Censoring God

GodBlock

GodBlock is a web filter that blocks religious content. It is targeted at parents and schools who wish to protect their kids from the often violent, sexual, and psychologically harmful material in many holy texts, and from being indoctrinated into any religion before they are of the age to make such decisions. When installed properly, GodBlock will test each page that your child visits before it is loaded, looking for passages from holy texts, names of religious figures, and other signs of religious propaganda. If none are found, then your child is allowed to browse freely.

Via Blazing Cat Fur, who upon noting this specialized web filter asks But does it work against Airport Hare Krishnas?

On a related note, we have the following from a post at Counting Cats in Zanzibar titled Cultural Incommensurability.

How many books have you in your home? How many have you read in your life? Now try and imagine there was just one book and you are brought up, from an early age, to believe this is the word of God. Well, in places like Afghanistan that is frequently the case. Imagine also that your education consisted of memorising by rote that one book and you were beaten if you recitation was a bit out? Imagine further that that book is something you can’t actually read. You can recite it but that’s not the same thing. Not only can you not read at all but also that book is in a foreign and ancient tongue and you depend on the local holy man to tell you what it means. Now some of these holy men are scholars of that book but out in the boonies quite a few of them are as illiterate as you.

Books of course have power and the more of them you read, the more broad-based and subtle that power becomes (that is not to say it must of necessity weaken the faith of a religious person - I have met a lot of pious people who are staggeringly well-read). The situation amongst much of rural Afghanistan is like Medieval Europe. Yes, there were great Biblical scholars but many parish priests were hardly theologians. The Bible and those who could understand it - or gave the impression they could - were treated with awe. The mighty Cathedrals that still inspire awe in us, in a culture that can send probes to Saturn, must have stunned the medieval peasantry. Then something changed but the authorities who wielded the power of The Book weren’t happy and as we all know the reformation hardly happened without much weeping, wailing and the rending of garments.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/07 at 07:13 AM

  1. Is it just me or does the God Block logo look suspiciously Soviet?

    Posted by Nick M  on  07/08  at  04:25 AM

  2. Nick,

    It is only logical that the logo should have a commie aspect to it.

    Posted by John Venlet  on  07/08  at  07:28 AM

  3. Does it also block people’s first names in text?  Their CHRISTIAN names!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  07/10  at  08:19 PM

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


Next entry: Loss of Principal, Gain of Principle - It's A Mystery

Previous entry: Are My Opinions Controversial Enough to Make the List?

<< Back to main