Then God must love the banker and hate all of us. The banker gets all of our money and we get screwed. We learn to love the banker and when he misappropriates our funds, we the taxpayers have to bail him out. Then the banker gets to envision and implement new ways to take our money out of our pockets. The cycle is never ending and the banker comes out on top. Does God say that we cannot protect the fruits of our efforts? Can we not protect our families from thieves ?

Perhaps we should be talking about Jesus. Matthew 21:12 Down with the money lenders!

Your version of the Lords Prayer is in all likelihood different than the one that I say. You see, I am an “Original Christian”. What is that you say? I am a Roman Catholic, and not a member of a church that was created by an English King or man.

As a Protestant you have been given the ability by God, to interpret the Bible. Do you belong to an organized Church? If so, why? That means that you allow a pastor or minister to interpret the Bible for you.

With over 40,000 different Protestant sects, you have many to choose from. When one does not suit your needs you can start your own. I have many acquaintances that have done just that. The main reason that there are so many different Protestants sects is that there was at some point a disagreement as to “The Word Of God”.

An element of scripture may mean one thing to one person and an entirely different thing to another. You cannot condemn a person for how they may interpret the Bible, but you may find it difficult or impossible to convince anyone else as to your interpretation.

I really do not care what religion a person belongs to or does not belong to, but I do not try to “CONVERT” anyone. I respect everyone and their thoughts, when it comes to behaving like a decent human being.

A subject that I have enjoyed studying is religion. I am familiar with many of the world’s religions, and have had many discussions on this topic. It is a topic that I enjoy very much. In college I enjoyed studying religion and theology.

If you have ten Protestant’s discuss any topic of the Bible, you will have ten different meanings. What is important is to respect the people you discuss such topics with in an appropriate environment. A forum such as this may not be the best place for such discussions. Your intent may be good but it does interfere with the reason the forum exists. We are here to try to help each other but not convert them to our specific religious beliefs.

Do not take my words in a personal or negative way. I really enjoy discussing religion – any religion. Just be sure that you are truly prepared! However, this is not the best place for such discussions. :)


Tom




>>Hi Everybody.
>>
>>I have an application and I wish that it should not be pirated.
>
>Consider that digital copies are free, and unlike "pirating" (robbing ships and directly taking physical cargo that cannot be replaced by making an exact digital copy for free, or in truly harming or killing a human being -- both things are very, very baf)... copying helps both your and your neighbor. You establish sharing with each other. You grow together.
>
>How is that a bad thing? The product is already written. It exists, has been debugged. The developers either volunteered their time, or were paid for theirr labor to get it this far.
>
>What exactly will be lost by letting people copy it for free?
>
>What you're really talking about is control, your desire to forcibly control your self-constructed, invisible fortress, the one which will enable you to figuratively "sit on a beach drinking pina coladas" while earning ongoing income from a prior work without additional labor (after all, digital copies are literally free, using the hardware and network services you already possess).
>
>Sounds a lot like banking ... possess something desirable you're willing to hoard ... UNLESS someone pays you your going rate for it.
>
>It's exactly like banking ... "something ... for nothing ... other than controlled possession."
>
>The only true form of pirating that exists is taking that ONLY copy in existence by breaking into a ship at sea in International waters and looting it. And that doesn't happen.
>
>You want the only 100% accurate way to prevent people from making illegal copies? Don't make it illegal to copy. Give away the program and source code, and put a "Donate" button which links to a generic pay site.
>
>What you're trying to do is wrong, Harsh. Consider how wrong it would be if the technology existed to make zero-cost copies of a sandwich, or a clean glass of water, yet it was withheld from helping people unless they paid.
>
>That's what you're doing ... but with the knowledge, special skills and talents God gave you. You're hoarding that creation from your neighbor, which costs you $0 to copy, unless they give you something in exchange, rather than sharing with your neighbor for free, giving everybody the increase.
>
>This world has us doing it wrong. We have to recognize the wrongness, stand up on principle, and right it.
>
>All knowledge, experience, opportunity and inspiration is a gift from God. He gave us freely. We should also give others freely. After all, God gives to all, even bankers, the sun, the rain, the plant and animal growth, the raw resources, everything ... for free. It exists for all. It is only this harming desire to possess something to control it for personal gain at the expense of others, which gums up the works.
>
>It shouldn't be like that.