Operating System

In the spirit of learning something new, I've been reading about and playing with the Linux operating system on my computer. If you haven't heard of Linux, it doesn't really matter; suffice to say it's an alternative to Windows, and it does basically the same thing Windows does -- it organizes, coordinates, and runs the software on your computer. One of the things about Linux, though, is that the code that forms its foundation is free and open to the public. That means that anyone with some programming know-how can take Linux and customize, package, and distribute it.

Anyway, in reading about Linux I discovered that at least one of the groups that packages and distributes the operating system has what they call a "Christian Edition." Naturally enough, I guess, I was curious about what exactly makes an operating system "Christian." So I went to the website to have a look.

It turns out that what makes this particular flavor of Linux Christian seems to be included Bible study software, a content filter, something called a "Virtual Rosary," and a strategically-placed ichthus (the little Christian fish symbol) here and there. Interestingly, the operating system can be downloaded from a website called, in part, www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com. So now you know, if you were wondering, just exactly what Jesus would download.

I don't have a problem with Bible study software or content filters. I wouldn't even necessarily mind little Christian fish swimming around my monitor. I don't mean to bash this group -- they seem to wholeheartedly want to provide, free of charge, something very useful and helpful to believers. I applaud them for it, and wish them nothing but success.

Neither do I mean to split semantic hairs. Still, I want to go back to my original question. What makes an operating system -- or any other product, for that matter -- Christian? Christian music. Christian universities. Christian publishing. See, the word "Christian" is only used in the Bible three times, as far as I know, and each time it refers to people. Specifically, it refers to people that so identified with Jesus Christ that they had his name attached to them. They were "Christ-people" who even when they suffered for it "prais[ed] God that [they] [bore] that name." (1 Peter 4:16) If by a Christian operating system we mean that it's developed by and intended for people who are Christians, then maybe I understand. But I'm not so sure we should be using the label "Christian" as a brand to denote the Christian qualities of a certain product or institution. I went to a Christian university -- but it was only as Christian as the faculty, administration, and students cared to make it on any given day.

"What would Jesus download?" Paul, who saw the church as "the body of Christ," his physical presence in the world, might ask instead "What IS Jesus downloading?" Speaking to the issue of sexual immorality, Paul asked whether the church thought it was right to unite the members of Christ with a prostitute. (1 Corinthians 6:15) Graphic and shocking language, but it's more to the point, I think, of what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian is to be so intimately identified with Jesus that we are literally members of his body. That reality gives our every action tremendous significance. It seems to me that being Christian is about consciously wearing the name of Jesus, not about the labels on the products we use.

What do you think? What makes someone, or something, "Christian"? Does that definition vary according to time and place? Do you think the "Christian" market contributes to our identity as people who are intimately identified with Jesus? Or does it perhaps detract from that identity? And how do we maintain our identity if it's not as simple as what we buy or watch or listen to?

How do we make sure that our own "operating systems" are, in fact, Christian?

I'd love to hear from you!