When you don’t believe in anything, you will fall for everything.
Proof to the point came this week in Sweden where the government has officially recognized a “religion” that is based on ripping off Internet files.
According to the Associated Press: “A file-sharing group that considers itself a spiritual organization said Thursday that Sweden has recognized it as a religious community.
“The Church of Kopimism received approval in late December. The public authority responsible for such decisions was closed for the day and couldn’t be reached to confirm the approval, which comes amid a global crackdown on file-sharing websites often used to illegally download The church’s roughly 3,000 members meet every week to share files of music, films and other content they consider holy and regard copying as a sacrament. He said the church’s philosophy opposes copyrights in all forms and encourages piracy of all types of media, including music, movies, TV shows, and software.
“Sweden’s government defines religious communities as ones that conduct religious activities and services, entitling them to file separate applications for state funding and the right to marry couples. The country also has recognized believers of Norse paganism, elves and gnomes as religious communities.”
If you agree as a culture that there is nothing in which to believe beyond yourself, then what do you have to lose by establishing your own, private religion?
Of course there may be some in this world who have a stake in this controversy about their creation being usurped via “file sharing.”
And there may well be someone in the next world who will have the final word regarding the usurpation of creation in general.
Eternity will answer that question.
File-sharing my shrink in importance when that issue is addressed.
— Chuck Smith