1984

So, I recently ran across this article on Wired concerning a high school in Texas kicking out one of their students for refusing to wear her student ID.  So why was Wired covering the legal battle?  Because at first glance, the heart of the story was radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology.  You see, like many state-funded schools, their budget is tied to their attendance.  Requiring their students to wear RFID badges allows the school to count every student in the building as present—not just the ones who were in their seats when the teacher was looking, but also the ones in the guidance office, or making out in the stairwell, or smoking in the bathroom.

I have to admit, when I scanned the first paragraph of the piece, I expected to see words like "Big Brother," "invasion of privacy," or "treated like a beloved family pet."  The last thing I expected to see was the phrase, "Mark of the Beast."  As soon as I saw those words, I had to read on, even though I had several knee-jerk assumptions.  The first assumption was that somewhere in there would be the kind of Biblical interpretation that sets my teeth on edge.  The second was that I'd see at least one book of the Bible misspelled.

As it turns out, I might have only been half right.  I did indeed see a book of the Bible misspelled.  Again.  I freely admit that this irritates me to no end.  The Bible is widely considered to be one of the most, if not the most, widely circulated book, well, ever.  How hard is it to lay ahold of a copy, crack it open, and read the words "The Revelation of John" or, simply, "Revelation?"  Singular.  One revelation to one guy.  Not, in other words, "Revelations."

There, I said it, I feel better now.

Where was I?  Oh right, Biblical interpretation.  The phrase "Mark of the Beast" comes from Revelation, one of the most commonly abused books of the Bible.  It describes a vision—a dream, if you will—and it has all the illogic and fantastic imagery you would expect.  I don't know about you, but I don't tend to take dream imagery literally.

I once had a dream that a friend had been buried alive and that I had a shovel.  Was the dream true?  Yes.  My friend needed my help.  Was she literally buried alive somewhere?  Of course not.  The dream requires interpretation because it's a dream.  The same is true of Revelation.  This is one of the reasons why I say that I take the Bible too seriously to take it literally.

So when I see that someone is taking a moral stance on an issue based on their interpretation of the situation being "the Sign of the Beast," I'm concerned that they are of the "literal and inerrant Word of God" school of interpretation.  But as I said before, I felt the need to keep reading.  It turns out that the young lady was siting Revelation 13:16-18, which reads:

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

So, numerology aside, this seems to be a warning against allowing yourself to be cataloged, so...  I might actually be with the student on this one.  I mean, it's not a warning that I would apply to the census or a student ID, but I would stand against Senator Kelly's Mutant Registration Act. And as a proud American citizen I uphold her right to refuse based on her sincerely held religious beliefs.

Now, if only the media would stop portraying all Christians taking a stand based on their beliefs as the vocal lunatic fringe, maybe we could all get somewhere with this.

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
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