Friday, August 18, 2006

Is your computer possessed by a demon?

2000-APR: Reverend Jim Peasboro of Savannah GA has written a book "The Devil in the Machine: Is your computer possessed by a demon?" Some of the points raised in the book are:
  • "While the Computer Age has ushered in many advances, it has also opened yet another door through which Lucifer and his minions can enter and corrupt men's souls."
  • Demons can possess anything with a brain, including a chicken, a human being, or a computer.
  • "Any PC built after 1985 has the storage capacity to house an evil spirit."
  • "...most of the youths involved in school shootings like the tragedy at Columbine were computer buffs...I have no doubt that computer demons exerted an influence on them."
  • an estimated "...one in 10 computers in America now houses some type of evil spirit."
  • "Technicians can replace the hard drive and reinstall the software, getting rid of the wicked spirit permanently."
Rev. Peasboro said: "I learned that many members of my congregation became in touch with a dark force whenever they used their computers. Decent, happily married family men were drawn irresistibly to pornographic websites and forced to witness unspeakable abominations. Housewives who had never expressed an impure thought were entering Internet chat rooms and found themselves spewing foul, debasing language they would never use normally...One woman wept as she confessed to me, 'I feel when I'm on the computer as if someone else or something else just takes over.'"

He had the opportunity to inspect an infected computer. He found that an artificial-intelligence program started up automatically. He said that: "The program began talking directly to me, openly mocked me. It typed out, 'Preacher, you are a weakling and your God is a damn liar.' Then the device went haywire and started printing out what looked like gobbledygook...I later had an expert in dead languages examine the text. It turned out to be a stream of obscenities written in a 2,800-year-old Mesopotamian dialect!"

From Religioustolerance.org

5 comments:

Unknown said...
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Anonymous said...

Just a last comment on our brief discussion. I won´t keep this going, because I´ve learned that internet-debates usually don´t usually arrive at any "point" of ageement or victory for either "side". Anyways, I´m not trying to "win you over". As Sprugeon said: "Defend Scripture? I´d sooner defend a lion" I don´t ultimately beleive that Scripture needs defending outside of itself.

This isn´t a cop-out. But I live in another continent, and don´t know you. I think my efforts will be better spent with people I can physically interact with at my local chuch and university setting. I hope that doesn´t sound mean or indifferent, because it isn´t my intention. I´m just being realistic.

Nevertheless I just want to reinforce that one point we argued about in Jeremiah. The LORD speaking via Jeremiah is crrect to say that when he brought the Israelite our of Egypt He said nothing of sacrifices.

The center piece of the story of Israel after they are rescued from Egypt is the Sinai Covenant, which comes before the implementation of the sacrificial system. The emphasis is on they´re obedience. That portion fo the story can be found in Exodus 19-24. Note specially Exodus 19:4-6.

vs. 5: "Now therefore, if you will indeed OBEY my voice and KEEP my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine..."

Jeremiah's (God's) point is that, the sacrificial system hinges on obedience and keeping the opening and founding "clause" of the "contract". Giving sacrifices and then going away and sinning with confidence is a contradiction (see Jer.7:1-11) . God´s real interest is the heart (Dt. 30:6). Did you read Psalm 51? It deals with similar themes.

Also, it is one thing is for the NT authors to quote the Apocrypha (something that occurs, despite what you say, very little, and mostly in Jude)...another to set up that quote as authoritive. Note the way the OT is quoted and compare it with the Apocrypha alusions. In the latter, they are used to reinforce an argument by way of ilustration and example. The Reformers never said that the Apocrypha were "satanic" or anything. In fact, the original King James (Authorised version) included them, and for example, in the Anglican Article on Scripture, christians are RECOMMENDED to read them and enjoy them. The difference is that they are not considered as FINAL as authority.

Well... that´s it. Please try reading the books I suggested, specially "According to PLan" (you could also try "Gospel and Kingdom" by the same author). It presents quite a good defense of scripture and the canon from within scripture, although it´s not his primary or even secondary intention. You´ll know what I mean when you read it.

I may respond to any further comments if I have time, but I´m a little stressed right now between college, Bible study, church and...well... friends! But I do mean it when I say (or write) God Bless. I hope He´ll guide you to the answers you mare looking for.

=)

P.S. - That Peamsboro fella sounds crazier than Benny Hinn! (and that´s saying something).

Anonymous said...

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Rach said...

hmmm....I always knew those computers were up to something!! Yet another reason to abandon society and exist only on homegrown vegetables...the more green the better...jeje...you´re in my prayers bdub. I´ll need to make a trip up to SLO when I get back into town...haven´t heard the whispering in a long time!! ciao!

Chris Shotwell said...

Careful Rach... internet cafes are dangerous places. You never know how many evil spirits have found their way onto those computers. Oh, and please don't send me emails from those... I don't have McAfee DemonScan or Norton X-Orcisor :-) Plus I'm trying to conserve hard-drive space... I guess I'll just be careful to check the size of emails before I open them, just to be sure.