden itu. • VIVAnews

Isteri-isterinya ITU

Kamis, 27/10/2011 14:00 WIB Istri Pertama & Kedua Kiwil Tak Pernah Akur Herianto Batubara - detikhot Jakarta Istri kedua Kiwil Meggy Wulandari selalu kesal dengan sikap istri pertama sang suami, Rohimah. Bahkan, Meggy mengaku tak pernah akur dengan Rohimah selama delapan tahun. "Aku sama mbak Rohimah tidak akan pernah bisa akur. Kalau nanti terlalu dekat disalahgunakan," ujar Meggy saat ditemui di Cibubur belum lama ini. Meggy pun mengungkapkan kalau dirinya selalu menghindar dari Rohimah. Ia pun tak tertarik untuk menjalin komunikasi dengannya. "Selama ini ya kita masing-masing saja, seperti punya dua keluarga," jelasnya. Namun, saat ini, Meggy tak mau terlalu memikirkan hal itu. Ia hanya berharap Rohimah bisa menjaga Kiwil dengan baik. "Semoga mbak Rohimah bisa menjaga mas Kiwil dengan sebaik-baiknya supaya tidak ada Magi-Magi yang lain," tandasnya. (hkm/hkm)

GOD ONLY KNOWs

Hanya Tuhan yang Bisa Menilai Keimanan Seseorang Ilham Khoiri | Robert Adhi Ksp | Jumat, 9 September 2011 | 07:10 WIB JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Masyarakat menolak campur tangan negara dan institusi lain di luar agama dalam soal keyakinan karena itu merupakan urusan privat. Hanya Tuhan yang dianggap sebagai satu-satunya yang berwewenang meminta pertanggungjawaban dari keimanan seseorang. Demikian salah satu kesimpulan survei opini publik ”Keberagaman Publik dan Sikapnya terhadap Ahmadiyah” oleh Setara Institute yang disampaikan di Jakarta, Kamis (8/9). Acara itu dihadiri Ketua Badan Pengurus Setara Institute Hendardi, Wakil Ketua Setara Bonar Tigor Naipospos, dan peneliti Ismail Hasani. Survei melibatkan 3.000 responden dengan teknik random/acak. Penelitian tersebar di 47 kabupaten/ kota di 10 provinsi pada 10-15 Juli 2010. Hasil survei itu menunjukkan, masyarakat menempatkan keimanan seseorang dalam beragama sepenuhnya bersifat privat. Dengan begitu, tidak seorang atau kelompok mana pun yang dapat meminta pertanggungjawaban keimanan seseorang. Sikap ini didukung oleh mayoritas (72,6 persen) responden. Mereka menolak upaya sekelompok orang yang meminta pertanggungjawaban atas keimanan seseorang. Hanya sebagian kecil (12,8 persen) yang mendukung upaya itu. Mayoritas (89,8 persen) responden juga berpandangan bahwa hanya Tuhan sebagai satu-satunya pihak yang memiliki hak mutlak dan eksklusif untuk meminta pertanggungjawaban atas keimanan seseorang. Hanya sedikit (4,2 persen) responden yang memperbolehkan pihak selain Tuhan yang meminta pertanggungjawaban keimanan itu. Selain itu, sebagian besar (39 persen) responden beranggapan, semua agama menjamin keselamatan bagi pemeluknya. Sekitar 29 persen responden berpendirian, hanya agama yang dianut yang dapat memberikan jaminan keselamatan. Menurut Bonar Tigor Naipospos, hasil survei bagian ini menggambarkan bahwa secara umum masyarakat masih mendukung kebebasan beragama dan antikekerasan dalam penyebaran agama. Masyarakat juga menolak campur tangan negara dan institusi di luar agama dalam soal keyakinan. ”Jadi, sebenarnya masih ada toleransi antarumat beragama di tingkat masyarakat bawah di Indonesia. Ini merupakan modal sosial yang baik untuk terus dikembangkan ke depan,” katanya.

Cybertheology, Jesus says

What would Jesus hack? Cybertheology: Just how much does Christian doctrine have in common with the open-source software movement? Sep 3rd 2011 | from the print edition the economist “THE kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” Jesus said of little children. But computer hackers might give the kids some competition, according to Antonio Spadaro, an Italian Jesuit priest. In an article published earlier this year in La Civiltà Cattolica, a fortnightly magazine backed by the Vatican, entitled “Hacker ethics and Christian vision”, he did not merely praise hackers, but held up their approach to life as in some ways divine. Mr Spadaro argued that hacking is a form of participation in God’s work of creation. (He uses the word hacking in its traditional, noble sense within computing circles, to refer to building or tinkering with code, rather than breaking into websites. Such nefarious activities are instead known as “malicious hacking” or “cracking”.) Mr Spadaro says he became interested in the subject when he noticed that hackers and students of hacker culture used “the language of theological value” when writing about creativity and coding, so he decided to examine the idea more deeply. The hacker ethic forged on America’s west coast in the 1970s and 1980s was playful, open to sharing, and ready to challenge models of proprietary control, competition and even private property. Hackers were the origin of the “open source” movement which creates and distributes software that is free in two senses: it costs nothing and its underlying code can be modified by anyone to fit their needs. “In a world devoted to the logic of profit,” wrote Mr Spadaro, hackers and Christians have “much to give each other” as they promote a more positive vision of work, sharing and creativity. He is not the only person to see an affinity between the open-source hacker ethos and Christianity. Catholic open-source advocates have founded a group called Elèutheros to encourage the church to endorse such software. Its manifesto refers to “strong ideal affinities between Christianity, the philosophy of free software, and the adoption of open formats and protocols”. Marco Fioretti, co-founder of the group, says open-source software teaches the “practical dimension of community and service to others that is already in the church message”. There are also legal motivations. Commercial software such as Microsoft Word is widely pirated in many parts of the world, by Catholics as well as others. Mr Fioretti advocates the use of open-source software instead, because he doesn’t want people “to violate a law without any real reason, just to open a church document”. Although the Vatican has yet to encourage the faithful to live like hackers, it has praised the internet as “truly blessed” for its ability to connect people and share information. The pope has even joined Twitter. But praise has always been tempered by warnings. As early as 2002, for instance, the Vatican’s “Church and Internet” document cautioned that “there are no sacraments on the internet” and worried about the solipsistic appeal of technology. Moreover, hackers in particular have problematic traits from the perspective of the Catholic church, such as a distrust of authorities and scepticism toward received wisdom. And the idea of tweaking source materials to fit one’s needs doesn’t mesh well with the Catholic emphasis on authority and tradition. Cathedrals and bazaars Mr Spadaro recognises these tensions but finds them manageable. Not everyone agrees. Eric Raymond, author of a classic essay on open-source software, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, finds it hard to believe that some Christians want to canonise the hacker mindset. After being quoted in Mr Spadaro’s paper, Mr Raymond took to his own website to note that he had deliberately equated cathedrals with proprietary, closed-source software directed from above, by contrast with the more chaotic bazaar of equals which produces open-source code. “Cathedrals—vertical, centralising religious edifices imbued with a tradition of authoritarianism and ‘revealed truth’—are the polar opposite of the healthy, sceptical, anti-authoritarian nous at the heart of the hacker culture,” Mr Raymond declared. As for Mr Spadaro’s ideas, they possessed a “special, almost unique looniness”. But Mr Spadaro is merely the latest to link coding with Christian attitudes towards creativity and sharing. Don Parris, a North Carolina pastor, wrote an article in Linux Journal in 2004 in which he argued that “proprietary software limits my ability to help my neighbour, one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith.” Larry Wall, the creator of Perl, an open-source programming language, said in an interview a decade ago that God expects humans to create—and to help others do so. Mr Wall said he saw his popular language as just such a prod to creation, saying, “In my little way, I’m sneakily helping people understand a bit more about the sort of people God likes.” More recently Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine and author of “What Technology Wants”, published last year, has argued that creation can go further in code. Whereas a novelist can craft a new world, coders can build worlds complete with artificial agents that exist and evolve outside the creator’s mind. Mr Kelly takes literally the words of his friend Stewart Brand, whose “Whole Earth Catalog” quipped, “We are as gods and might as well get good at it.” Mr Kelly, a Christian, says the ability to create artificial life will come with great parental responsibility and suggests that artificial worlds will need to be imbued with moral value. “This causes a kind of revival of religion,” he says, “because religion has been thinking about this issue.” From the outside, hacking computer code has largely been viewed as a technical discipline, not as a theologically rich vision of how to live. But some see a divine aspect to programming—at least when looking with the eye of faith. from the print edition | Technology Quarterly