There Are No Atheists When The Server's Crashing

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There Are No Atheists When The Server's Crashing By David M. Ewalt and Reuters, InformationWeek Feb 9, 2001 (8:14 AM) URL: http://www.telecomlibrary.com/article/IWK20010209S0002 Pope John Paul II is close to naming Saint Isidore of Seville the patron saint of Internet users and computer programmers. Isidore, who lived in Visigoth-occupied Spain, spoke numerous languages and is considered one of the most educated men of his time. He's most famous for compiling a 20-volume encyclopedia called "The Etymologies," a vast work which included entries on everything from grammar to agriculture. It's considered by some to be the sixth-century equivalent of a Web portal.

"I can hear it now, people invoking Saint Isidore to make sure a URL is correct," laughs the Rev. Michael Joncas, a theologian at the University of Notre Dame. But he says a patron saint would serve more to provide a model for a virtuous online life, not to bless downloads. Says Father Joncas, "We don't think that this saint is actually going to change the particles and electrons in the computer."

http://www.telecomlibrary.com/article/IWK20010209S0002

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), February 10, 2001


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