> I doubt most Christians think the bible is a broken clock
Their choice, and I'm sure it must be good for their pretty little stained-glass filter that they keep in-place between their eyes and reality.
> Authoritarianism didn't need science and the ability to stop certain people from participating in commerce doesn't require computers.
All the more reason to oppose the general centralization and empowerment of authority, on principle, not just on the topic of this HN article.
> A small number
No doubt, and I feel that my phrasing conveyed that appropriately: "some Christians".
> while other groups have different interpretations of what the text means or how literal it is.
No doubt of that either; as we all know, Christianity is very diverse in the precise natures of its adherents' fantasies; be they Revelations-enhanced or otherwise. It's still all fantasy, though, which, I suppose, is what really matters in the end.
But, my point here in all of this, is that some of the things their Bible says, do happen to be inherently wise, when extracted from the original context. The "Mark of the Beast", I daresay, is one of them. And like any piece of the Bible that is actually of-use, its wisdom is best put into our own words and then the Biblical association discarded lest it cause weakness.
* * * * *
While I do focus on Christianity specifically, since that is the immediate topic, I should make it clear that I do not discriminate:
Religion sucks. All of it. And I pity those who need it, and those who only think they need it.
http://harmful.cat-v.org/society/religion/