FreeBSD logo...

[John Baldwin]

On 15-Apr-2003 Luciano Evaristo Guerche wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have heard FreeBSD is quite comparable to Linux and that is a very good free OS. I would not
> use / adhere to it just because the logo it adopts. How can a christian install an OS whose logo
> is a demon in his/her computer?

First off, you just opened a large can of worms that comes up every
so often.  Don't be surprised if you end up with an inbox full of
flames.

However, while the beastie/daemon guy does resemble a demon, there
are a few things to consider: 1) it's just a picture.  For Christians,
a JPEG image doesn't really have any power over the Spirit living inside
that person.  2) if you are a Christian who believes that demons really
exist, then the picture of a cuddly little guy with horns and a
pitchfork isn't all that accurate.  Personally I find the descriptions
in Frank Perreti's books (such as This Present Darkness and Piercing
The Darkness) to be much closer to truth.  3) An OS is just a tool,
and when evaluating which tools to use for a given job, the packaging
really isn't a large factor.  When I used to frame houses for my summer
job, my father bought me a bright orange neon hammer for my toolbelt.
He got that color so that no one else would even want to take it, but
my orange hammer worked just as fine as everyone else's more subdued-
colored hammers.  As a core team member and kernel developer who is
also a Christian, I can attest that it is indeed possible to use this
OS without having to compromise one's faith.  Now, a word or two of
caution. :)  Personally I do occasionally wear one of my FreeBSD
t-shirts on Wednesday nights to church, but that is among a group of
people that know who I am as a person and for which doing so isn't
going to be a stumbling block (as Paul would say.. see 1 Cor 10:25-32
where Paul talks about the fact that even though the people he was
talking to were free to eat meat that had been sacraficed to idols
because they knew that the other idols were not significant, it
would still be wrong for them to do it in front of other people
for whom the idols were significant such as new Christians who had
formerly worshipped that idol and would view eating that meat as an
act of worship for that idol).  Anyways, I do hope this makes sense.
I would evaluate FreeBSD based on its strengths and weaknesses as an
OS and not on its logo.

-- 

John Baldwin <jhb at FreeBSD.org>  <><  http://www.FreeBSD.org/~jhb/
"Power Users Use the Power to Serve!"  -  http://www.FreeBSD.org/