{"id":1150,"date":"2009-01-24T21:52:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-24T21:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/is-the-mac-catholic.html"},"modified":"2009-01-24T21:52:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-24T21:52:00","slug":"is-the-mac-catholic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/is-the-mac-catholic.html","title":{"rendered":"Is the Mac Catholic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

That’s the question at the heart of this essay<\/a> — which, among other things, notes that a lot of Catholics on the web use Macs (including, I confess, Your Humble Blogger.) <\/p>\n

The author notes: <\/p>\n

I’ve noticed a rather interesting correlation between prominent Catholics on the web and Mac users.<\/p>\n

Those who want to understand why should read a 15-year-old essay by novelist Umberto Eco, “The Holy War: Mac vs. DOS.” Published in the Italian newsweekly Espresso on September 30, 1994, the essay is firmly tongue-in-cheek, but like the best humor, it works because it’s based in truth.<\/p>\n

Eco writes, “I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant.” Explaining this distinction, he continues:<\/p>\n

Indeed, the Macintosh is counter-reformist and has been influenced by the ratio studiorum of the Jesuits. It is cheerful, friendly, conciliatory; it tells the faithful how they must proceed step by step to reach — if not the kingdom of Heaven — the moment in which their document is printed. It is catechistic: The essence of revelation is dealt with via simple formulae and sumptuous icons. Everyone has a right to salvation<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What a difference from the world of MS-DOS:<\/p>\n

DOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It allows free interpretation of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions, imposes a subtle hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that not all can achieve salvation. To make the system work you need to interpret the program yourself: Far away from the baroque community of revelers, the user is closed within the loneliness of his own inner torment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You’ll want to check out the rest. <\/p>\n

And, if you’re feeling truly nostalgic, check out the clip below, when the world got its very first glimpse of Mac in the flesh (so to speak). It happened exactly 25 years ago: January 24, 1984. The fellow in the bow tie is the pre-turtleneck Steve Jobs. <\/p>\n

And the rest really is<\/i> history. <\/p>\n

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That’s the question at the heart of this essay — which, among other things, notes that a lot of Catholics on the web use Macs (including, I confess, Your Humble Blogger.) The author notes: I’ve noticed a rather interesting correlation between prominent Catholics on the web and Mac users. 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