Is digital information the mark of the beast?

[alxian]

the fear is marking things with numbers and having them be owned and controlled.

 

the classical image is a mark on the hand.

 

but is it in fact more like ownership beyond fiat?

 

money seems to be a middle ground because its still somewhat physical.

 

what happens if money is turned completly over to a digital medium?

 

what if your life is made entirely digital?

 

there would be no way to prove anything beyond a doubt anything beyond what the digits say. it would be possible for complete control to be handed over to someone else or entire lives to be erased or created if digital information takes over.

 

i'm no luddite, far from it but when such things as credit cards and bioimplants are taking over for physical money should we not pause and consider the possibility that the message was not simply to avoid closed information systems in society but digital information surpassing physical record keeping. sure those physical records can be doctored but much easier is modifying digital records.

 

not to mention how easy it is to forge digital records when it comes to bank accounts. specifially the new mastercard that allows payments to be made instantly. i'm not sure about the technology it uses but if its in fact just touch and go credit then how hard would it be to hack it and have unlimited credit? we'll see i guess.

[rockytriton]

I guess that it's impossible to duplicate paper? I guess it's impossible to forge a signature? Any fraud that can be done digitally can be done on paper as well.

[IrishEyes]

alxian,

I understand what you are saying, I think. Someone once asked me a similar question in a Theology class. The basic areas we discussed were :"Could banking cards lead to the one-world government foretold in Bible prophecies? Could our dependance on plastic actually be the 'mark of the beast'? If technological advances are guiding us towards a cashless society, wouldn't it be that much easier for someone (Like the foretold antichrist) to take over?"

 

While I think that we are indeed working towards the days of a cashless society, I do not think that credit cards or digital info storage are the mark of the beast. I think that the actual mark, like you mentioned on the hand or head, is something that you must make a conscious decision to accept. I do not believe that people will be tricked into accepting it. I think that the Bible is pretty clear on this point. However, I am not denying the possibility that the current trends toward more digital information access will probably make it much easier for a one-world government to be established when that time comes.

 

Yeah, I'm letting my religious-wacko side show, which I normally refrain from doing here anymore, but I've been studying this one for quite a while, and I thought it was an interesting question... :)