SiriusAddict.com

This article over at wired.com is pretty amusing and absurd at the same time. You can either read it or I can summarize it.

Basically, it talks about this Christian author, Katherine Albrecht, who thinks that RFID chips (radio frequency identification chips) are a sign that the end is near and are a “mark of the beast” according to the book of Revelations in the Bible. OK. So where to start with the flaws of this story…no, I haven’t read the book nor do I plan on reading it. But here are my issues with the synopsis of the article and what the book goes into. First, it’s fine to be a Christian and interpret the Bible in a reasonable manner. But the Bible is meant to be interpreted. After all, some of the rules to live by don’t apply to this day and age. Granted the major rules do still apply (i.e. the Ten Commandments), but offering up animals to God? When was the last time you did that? (click read more)

But that’s not the point. I digress already. The book supposedly goes into detail and makes parallels between the book of Revelations and how RFID chips are a “mark of the beast” and a sign that the end is near. I completely fail to see how RFID chips synonymous with the end. People said the same things about social security numbers, Y2K (remember that horrible mess?), and bar codes. Sure, RFID can be a bad thing. For example, to track employees and how much time they spend on breaks (when some of the most productive work can be done). But because it only measures the time away from a desk and doesn’t record conversations or ideas, it simply can’t prove whether the employee was diligently working and discussing a project at the lunch table or during a smoke break for 30 minutes, or whether s/he was abusing that break time. So yes, RFID isn’t foolproof for that scenario, but for other scenarios, it’s not a bad idea. Example: tracking packages. It’ll tell you where the package is at all times, and in most cases, it’s pretty clear where the package is and why it’s there.

I think it’s fallacious to compare technology to what the Bible says. Technology and the Bible are two separate topics that probably shouldn’t be paralleled or interpreted into each other. In 99% of cases, technology is designed and used to further society and benefit society. It’s not meant to be a way of saying the end is near. People are digging too deeply into what technology and other topics are doing in relation to the Bible. Remember when I said I think the Bible should be interpreted? I think it should, but there’s a limit to that. But if you truly feel that RFID chips are a sign of the end of times, maybe you should chill out a bit. It’ll be the same thing as it was with Y2K. People will freak out and not be able to adapt to “new technology” (if you will). Then when it becomes commonplace and is used daily those same people will say “How’d we ever live without it? Remember when we used bar codes to scan items? Those were the days.”

People will adapt to new technology and solve future problems. But when you’re uncertain of something, that shouldn’t equate to an end of times as we know it thought process. Let’s think logically before we start spouting off the potential devastation and making parallels to the Bible.