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March 07, 2009 05:52 PM
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I won't be giving up technology for lent. Though I think we would be better off without it. The reasons the Bishops are giving is a bit of a stretch to be honest. How many people would even really think about where the resources come from to make their phones?
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Technology would result in a lot of things being given up for lent - no TV, no Computers, no Internet, no Phones, no Mobile, no Heating, no Electricity, no Transport etc. The term "technology" is too broad - so practically you are giving up a lot of things that we take for granted. However, it is possible to give up one of these luxuries.
I have given up my mobile phone, and so far I am lasting well. However, it means I am relying a lot on my home phone and the internet - the things I use my phone for the most.
cjd
PS: Although those Catholic bishops think we should give up technology - are they realising the scale of what they are wanting people to do. Maybe they should rephrase what they have said!
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By the way, here's a link to an article with a little more info: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/04/world/main4843617.shtml
The article you linked to left out things like:
- "It's a small way to remember the importance of concrete and not virtual relationships," the Modena diocese said in a statement. "It's an instrument to remind us that our actions and lifestyles have consequences in distant countries."
- "The Turin diocese is suggesting the faithful not watch television during Lent. In the northeastern city of Trento the church has set up a "new lifestyles" calendar that proposes different changes in everyday life for each of the period's five weeks.
Some ideas include: Leave cars at home and hop on a bike or a bus; refrain from throwing chewing-gum on the street and start recycling waste; enjoy the silence of a week without the Internet and iPods."
- "Benedict praised social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace for forging friendships and understanding, but cautioned that online networking could isolate people from real social interaction."
The Pope is well-intentioned, I would say. What he's suggesting just isn't my style, that's all.
Source(s):
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/04/world/main4843617.shtml
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Will you be giving up technology for lent?
Some Catholic bishops think you should http://i.gizmodo.com/5166028/catholic-bishops-call-for-abandonment-of-technology-during-lent
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| March 07, 2009 06:19 PM |
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March 07, 2009 06:21 PM
Giving up technology, for me, would be an excellent thing to give up but something that is nearly impossible. Technology would result in a lot of things being given up for lent - no TV, no Computers, no Internet, no Phones, no Mobile, no Heating, no Electricity, no Transport etc. The term "technology" is too broad - so practically you are giving up a lot of things that we take for granted. However, it is possible to give up one of these luxuries.
I have given up my mobile phone, and so far I am lasting well. However, it means I am relying a lot on my home phone and the internet - the things I use my phone for the most.
cjd
PS: Although those Catholic bishops think we should give up technology - are they realising the scale of what they are wanting people to do. Maybe they should rephrase what they have said!
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March 07, 2009 06:42 PM
In regards to your PS, maybe they just wanted to leave it broad to leave people as much room to interpret as they wanted. I doubt they would really expect us to give up EVERYthing... but maybe they're hoping that one item on the list (one website, one piece of technology, etc.) will ring home and we'll say oh yeah, that's a good idea, I can give that up. I know when I was a kid, my mom would have to suggest about a dozen things for me to give up before I could finally pick one.
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March 07, 2009 06:47 PM
Your right - because I doubt they would be able to give up everything as well!
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March 07, 2009 06:25 PM
I was born and raised Catholic, but now I'm not really an active one... so nope, no giving up anything for lent for me. But even back when I was active, I was never one for giving anything up for lent. I guess it's just not a way of doing things that works for me, I was too focused on what I gave up and not focused enough on the point of giving it up in the first place. I have to really want something to do it, and do it well. But hey, kudos to the people who do it and benefit from it. To each their own, whatever works for them. :) By the way, here's a link to an article with a little more info: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/04/world/main4843617.shtml
The article you linked to left out things like:
- "It's a small way to remember the importance of concrete and not virtual relationships," the Modena diocese said in a statement. "It's an instrument to remind us that our actions and lifestyles have consequences in distant countries."
- "The Turin diocese is suggesting the faithful not watch television during Lent. In the northeastern city of Trento the church has set up a "new lifestyles" calendar that proposes different changes in everyday life for each of the period's five weeks.
Some ideas include: Leave cars at home and hop on a bike or a bus; refrain from throwing chewing-gum on the street and start recycling waste; enjoy the silence of a week without the Internet and iPods."
- "Benedict praised social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace for forging friendships and understanding, but cautioned that online networking could isolate people from real social interaction."
The Pope is well-intentioned, I would say. What he's suggesting just isn't my style, that's all.
Source(s):
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/04/world/main4843617.shtml
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March 07, 2009 06:47 PM
Hi,
Interesting response. I too am a Catholic, but I try and do a lent promise mainly as a way of testing myself more than because of my religion. I like how you said "I have to want something to really do it and do it well" that should be everyone's approach as we should all be sticking with the promises rather than setting to difficult ones which we easily break.
cjd
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Interesting response. I too am a Catholic, but I try and do a lent promise mainly as a way of testing myself more than because of my religion. I like how you said "I have to want something to really do it and do it well" that should be everyone's approach as we should all be sticking with the promises rather than setting to difficult ones which we easily break.
cjd
March 07, 2009 06:49 PM
The last part of what Benedict said I totally agree with and have for decades. I would have gone one farther and included the whole of the internet. We know people on the other side of the planet better then we know our next door neighbors.
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March 07, 2009 06:58 PM
@cjd I used to be Franciscan... slept on the floor, lived in 104 degree heat on the top floor of a humid city building with no air conditioning, ate only the food that was donated to me. I actually really enjoyed living like that. There was less clutter in my life and more time to focus on myself, God, and the people around me. And I had a good work ethic, nothing was easy, I had to force myself to do what I needed to do and trudge through the difficulties to get it done.
I know that lent is supposed to be similar... suffering with Christ through His passion and death, testing ourselves and our willpower and our self-control... I guess it's ironic that I've never been much of a lent person, I could live like that but not give something up for a few weeks! *shrug* I don't get how I work sometimes.
@thelastscionspeaks This is true, I've been living in the new house I'm renting for 6 or 7 months and have never once spoken to my neighbors... I rarely even see them. But there's people across the world who know me inside and out, probably as good as or even better than my family knows me.
I'll never forget back in New York while I was growing up, when the entire east coast lost power. It got too hot indoors and everyone was outside. We had battery-powered radios blasting music. Our food was going bad so we all pulled our BBQs out to the street and shared everything from BBQ'd hotdogs and hamburgers to BBQ'd Chinese food. It was like one big block party. We went from door to door, hanging out on each other's steps. Everyone looked horrible, sweaty and greasy, dressed in the skimpiest clothes we could find, and nobody cared.
The second someone yelled THE POWER'S BACK!, we all cheered and ran inside to turn on our air conditioners, TVs, and computers... and we never did have a big community time like that ever again. I almost wished the power would go back out.
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I know that lent is supposed to be similar... suffering with Christ through His passion and death, testing ourselves and our willpower and our self-control... I guess it's ironic that I've never been much of a lent person, I could live like that but not give something up for a few weeks! *shrug* I don't get how I work sometimes.
@thelastscionspeaks This is true, I've been living in the new house I'm renting for 6 or 7 months and have never once spoken to my neighbors... I rarely even see them. But there's people across the world who know me inside and out, probably as good as or even better than my family knows me.
I'll never forget back in New York while I was growing up, when the entire east coast lost power. It got too hot indoors and everyone was outside. We had battery-powered radios blasting music. Our food was going bad so we all pulled our BBQs out to the street and shared everything from BBQ'd hotdogs and hamburgers to BBQ'd Chinese food. It was like one big block party. We went from door to door, hanging out on each other's steps. Everyone looked horrible, sweaty and greasy, dressed in the skimpiest clothes we could find, and nobody cared.
The second someone yelled THE POWER'S BACK!, we all cheered and ran inside to turn on our air conditioners, TVs, and computers... and we never did have a big community time like that ever again. I almost wished the power would go back out.
March 11, 2009 12:53 PM
If you're a true believer of Christ, you don't only give up technology during lent season as other group of Christians believe...You can give up anytime of the hour, day, month or year to be refreshed with what or who you believe in! According to what the Bible instructed, being religious like the Pharisees and Sadducees were corrected by Jesus himself. Meant to say, righteousness is what the Kingdom of God is for, not religiousity!
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Granted, things always get messed up between what the Vatican says and what the media thinks the Vatican says. They're always looking for a way to take a stab at Christians and make them look foolish. So I wonder what an actual Catholic source would say the reason is... probably something about all the gidgets and gadgets in our lives making so much noise and taking up so much of our time that we never have time to close our eyes and just think and be anymore. So it was probably some sort of a message for Catholics to shut the clutter out of their lives and focus on themselves and their relationship with Christ to prepare for Easter.
That is if I was the Vatican... I'm not though...So...there that is then...
http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/congo_basin_forests/problems/mining/coltan_mining/
http://www.cellular-news.com/coltan/
Lent, in my opinion, shouldn't focus on news or political reasons. It should be about ourselves and God. If I were Vatican (which, well, I suppose I'm glad I'm not!) I would've focused on pushing Catholics to use technology mostly for religious resources (watching The Passion, guides for Stations of the Cross, etc.) and then spending more time in silence or out in the "real world" helping and interacting with the people around us. Volunteer with a homeless shelter, take a walk, etc.