Pensieves
Episcopal News Service. February 11, 1982 [82034]
The Ven. Erwin M. Soikup, Editor of Advance, Diocese of Chicago
Seen among the many full-page Christmas advertisements: "What Other Gift Lasts Forever?" That caption headed a large photograph of a diamond ring. Every Christian has an answer for that question. No gift lasts forever, except the One which God gave us -- eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, most of these do come from California. At a church in Sunnyvale, Calif., (the heart of the computer chip industry) a bride and groom can stand before a cathode tube and keyboard and be married. The groom types in Run Wed, and the screen crackles to life. "Hello, my name is Rev. Apple," it announces. Minutes later, after the time-honored questions have been answered, the couple leaves, husband and wife. Logical extension -- Baptism and Confirmation by computer? But that would mean putting a miter on the machine, wouldn't it?
A few gems gleaned from undisciplined random reading:
- A diamond can't be polished without friction. A person can't mature without tribulation.
- Peace is not achieved by what surrounds a person, but by what fills him or her.
- It doesn't matter which side your bread is buttered on unless you plan to eat only one side.
At the University of Missouri's Kansas City campus it is permissible to sit on the lawn and read Karl Marx. At the same campus it is forbidden to sit on the lawn and read the Bible. Presumably, the radical socialism preached by Paul in the Acts of the Apostles is more damaging to the mind than 20th century Socialism.
Finally, Chicago visitor, the Rev. Canon Amos E.D. Mgbemene, administrative assistant for the Diocese on the Niger, had the ultimate word when he observed the functions of a computer at the Illinois Institute of Technology. "White man's ju-ju" he called it.