Linux in churches

[Francis X. Maier]

Thanks for posting this, Clint.  Very interesting.

Lessig, Moglen and Stallman would probably be tone deaf to the  
"religious" reasons for choosing Linux, but the appeal of the Linux OS  
to churches is actually pretty obvious, quite beyond cost.  For  
example, Catholic social doctrine is based on two pillars: (1) the  
dignity of the individual person; and (2) the common good.

Monopolies are generally the enemy of the common good because they  
misuse power, reduce creativity, accumulate excessive profits and  
defend their own interests at the expense of new technologies and ideas  
that could better serve more people.  Since software is the modern  
equivalent of -- what?  oil paints?  the alphabet? early engineering  
skills? -- it's our new vocabulary of culture.  A monopoly on that has  
indirect but large implications for the way we live, organize and  
express ourselves, etc.

So the discussion about Microsoft and the search for alternatives has a  
moral dimension, which for most folks means some kind of religious  
framework.

Fran




On Jun 30, 2004, at 5:38 AM, Clinton MacDonald wrote:

> Friends:
>
> Here's a thought-provoking and useful article from Linux Journal on  
> why and how non-profit and low budget operations can and should use  
> Linux:
>
> <http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7653>
>
> "Richard Stallman, the founder of the GNU project, may be an atheist,  
> but his view of software has close theological parallels to Christian  
> theology."
>
> Best wishes,
> Clint
>
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> -- 
> Dr. Clinton C. MacDonald | <mailto:clint DOT macdonald AT sbcglobal  
> DOT net>
>
>