Stallmanism

I've found St. IGNUcius from the Church of Emacs as a graceful saint who blessed the earth with his idea of sharing. A leftist who feel gross at how some elites use their authorities for own benefit. How people should not restrict other's freedom in software.

Like other religion, some people would worship St. IGNUcius so much that they tried to make a religion out of it. They wanted to have a closer relation with the idea he brought. They wish to relate  themselves to the teaching and achieved the ideal.

In order to do that, they need to translate the teaching into their circumstances. You know, like how to make a sentence that the saint told at the time could be relevant on the days of the worshipers. How it would fit in the socio-world of that time.

For example, the scripture of GNU Public License was written in the United State and complied with the country's copyright system. How can I adapt the GPL in Indonesia? I strive as I behave like what the scripture said even if its legality in Indonesia is questionable.

The state where I live might not have enforced the freedom in GPL. But, as a believer, I shall respect the freedom written in it. Although it is not legally binding, it becomes a personal choice. I choose it because it has a deeper idea: sharing and caring.

When a word of a saint becomes mainstream it would born as a religion, thus Stallmanism. This belief system is to make the idea of a saint more exclusive. You know, like Christianity wants to bond Jesus' words to themselves*. They canonized things. The faith have becomes methodical and rigid.

[* I was tempted to write about other religion, but it could be considered as a provocative theme so I shall use a religion where I can speak for only.]

When the inflexibility introduced, I began counted among the outcasts of Stallmanism. The religion was declared as a compatible extension of Atheism. By being an extension of Atheism, Stallmanism don't believe in legacy religions, telepathy, pixies and other imaginary friends.

Wait, what?

I reckon that some of brothers and sisters are not in the belief system that believe the existence of God. But, to take that as a part of the religion totally ridiculous! I am a believer in St. IGNUcius (God bless him) but also a faithful Christian, one of legacy religions.

It seems I am a heretic. Well, screw them!

I was never meant to be in the Atheism anyway. Our saint never said anything about adding Atheism as a part of his teaching. It was the elites of Stallmanism that added it to the religion. It was their own interpretation that made some people, like me, became outcasts.

The Church of Emacs only require the followers to strive these words:

There is no system but GNU, and Linux is one of its kernels.

See, there is no requirement of being an atheist. Some of the past apostle said that Vi is a heretic. By further saying:

VI is a roman number. ED is a 2-note tune. red is a color. emacs is an editor. You cannot edit a file with a roman number. You cannot edit a file with a tune. You cannot edit a file with a color. Therefore, if you want to edit a file, use emacs.

However, when his grace bless Universitas Indonesia with his coming, he said that users of ViM could also a member of the Church of Emacs. I know that some people said that he was saying it would not be a sin but a penance of using Vi. (Emphasize on Vi not ViM)

By declaring it as a penance not a sin is something that means his grace actually telling people to not use this editor, but using this editor is not a heresy. His grace concern was because it lies by the example given by Vi tutorial and the lack of it. How obscured it was!

And I agree. If you use Vi (Vi basic), you would be confused. It has strange little feature set and somewhat confusing. It doesn't have enough flexibility! If you are not used to it (until this time of writing neither do I), you would often make wrong keystrokes.

The idea of emacs is to liberate people from this obscurity while providing them a freedom to express their hack-ability. By extending it, creates shortcuts and define new behaviors. This is the fundamental thinking of what our grace was desiring for: a condition where humanity could prosper.

That's also the spirit of GNU and FSF. The freedom they want to achieve is all about mankind. It contains a teaching about share each other. But, it also promote individual thinking by providing a framework that can be extended.

This is compatible with Jesus' teachings.

You see, Jesus was a leftist also at his time. He despised the teaching of religious leader of that time and the rigid custom. He protested against the teaching that circumvent a child's responsibility to his parents*. He also sometimes broke the Sabbath custom**.

[* According to the custom, a child can nullify his obligation to his parents by declaring that he already gives his money for his parents to the monastery. So, he doesn't need to take care them anymore.
** Taking grains with his disciple, healing a crippled man on Sabbath. Read the link for in depth.]

We often forget about why the religious belief there in the first place. Gospel which means a good news was a concept to provide men with peacefulness. It was a concept of making peace to God and to human. As Jesus formulated the teaching by loving God with all of our heart and to love other as we love ourselves.

Just like communism, but with the adherence of self-conscience and God. In fact, this is like other religion which promoting socialism. The difference is, like other religion, Christianity add God as a factor to do so. To believe the existence of God is an incentive for people to share. Before a person can share to other, he should able to love himself and equally love others.

See, Christianity and the teaching of St. IGNUcius is fundamentally promoting the same thing.

It should be okay if a believer of Christ also a believer in St. IGNUcius teaching. We could even extend that belief with the incentive of saying to do so is What Would Jesus Do.  Meaning, to practice and promote four freedom is also a part of a Christian ministry.

How is it this elites want to monopolize our beloved saint are the only legitimate?

Even if they take our beloved saint as their prophet, it doesn't mean that they are the only one. Our saint seems also not have that favoritism. Not once in his site nor his first degree links mention about Stallmanism.

I am not joining Stallmanism. I believe in the four freedom our saint preach but not in Atheism. We might be different, but since we are in the same boat I guess I would put you as brothers and sisters of mine.

Like there are Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Catholics, Pentecostal and so on, Stallmanism is should be considered as one of the branch of St. IGNUcius teaching. We might be different, but it is to promote humanitarian view is what I believe the original idea of our beloved saint was.

Thus, to make a conflict is totally blow the purpose and only making children of St. IGNUcius a laughing stock. Even there are many interpretation of St. IGNUcius, we should not conquer each other for mere supremacy. Instead, we should be strive for the purpose of four freedom: to make software a freedom expression.

May the source be with you.