A family friend is building a website for his Christian organization (support group with camps).
To build his website he is using a pirated version of Dreamweaver and a stolen (unlicensed hacked) Flash product, among other things...
He is by no means unable to afford these products as he owns multiple million dollar properties and is constantly buying new gadgets. He ends all e-mails with scripture, and you can't have a single discussion with him without it turning into him professing his trust in God, etc, even when the discussion was totally unrelated to anything religious.
Does anyone else see the irony in this? Doesn't it strike you as odd? How could someone who's entire life is built around religion so callously break one of it's most basic rules? His belief isn't all an act, he truly believes the stuff.
2007-09-28 13:52:50 · 21 answers · asked by CSE 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Should I point this out to him or what?
I really don't care as I'm no longer Christian, but it just seems strange?
2007-09-28 13:53:52 · update #1
Cowboy_Christian: He *IS* the leader of his group. He speaks to hundreds of Christians a year, and puts on retreats/camps for them.
2007-09-28 14:13:13 · update #2
Yes you should as what he is doing is wrong, even if his motives are good he is going about the thing wrong. God will not honor that kind of thing, God expects us to act honestly and he is not. If the leaders of his group know what he is doing and allow it they also are to blame, I would have no confidence in such a group. Religion does not save anyone only RELATIONSHIP with Jesus saves and your friend is not reflecting right relationship with Jesus in this issue. He needs to repent and do the right thing or abandon the project all together. Rom 3:7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
Rom 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
He is doing that which is wrong nd hoping for good to come of it, that is not the way a Christian would do.
2007-09-28 14:02:43 · answer #1 · answered by cowboy_christian_fellowship 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There are a couple of ways you could approach this.
For starters, we might examine WHY God made one of the ten commandments "though shall not steal".
We're talking about a God who has promised to provide for all our needs. By stealing, we're denying God, saying in essence that we don't believe he will keep his promise. If your friend believes that God is on his side, then why doesn't he believe that God will provide either the funds, or the tools he needs?
But then, from the sound of it, God already provided the means. Sounds like he'll have a lot to answer for besides just stealing.
I guess part of it might be slipping into the "getting away with it" mentality. If no one notices that you stole, if the company that made the software doesn't notice it, then is it really stealing? Being a Christian does away with that argument. Ask him how he will explain himself when he's standing in judgment. Remind him that sin is only forgiven when we REPENT.
The sad irony of all this is that if he really wants to spend nothing on software, there is plenty of web development software out there that is completely free, with features and quality and reliability that rivals the "greats" like Dreamweaver and PhotoShop...
ActiveState Komodo, NVU, OpenOffice Writer, NetBeans, Eclipse and The Gimp might be a good start.
And to be REALLY free, dump Windows and get the Linux versions of all the above. Not only will it be free, it will be faster and more reliable too. I finally switched to Linux after waiting and waiting for a version of Windows XP that I could trust, and they came out with Vista instead. I have to tell you, it's a breath of fresh air. Everything wonderfully legally free.
2007-09-29 05:41:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Last night I told him I wanted to be Celibate and he called me a Hoe! " PMSL!! That's the funniest thing I've read in a while! You guys really don't seem to gel - you're just not right for each other. You can't agree on what you want from the relationship or even if you both want a relationship in the first place. Just sever all ties with the guy - you're just messing eachother up. Tell him that you don't see a future for you as a couple or as friends and wish him a nice life.
2016-04-06 06:04:15 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Theft is theft, there are no exceptions. If your friend is a true Christian he would not pirate software. It is especially hypocritical to build a Christian website with stolen software. Tell him there is a built in website creation software in earlier versions of Netscape, up to 6.0. He can download them on the Netscape website. They are not as good as Dreamweaver but are easier to use and completely free.
2007-09-28 13:58:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like he's lost the plot and most likely an American mentality - does he ask for money for the church and helps himself a little or does he give some of his own millions to the church! Let me him continue in his ignorance or point out the irony of what he does or does not do.
2007-09-28 13:58:49 · answer #5 · answered by Jewel 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You can point it out to him until you're blue in the face. He will be unable to see his own hypocrisy. Self-delusion comes easy to some people, and this guy sounds like a master of it. I'm sure he'll tell you that the end justifies the means or some other load of absolute crap.
2007-09-28 13:57:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would find offense to someone building a Christian website with stolen or using the tools illegally. Goes against the principles of which he is building his site!
You should ask him about that. As one Christian to another, when we see a member of our family doing something wrong we can confront them about it and bring it to their attention.
Good luck!
2007-09-28 13:58:14 · answer #7 · answered by Jenny 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would. First off, it's the kind of illegal thing that can come back to haunt him. You know and you told us already. Second, anybody that wears their religion on their sleeve and behaves in such a hypocritical manner needs to be taken down a notch.
2007-09-28 13:56:35 · answer #8 · answered by jct101 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You should tell him that is one of the commandments not to steal and if he truly is a christian he wouldn't break these rules so offten(maybe sometimes,accidentally).Everybody sins but they can make them also stop them selves from sinning.
2007-09-28 13:57:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No it is not ironic it is blatant hypocrisy and just plain wrong. Besides being a hypocrite he is a thief and a bad witness. You should definitely bring it to his attention.
2007-09-28 14:02:15 · answer #10 · answered by Justa Angel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋