The bible forbids Wi-Fi

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MattWolf96@reddit

That's because Moses didn't use wifi. He had to hike to the top of a mountain twice to download his data onto a tablet.

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jimicus@reddit

They don’t, but a lot of Mennonite (and similar groups such as Amish) are suspicious of any remotely modern technology.

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JulesDeathwish@reddit

The one exception in all of these communities is the washing machine. The time saved over hand-washing all clothes was so great they carved out an exception.

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meitemark@reddit

Hopefully they do not allow for "smart" washing machines.

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lauriys@reddit

i wouldn't either, why the fuck would i want to lock half the programs behind an app

it's not like im going to load and start it up remotely what the fuck

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i do sometimes wish my washing machine could do that easily.
when i get home to late to start a new load (don't want to stay up late for laundry), i wish i could just load it up and start it in the night so it's done when i get up or start it during the day so it's finished when i get home.

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WackoMcGoose@reddit

I work garden department at Home Depot, and I feel the same way about internet connected barbecues. Why would someone ever want to remotely operate a flaming box of fire that can burn your neighborhood down if you turn your back for five seconds??? The washing machine at least has a possible use case of telling you a load is done while you're running errands, but you know what else can do that? Keeping an eye on the clock!

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MushroomCharacter411@reddit

Sometimes you want it to wait until energy costs (for heating the water) are lower, and it would be nice if it could do that by itself. You load it now, and it runs in a few hours whether you're home or not.

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TWFM@reddit

My new Samsung washer is programmed to sing me a song when the cycle finishes. There's no way to shut it off.

And the more expensive model at the store can be controlled by an app.

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RollingNightSky@reddit

They sell computers for Amish, but they aren't Internet connected and have only very basic programs. So that it would match their technology theme. I'm

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NecroAssssin@reddit

r/redditsnipper

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n00bz0rz@reddit

I too am suspicious of most modern technology. Especially printers and anything involving the RF spectrum. It's dark magic.

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Eric--V@reddit

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -Arthur C. Clarke

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AdWeak183@reddit

Can I interest you in a wifi smart printer?

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LukeCH2015@reddit

I REBUKE IT

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nihi1zer0@reddit

I bought an HP 4200 series from 2002 off of ebay. I had to get a serial port-to-usb adapter to use it. Best printer ever made.

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n00bz0rz@reddit

No.

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incidel@reddit

Printers are indeed of the devil. As sysadmin I am the strongest advocate for a paperless office!

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fishystickchakra@reddit

Macs also of the devil. It has Daemons inside their computers!

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ZengineerHarp@reddit

So does Linux

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TheFireman1954@reddit

And so does UNIX, and BSD

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Mastacheata@reddit

No need to repeat yourself. Just because it's Berkeley Unix doesn't make it different from the other Unix (I've forgotten what the other US University Unix flavor was)

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GeekBoy-from-IL@reddit

Sys-V?

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Mastacheata@reddit

I think that's the one I had in mind, but as the other reply mentions I was mistaken in that it is another university who created that branch of Unix. Apparently it's more like the one branch was for education and the other for corporate users.

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GeekBoy-from-IL@reddit

Yes, SYS-V was more commonly associated with AT&T.

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a4qbfb@reddit

There isn't one. The two flavors are SysV (from AT&T) and BSD.

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Mastacheata@reddit

Yeah you're right - I always thought it was two universities who made different flavors of Unix, but apparently it's just the university and the corporate flavor that branched off at the beginning.

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a4qbfb@reddit

The “corporate flavor” is the original.

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Mastacheata@reddit

But it creates a whole slew of other Unix distributions like Solaris for example.

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a4qbfb@reddit

Solaris was originally called SunOS and was based on BSD. They switched to SysV (and changed the name) after SunOS 4.

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Master-Collection488@reddit

To quote Ask Jeff K on Something Awful back in the mid-90s:

"LUNIX is grate, its open sores!"

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jcollie@reddit

It's how they control the birds.

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n00bz0rz@reddit

Lies! We all know birds aren't real.

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romanrambler941@reddit

That's exactly why they need to be controlled.

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clichekiller@reddit

css is dark magic

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SnooChipmunks8506@reddit

I came here for this exact comment.

Printers are of the devil.

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Any-Organization3106@reddit

The RF spectrum is light magic. Almost literally.

Printers are a sign that the devil is real and that he is sneaky.

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420stonks@reddit

anything involving the RF spectrum. It's dark magic

I have a textbook on high-speed signal propagation. The subtitle is in fact "advanced black magic"

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ionixsys@reddit

The computer engineer with a gun is one of my favorites: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20981980

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cr1kk0@reddit

I read about this on reddit the other day, but cant remember where. The way they explained it is that it isn't suspicion of technology, but about the closeness of the community physically and emotionally (? I think thats what they said).

The example was if they used cars, the community would be able to live further away from each other but then would make it harder to bring the community together when needed.

It was really interesting and I wish I could find it again, and it made a lot of sense. But it could have also been completely wrong

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mintyfreshismygod@reddit

Oh! I heard that too in Articles of Interest podcast about zippers!

Talking about how the Amish negotiate technological advance and that it's about community.

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fresh-dork@reddit

one of my early career sysadmins was a reformed mennonite. seems to fit

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Outrageous_Top_3605@reddit

The RF spectrum is the devil's work

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Sereggor_Duredhel@reddit

Nah. Just a tool. 3G/4G/5G though.

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Lost-Independence550@reddit

alimianji9020@gmail.com send masaj Friends offer work for you please let me have a message at Watts App ۰۹۱۳۹۱۳۹۱۳۹

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PastorBlinky@reddit

Mennonites just have a very weird relationship with technology. They dress and act like the Amish, but drive around in giant vans.

The thing with religion and the bible is anyone can claim anything based on any passage. It’s the original ‘Choose your own adventure’ book.

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SwimmingThroughHoney@reddit

Mennonites just have a very weird relationship with technology.

Only the more conservative groups. Plenty of Mennonites have no such weird relationship and you'd never guess they were Mennonite if you were to meet them.

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Endarial@reddit

Exactly. I am Mennonite. All my family and friends I grew up with are Mennonite. There was never any talk about technology being evil or verboten. Although the older generation, those born in the 1920s - 1940s tended to be against drums and electric guitars in worship services. (At least in my church.)

Heck, my wife teases me all the time about all the tech gadgets I'm buying.

It simply comes down to what sect or group you belong to and how seriously you take it.

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GrumpyCatStevens@reddit

I’ve also heard that joke made about Baptists and Pentecostals.

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Drone30389@reddit

Why should you always take two Mormons fishing?

Because if you only take one he'll drink all your beer.

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Crazed_rabbiting@reddit

My step father was Mennonite and his church was fairly progressive. Unless they told you, you would have no idea. They were also some of the best people I have ever known. Quietly lived there faith and did good deeds silently. My family was very poor and members of his church paid for me to do summer camp and other fun kid stuff I never would have gotten to experience. My experience with the Catholic Church, which I was baptized into, was not positive at all.

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billndotnet@reddit

The vans are emblematic of the kinds of technology they'll allow. Things that support togetherness or community support are more acceptable. Something that favors individual freedom like a car is far less valuable than something that can be used to support others. They won't always use power tools but a quality barbecue grill brings people together. There's merit to the approach and at the very least it's hard to call them selfish.

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costabius@reddit

If you move people around in groups of 12, they are easier to monitor for orthodoxy...

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trenthany@reddit

Mennonites are not nearly as bad as the Amish for that. Not a major concern for the ones I’ve met.

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_arc360_@reddit

The ones near me make the best apple crumble pie, so they alright in my book

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Sewer-Urchin@reddit

Oh hell yes, religious weirdness aside, if you ever get to eat from a Mennonite bakery do it. Just the basic dinner rolls are incredible.

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ratshack@reddit

The ones near me sell the best granola I’ve ever had, ever.

I didn’t even like granola but omg so good.

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Geminii27@reddit

Anything which binds your ability to get things done effectively to the church or community of church members, nothing which would allow you to strike out on your own or learn how to be self-sufficient.

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berlin_crossbow@reddit

Or you could argue that it is all about control and restricting access to information and ways of thinking

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Sxeptomaniac@reddit

I'm a Mennonite who studied some Mennonite history and theology, and Sysadmin, so I guess this is up my alley. (I'm Mennonite Brethren, which does not have technology restrictions.)

For the first question regarding the rule, the boss at the business is likely part of that church, so that's why he doesn't have normal Wifi. It's probably mostly for the benefit of him and fellow church-members to not have anything easily accessible. Mennonite theology emphasizes the choice of each person, so it's likely not intended to enforce beliefs on others

As for why, there are a number of factors, so it can vary depending on the specific community of Mennonites, but it largely comes down to protecting community itself. There are often community elders who make determinations regarding what is and is not acceptable.

Typically, this sort of conservative Mennonite and Amish theology is about preserving community and avoiding the corrupting influence of overdoing modern communication technology. For the same reason, they might only allow a phone to be installed outside the home in a small shack, and cell phones might be allowed, but only used a certain distance away from the home. New technology is treated suspiciously, especially anything related to communications and travel.

In this case, limiting public wifi in the business might be to reduce the ease of relying on it for quick and easy communications.

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HisExcellencyAndrejK@reddit

When you consider all the stupid things people do because they saw something on TikTok, this becomes more understandable!

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spacehicks@reddit

Also business WiFi is usually much more expensive than consumer WiFi. Especially in rural areas you usually find the Mennonite folks at. It’s probably a cost cutting measure as well

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PhreeBeer@reddit

Of course the Bible speaks about wifi. Not by name since wifi is an English word. But condider

1 Corinthians 14:9

So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.

Clearly this is in favor of wifi.

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FifthEL@reddit

This is interesting, considering Jesus only spoke in riddle and parable. Very very interesting

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Wandering_To_Nowhere@reddit

Apparently this is a real thing.

Several years ago, I was the head of an IT team where we rotated after hours on-call.

One of the other team leads asked me if I would be willing to take one of the older ladies (who I'll call Jane) from her team and add her to mine. She (the other team lead, not Jane) had just found out she was pregnant, and could no longer handle the "extra work" of having Jane on her team. I was a bit confused, because Jane was a super nice older lady and I'd never known her to be any extra trouble. So of course I said yes.

Then the shoe dropped. Jane had always been a very "old fashioned" and reserved lady - very soft spoken, always sweet and polite, only wore long ankle length skirts, full long sleeved shirts that covered all the way up to her neck, etc. Nothing crazy, just very old fashioned and conservative dress.

I had always known Jane was very religious, but the details never came up. Until Jane officially joined my team, and informed me of the "new rules" that her church had implemented. I never did quite understand which religion she belonged to, but it was an off-shoot of Catholic, except that they had split from the regular Catholic church a LONG time ago, and now had their own pope (I think she said "her" pope was in Spain? but I may be remembering that wrong). Anyway, the important thing was that the church had recently decided that their members were no longer allowed to have Internet in their homes (it's been awhile, so it might have been no internet AND no computer). She could still maintain a job in IT, and still use computers and internet at work, but she was not allowed to have internet in her home. So on the weeks where she was responsible for the after-hours on-call rotation, if she got an after-hours call, she would have to physically drive in to the office to deal with it - no matter how quick and easy the fix was. So a 30 minute drive to the office to fix a 30 second problem, and then a 30 minute drive home. This would sometimes happen 2 to 6 times in a given night. And of course, often the problem would be too urgent to wait 30 minutes for her to drive in and fix it. So as the team lead, I would almost always get a call "we need this fixed NOW and we can't wait for Jane to drive in to the office", so on her on-call weeks, I basically ended up covering every single call.

Jane was super apologetic about the whole thing, but she really was between a rock and hard place, her job or her religion. I am not a religious person, but I DO respect other people's beliefs. And as I said, Jane really was just the nicest, sweetest lady, and was one of the few people that actually lived by their religious beliefs, and didn't try to force it on other people. But the company told her that being on-call was a part of her job, and if she wasn't able to do her job, that they would be letting her go. I ended up going and talking to the management above us and got them to agree to let me be "first call" on her weeks. So any problems that came up, I would deal with first, and if it was a quick fix or emergency, I would deal with it. And if it was a longer, more involved issue that wasn't urgent, then Jane would drive in to work to deal with it, as she had been. It kind of sucked but I ended up doing that for another 3 years before I left the company

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BikingAimz@reddit

Maybe it’s this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmarian_Catholic_Church

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MethanyJones@reddit

The original Andelusional religion

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laserlesbians@reddit

Ah, yes, the sedevacantists. Man those guys are weird

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1978CatLover@reddit

Basically the Western Schism only 600 years later with less French politics.

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Wandering_To_Nowhere@reddit

This does sound like it

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eliasbats@reddit

You DO respect other people's beliefs (and it's very good that you are such a nice guy). Unfortunately many times the "beliefs" do not respect the lives of the believers, and they are anti-social in a very provocative way.

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sparkyblaster@reddit

Didn't force it on anyone, and yet look how it turned out.

This isn't beliefs. It's a cult.

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diversalarums@reddit

You are a truly good person.

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dustojnikhummer@reddit

If we had a person who had to drive to the office they wouldn't be in the oncall rotation. But then, unlike most US companies, everyone, including salaried employees, must get compensated for being oncall.

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GolfballDM@reddit

"I never did quite understand which religion she belonged to, but it was an off-shoot of Catholic, except that they had split from the regular Catholic church a LONG time ago, and now had their own pope (I think she said "her" pope was in Spain?"

Palmarian Church, probably. The schism wasn't a "long" time ago, unless you count 1978 as a long time in ecclesiastic terms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmarian_Catholic_Church

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Geminii27@reddit

Honestly, if issues were happening that often, I wonder why there wasn't a night shift.

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Wandering_To_Nowhere@reddit

Believe me, we made that argument MANY times, but we were all salary, so why would they pay another person to work overnight, when they could continue to make us do it for free

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Geminii27@reddit

Salary doesn't automatically mean you don't get overtime, regardless of what some managers like to try and make people believe.

In the US, in particular, there's no law saying you can't get overtime even in a 'professional'/exempt job. If your hours are regularly over 40 a week and you're not being paid commensurately, you may want to renegotiate your contract, cut your hours to 40, or look for alternative employment.

Computer-based job exemptions, for example, require that the employee be earning a minimum of $684 a week, if not paid hourly. That's admittedly not a very high wage ($35,568/yr), so if you're not paid hourly and you're making more than that, you may want to look for alternative contracts/jobs.

Other countries have other labor laws, of course. Australia, for example, doesn't have national automatic exemptions, regardless of salary.

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MoreRopePlease@reddit

Did you not get any comp time? (put in 6 extra hours this week on-call, so take off 6 hours from your next week)

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Wandering_To_Nowhere@reddit

We were generally allowed pretty lax hours, so we were (unofficially) allowed to take comp time if we had a bad on-call night. But honestly, most nights it was just 1 or 2 phone calls, that took less than 5 minutes to fix (assuming you could dial in and do it from home). The bad nights were not that often. It was Jane needing to drive back and forth to the office that made it a big deal at the time.

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RufusBeauford@reddit

Good on you! Its hard enough finding people willing to take on responsibilities for others at work who need a hand, much less at 3am. Incredibly kind of you to be willing to help, even if you didn't share or understand her beliefs.

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mr_oberts@reddit

Fuck can they run though.

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jschadwell@reddit

Once

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Kinky_No_Bit@reddit

Meth is a hell of a drug....

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vandon@reddit

They don't, but it's also not in the Bible as being ok. Some very strict interpretations take the Bible as being what is allowed rather than "it's ok if it's not specifically forbidden or mentioned"

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MR_Moldie@reddit

Its not the bible that forbids it. It is the church's stance that certain technology disrupts values. I am guessing owner belongs to a more conservative Mennonite church.

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EbolaWare@reddit

I'm pretty sure this is it. To put it a different way:

If a technology doesn't bring the community closer, it doesn't belong in the community.

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cheeersaiii@reddit

Mate work with some Brethren and get back to me! They used to pull the stereos out of their cars because the devil communicates through music or radio waves or some shit.

They wouldn’t eat with me, aren’t allowed to stay in hotels, and are never fired just moved among their own extensive companies (so are often lazy or fucking useless at their jobs).

Religion and churches are something to behold when they really get going lol… Righteous Gemstones is more of a documentary tbh

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1978CatLover@reddit

The only Gemstone I'm familiar with is a mod for Diablo II... *runs*

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Ttyybb_@reddit

Where in the bible did they forbid the use of Wi-Fi?!

Berry first line actually

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1978CatLover@reddit

"In the beginning, God created Ethernet. And God said, Let there be the RJ-45 connector, and He saw that it was good."

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DiodeInc@reddit

I am a Christian, and nowhere in the Bible does it forbid wifi. Or anything like jet.

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ClydusEnMarland@reddit

Apart from the 10th Commandment: Thou shalt not cover thy neighbours WiFi.

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1978CatLover@reddit

Or their ass. No matter how much Pilates they did.

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GravitasIsOverrated@reddit

Some sects take the perspective that we should be cautious about modern/worldly things, on the basis of things like 1 John 2:15-16 “Do not love the world or the things in the world” and Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”.

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incidel@reddit

By the later quote every single christian in present day is a cosplaying muppet. Even the pope and all his monks and nuns.

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DiodeInc@reddit

But then a lot more would fit into that than wifi. Like cars.

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mjavon@reddit

Or like, radio. Considering that WiFi is basically just a short-range radio...

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odaiwai@reddit

Colours are just a thing on the EM Spectrum too, but they're not banned: https://xkcd.com/273/

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GravitasIsOverrated@reddit

That’s why I wrote “cautious” and not “outright reject” :). Amish and old-school Mennonite people use computers, drive cars, use power tools, etc - they’re just cautious about how they introduce them into their private lives. So, the idea in this case would be that the business services cars (totally ok, that’s not in somebody’s private life) and uses computers for bookkeeping (also totally fine, that’s also not in your private life) but they don’t want employees using wifi to connect personal devices to the internet (adding unnecessary worldly technology into one’s personal/private life).

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ShalomRPh@reddit

I work in a Hasidic neighborhood, and the same attitude prevails here. No TV, no smartphones, computers for work only (even if they're in the home), and some serious filtering on the internet.

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DiodeInc@reddit

Ah yeah I see. Should’ve been more careful with reading it lol

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leitey@reddit

Cars, electricity, gas powered lawnmower.. welcome to Amish and Mennonite life.

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GravitasIsOverrated@reddit

Hi, I’m a Mennonite typing this out on my cellphone :)

There’s a very wide range to mennonites, but even the Amish will use all of those things in certain contexts.

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leitey@reddit

I'm admittedly more familiar with the Amish, but it is always interesting to cross the parish boundaries and see what the different bishops allow. The ones closer to bigger cities tend to have lights on their horse and buggies. In the more rural areas, no lights allowed. I even saw a horse and buggy with LED ground effect lights, but that could have been rumspringa.

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ShalomRPh@reddit

I was in a motel in South Ronks PA a few years back, about 11:00 on a Sunday night, sitting on the porch, when I hear a loud car radio coming up the road boom tsh boom tsh I'm looking around, and I don't see any cars... then a horse and buggy clops by and the boom tsh dopplers off into the distance.

This guy had hooked up an alternator to his buggy's axle to charge a battery, and had a stereo system that would have been the envy of a lot of car owners.

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FearTheLeaf@reddit

RUMSPRINGA!!!!

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_9a_@reddit

Mennonites are a half step away from Amish, so you're on the correct tack

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KelpFox05@reddit

Whilst I am not a Christian myself, it seems like people who don't really believe in Christianity but want to be perceived as Christian for the social benefits are perfectly happy picking and choosing like that.

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steave435@reddit

So logically, they should avoid things that were in the world at that time, and welcome anything that helps to move away from it

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kanzenryu@reddit

It's on page 900

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millijuna@reddit

You are correct. The thing with the Mennonites isn’t whether the technology is condemned by the Bible or not, but rather whether it has benefit to the community or not.

I’m Lutheran, so about as far removed from the Mennonites as possible, but I also built the IT systems for a church affiliated nonprofit that operates a remote retreat centre. I have built it up as an enterprise/university style campus network.

How we deal with technology is a source of constant discussion and occasional conflict. We are at a completely remote site, no mobile phone service, etc… while I have widely deployed wifi to support our staff and operations, we have made the choice to not provide access to our guests. We deliberately want them to unplug.

So far it’s worked. But it’s also something that is always under discussion.

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NightMgr@reddit

“Be ye separate” obviously means air gapping.

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NDaveT@reddit

Ever heard of the Amish? They are a branch of Mennonite. They don't own cars either, and they often have one telephone line for the entire village if they have one at all.

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trenthany@reddit

Mennonites are a sect of the Amish that aren’t AS extreme AFAIK.

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RedditUser41970@reddit

More accurately, both are sects of Anabaptists, along with a few others such as Hutterites.

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trenthany@reddit

Anabaptists were the ones that didn’t believe in infant baptisms iirc? Getting way back like 1500-1600s iirc and I’m not sure on that. I remember learning the name in school.

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ozvic@reddit

So many religions! Even if I follow my chosen religion perfectly .. if 've picked the wrong one .. I'm doomed to hell, right?

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trenthany@reddit

Beats me. I’m not dead yet!

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ShalomRPh@reddit

Given that they're Anabaptists, they don't officially join the church until they're 18. Plenty of pickup trucks in Pennsylvania that were owned by a succession of maybe ten 16-17 year old teens, who make bank hauling their elders around, and then selling it to the next 16-year-old when they turn 18.

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Oh_Hell_IDK@reddit

Let's go on Reddit and make fun of our boyfriend's religion!

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commandrix@reddit

It might be more accurate to say that the most religious folks don't know what to do with modern technology since it was never mentioned in texts that were written down hundreds or thousands of years ago.

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catwiesel@reddit

thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house

obviously, this included wifi. so to prevent tempted the neighbours, dont have any wifi. there, perfect logic.

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ShalomRPh@reddit

That's not exactly what coveting means.

The true definition of that commandment is, thou shalt not force someone to sell you something they don't want to sell by exerting undue pressure. This even includes offering them way above market value for the thing, so they can't afford to pass it up.

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catwiesel@reddit

thats just like, you opinion, man...

coveted; coveting; covets Synonyms of covet

transitive verb 1 : to wish for earnestly covet an award 2 : to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably The king's brother coveted the throne.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_covet

I actually did not really read all of that. I actually dont care. I really dont. You may be right. But its not common knowledge

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ShalomRPh@reddit

Not just my opinion, that's the Rabbinic definition.

The issue is, all ten Commandments are actions that are punishable in Earthly courts for a violation. Simply desiring something is not an action, per se, as there's no physical effort involved and no energy expended. Furthermore, any such action has to be witnessed by two people who can testify in court. How is anyone going to testify "Yeah, I saw Joe thinking about that camera on display there, he was really drooling over it"?

So the punishment is for the action taken on the basis of the desire.

Source material is here if you read Hebrew and/or Aramaic.

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a22e@reddit

"Thou shalt not covet another man's Wifi." -The 10BASE2 commandments

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ManWhoIsDrunk@reddit

Thou shalt honour thy fa0/1/1 and thy modem!

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Adda717@reddit

So does this like include all radio frequencies? Wireless mics in church? The radio? Cell phone signals?

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Ryokurin@reddit

Just like other churches, there are different sects that tighten or loosen the rules to some degree. A great example is that some sects of the Amish do use computers or phones, but they are extremely limited. That is, the computer has no internet access, no multimedia and is basically only used for farm business like accounting, or looking at design plans. The phone is just to order supplies.

Like most things, some people will find a way to justify it. Even in faith.

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Pilchard123@reddit

AIUI the (official) Amish take on it isn't "no technology invented after the horse collar", it's "be very careful of things that can disrupt the community".

A car? That might breed jealousy when horses are sufficient. Computers? Could lead to laziness if misused. A tractor? More productivity means more money, and that way lies greed.

They'll use modern stuff - if it's agreed that the modern stuff is not expected to be disruptive to their lifestyle. A phone to order supplies is good because it means you can contact people even when you're house-bound (though ideally they should come and visit you in person), but using it for idle chit-chat is laziness. A computer for accounting is good because it means your books are more accurate and honest, but gaming and doomscrolling is idleness.

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ShalomRPh@reddit

Same as the Hasidic neighborhood I work in. They do have limited access to the internet, but with severe filtering. Only work-related business allowed.

(OK, so my computer is not filtered, but the rest of them in the store are. I'm always careful at what I view here; I'm Orthodox but not Hasidic, and I try not to load any images that would offend my cow-orkers even if I'm the only one in the store.

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EclipseIndustries@reddit

One of the most important things in the Bible is ensuring your family is fed and sheltered.

At the end of the day, adopting the technology for the explicit purpose of achieving that goal is a necessity.

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me_groovy@reddit

The problem ain't the religion, the problem's the doctrine.

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atombomb1945@reddit

Let me get this straight. There is a church that will not allow its members to use WiFi, a radio signal used to broadcast network information wirelessly, but I am guessing has no issues with using a cell phone that does the exact same thing just in a different frequency?

There are a lot of churches out there that have some out there ideas about what is not allowed because "it's in the Bible" but their scriptures normally end up being the ones about not following the ways of the world taken out of context.

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1singhnee@reddit

Mainline Mennonites do use modern technology, including Wi-Fi. There’s a bunch of different sects, just like with any other religion, some more technology resistant than others (like the sect that thought letting their kids die of measles was better than getting a vaccinations). But even old order Mennonites are allowed to use modern technology for business applications, even though they may not use it in their homes.

I can’t imagine it’s actually prohibited by their church. If their community does not use certain technology, it’s not because the Bible tells them not to, it’s because they want to maintain a simple lifestyle. It’s just a different religion.

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HigherOctive@reddit

Apparently also sitting on a forklift to unload a truck is forbidden, but thankfully God builds in loopholes around that policy so that you can get your work done.

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DoubleOwl7777@reddit

sorry in advance for the rant:

welcome to religious sects. they try and control everything. heck, even the normal church tries time and time again to control stuff, even in germany, they still think they have power. its fucking disgusting. see the recent thing with abortions in a church owned hospital, they basically forbade the doctors to carry out abortions, even in the doctors own private clinic. and what does the state do? agree with them. and dont get me started on the whole priests sexually abusing minors thing. and then they wonder why more and more leave the church.

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461weavile@reddit

"Even in Germany, they [in the Church] still think they have power." That is completely normal. I'm sure I don't have to point out the terrible things that happen when Germany doesn't obey the rightful authority of the Church. Not sure what you find "f... disgusting" about this normal and natural thing.

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DoubleOwl7777@reddit

yeah touch grass bro

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Threehundredsixtysix@reddit

Look up "eruv". Religion is crazy. In order to restore SOME practical ability to get things done on the Jewish Sabbath, a workaround was created that has to be properly maintained.

Instead of, maybe, realizing that the prohibition of work on the Sabbath is too broad and could be narrowed down a little?

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CatsAreGods@reddit

There's work, and then there's Sabbath elevators because when you press a button to summon it, you're "creating fire".

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nagi603@reddit

The whole "I'm gonna trick the omnipresent omnipotent god with this piece of wire" just sounds insanely narcissistic.

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Shinhan@reddit

Books have been written about how Judaism is a religion of loopholes. Its not hypocrisy, just a different philosophy.

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CatsAreGods@reddit

"There's a fine line between clever and stupid"

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trenthany@reddit

Yeah the electricity stuff for Orthodox Jews are insane. Had a customer couldn’t leave until after 7 or 8 PM because he couldn’t ride in the car until then. I offered to show him how to walk to where he was camped in a neighboring place but he was fine waiting the couple hours then driving half a mile to go 200 yards away lol.

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ShalomRPh@reddit

If it was outside the t'chum then he couldn't have gone anyways, even on foot.

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trenthany@reddit

Interesting. I’ve been doing paddle trips in various parts of the world for most of my life and this one was a camping and canoeing trip. I didn’t go on the trip just met them after the trip when I learned about it. The paddled approximately 4-5 miles then waited to started the car so I don’t think that’s it. They might have premade food and left it at the other camp to cover this? They were far enough from a city if he rode in the middle of the canoe and then walked the rest he technically would be within the walking distance but I wonder if paddling or riding in a canoe is covered under sabbath travel restrictions.

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ShalomRPh@reddit

You're not supposed to get in or out of a boat on the Sabbath. You can spend the Sabbath on a boat, if it's a long trip, but you have to wait until after nightfall to get off.

I guess this person might not be Orthodox, but definitely observant at some level.

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461weavile@reddit

Specifically, religion isn't crazy. Religion is normal, but certain religious practices are crazy.

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Aln76467@reddit

to me, the prohibition of work on the sabbath simply means that on sundays I don't go to the office and become a cog in the capitalism machine from 9 to 5.

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BooMsx@reddit

Create a hidden SSID?

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l008com@reddit

Churches get off on making arbitrary rules and making their followers obey them. Its an institutional power trip.

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mormagils@reddit

How do you simultaneously date a Mennonite mad also find extremely Mennonite things be surprising?

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gadget850@reddit

"In which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." — Ephesians 2:2:

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MalwareDork@reddit

To expound on this a little bit:

This verse was actually used against PA systems in churches by pastors at the turn of the 20'th century. The reasoning was that since Satan is "the prince of the power of the air," it was implied PA systems themselves had a corrupting, metaphysical force to them.

The same argument was also used with radio, TV and other telecommunication inventions and has generally been disregarded after a decade of household use.

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