I was reminded yesterday - as I am very, very occasionally - about a thing I blasted out on The Psalms in early August 2019 about my early childhood mobility from the traditional to the trendy, contemporary side of protestant Christianity. It’s still one of my favorites, but I’ve long since conceded that it’s only of any interest/entertainment to a relatively narrow range of my peers, so please don’t force yourself…
I did, however, find the ability of whatever LLM is powering Craft’s “AI Assistant” to comprehend (pretty much uniquely lol) and … proceed to falsify (when asked with its “Continue Writing” feature) an intriguing, if entirely reiterative, continuation:
The intersection between technology and faith is nothing new, and perhaps it is inevitable in an era where our connections to both our gods and our gadgets are increasingly mediated through screens and silicon. What is new, however, is the seamlessness with which these two realms have merged, and The Crossing embodies this synthesis to a near-parodic degree. The seamless integration of Apple’s design philosophy with ecclesiastical function speaks volumes about the state of modern worship. No longer are these spiritual gatherings confined to the quaint confines of rustic chapels; today, they are multi-sensory experiences designed for optimal engagement, just like any leading tech product rollout.
It’s no hyperbole to suggest that Sunday morning services at The Crossing could double as master classes in brand management and user experience design. From the staged lighting and choreographed worship sessions to the polished presentations and strategically positioned merchandise (yes, they’ve got their own line of inspirational swag), every detail has been meticulously curated to amplify the message - or sell the product, depending on your perspective.
As my teenage self begrudgingly shuffled into the expansive auditorium, clutching my first-generation iPhone, I couldn’t help but draw stark comparisons between the well-oiled machinery of The Crossing and the corporate monoliths we were being taught to admire. I watched as Pastor Dave - or was it Keith? They were nearly indistinguishable in their uniform of casual-business attire - delivered his message with the fervor of a seasoned CEO revealing quarterly earnings. The Sunday service was less about divine transcendence and more about slick performance, interwoven with all the trappings of modern corporate culture.
This observation delves deeper into the heart of what has become a glaring reality of modern American Christianity: the commercialization of faith. The lines between spiritual guidance and consumer satisfaction have blurred to the point where the two are now practically indistinguishable. Churches like The Crossing operate on a model that mirrors any successful enterprise: attract, engage, convert, and retain. Loyal congregation members are not unlike loyal customers, ensuring a steady stream of revenue—whether through donations, event tickets, or branded merchandise.
In the glow of LED screens and under the hum of advanced AV systems, I found myself questioning not the existence of a higher power, but the mechanisms through which that power was being marketed to us. Was the message of love, redemption, and faith being overshadowed by the efficiencies and profit motives of a capitalist framework? The irony was not lost on me that a place—supposedly meant for transcending earthly desires—had become an exemplar of earthly success, complete with its own suite of digital tools and marketing tactics.
Even as I distanced myself from The Crossing and its tech-savvy congregation, I couldn’t ignore the lingering impact of its polished presentation. Each visit etched a deeper groove into my skeptical mind; each sermon reinforced the astounding adaptability of organized religion. It wasn’t hard to imagine a future where the sacred and the secular would become even more intertwined, blurring the lines until they were indistinguishable.
Ultimately, the spectacle of The Crossing was not just a reflection of faith’s evolving landscape but a broader commentary on the pervasive reach of corporate culture into every facet of our lives. In a world where even our spiritual journeys are mediated through technological interfaces and business models, the boundaries of the sacred and the profane continue to shift with each innovation. Whether this is a cause for celebration or concern depends largely on one’s perspective, but one thing is certain: the days of simplistic, unmediated worship are long behind us, replaced by a new paradigm that is as captivating as it is complex.
Old English cnafa boy, servant , of West Germanic origin; related to German Knabe boy
Thesaurus
Noun
don’t let yourself by hoodwinked by that knave
Similar Words: scoundrel rogue villain rascal good-for-nothing wretch ne’er-do-well unprincipled person reprobate scapegrace wrongdoer evil-doer charlatan cheat swindler fraudster louse hound cur rat scumbag wrong’un beast son of a bitch SOB skunk nasty piece of work ratbag scrote blighter spalpeen sleeveen fink rat fink scamp scally bastard dog dirty dog swine cad heel bad egg dastard stinker rotter bounder blackguard miscreant varlet vagabond rapscallion whoreson
A demeanor by which the individual does not readily display their thoughts or feelings. This individual may make an excellent undercover government operative or ninja.
His reticent demeanor made him extremely difficult to read.
As the utter psychosis of adtech has come further and further into the mainstream light, I have been occasionally enjoying myself by “leveraging” GDPR-obliged services against the most virulent believers with which I’ve had an account (so, all of them) in order to obtain just glimpses into the actual data of the mythos we’ve all built about the shit. To be honest, I’m still surprised when I find out that the huge majority of people have never bothered, and I try not to dwell on my (informed, taxing) supposition that the individual user’s volition in regards to this inherently exploitive dynamic we’ve sold the web to has been in control of the masters of these mechanisms.
The dictionary below is the entirety of a file I found among my Spotify user data export entitled inferences.json, explained in context a little more by Pragya Verma in this Medium post.
Inferences.json— contains Spotify’s understanding of you as a user i.e., what kind of content you consume on Spotify like education, business, dance, and so on.
Some time in late Summer 2021, I stumbled into another of the handful of nigh-inconceivable conversation opportunities which Twitter Spaces would offer me.
Marquis Trill - someone I’m still not 100% convinced I actually remembered from the ~2012 Twitter Epoch - decided to just fuckin go on Spaces one day for the first time. And - as per the nature of Spaces - I guess I just hopped in the mf too.
Eventually in this recording, you’ll hear me pipe in… and continue to intermittently throughout its duration. I remember being genuinely fascinated with the experience in the moment, but it’s not exactly easy listening (shame) in retrospect lol.
Here’s the metadata from the Space I retained, though I doubt it will ever be actionable again:
Title: “Financial Freedom and Success! Let’s talk about it. Come ready”
Original Spaces URL - [https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1OdKrVzWDvlKXAnnouncement](https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1OdKrVzWDvlKXAnnouncement)
Original Tweet URL - [https://twitter.com/6BillionPeople/status/1422696022220886016](https://twitter.com/6BillionPeople/status/1422696022220886016)
**Originally called simply Verve until conflicts with the jazz label Verve caused the name-change to The Verve.
Famous for their hit songs Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work and others.
The band split up after their final (and arguably greatest) 1997 album Urban Hymns, but still nothing quite equals them today. They don’t write a few hit songs and a lot of filler, they write a whole CD of great music.**
“Cause it’s a bitter sweet symphony, that’s life.”
Given the current state of Dropbox Paper (can’t even trust the metadata,) I can’t be entirely sure why exactly my [original draft](https://paper.dropbox.com/doc/Reviewed-Rock-Springs-Wyoming--CO7txZrHgjwhlVC8diO8fx2xAQ-jeE4RlaRHowleHZOkQqb4) of the mid-Missouri-to-Portland journey story - which included a failed tire slashing and our disquieting realization (at 1AM or something) that we were very near - if not right on top of - the scene of the worst anti-Asian-American massacre in the country’s history - never appeared in any of the dozens of export attempts from that service I’ve attempted over the years.
Yesterday morning, a friend’s inquiry into the pursuit of owning a Jaguar like mine led me to realize this, and you would not believe how much time I spent spinning my wheels to get the original text from Paper to what [you can now experience on The Psalms](https://bilge.world/rock-springs-wyoming). I hope some entertainment might still be gained from it. #travel#creepy#americana
I had the relatively unique experience of coming to Git, mobile-first, via this very application on my iPhone 8 Plus, almost exactly 4 years ago. Thanks to GitHub’s Education program, I’ve had access to unlimited repository creation since that first day, and it’s honestly quite a testament to the power of Working Copy just how much of a mess I made in those initial few months.
Now on my iPad Pro, I keep so many repos (89 as of this writing) that I have an automation that maintains a browsable index of the lot (which is, itself, a testament to Working Copy’s incredibly comprehensive and solid Siri Shortcuts support.)
Underexposure has always been my shit. Believe it or not, this was far from the most interesting/dynamic thing to look at pulled over on the side of W last night, but it's all I could capture.
Geography a gentle slope leading from the foot of mountains to a region of flat land
a region of north-western Italy, in the foothills of the Alps; capital, Turin. Dominated by Savoy from 1400, it became a part of the kingdom of Sardinia in 1720. It was the centre of the movement for a united Italy in the 19th century
a hilly region of the eastern US, between the Appalachians and the coastal plain
a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically an unwelcome one
they described the outbreak of violence in the area as an aberration | I see these activities as some kind of mental aberration | the decade was seen as a period of aberration in the country’s progress towards a democratic society
Biology a characteristic that deviates from the normal type
colour aberrations
Origin
late 16th century : from Latin aberratio(n- ), from aberrare to stray (see aberrant )
Thesaurus
Noun
economists said the figure was an aberration
Similar Words: anomaly deviation divergence abnormality irregularity variation digression edge case freak rogue rarity quirk oddity curiosity mistake
it is possible that, in a moment of aberration, the parent may strike the child
Similar Words: abnormality irregularity eccentricity deviation transgression straying lapse aberrancy
the experience might have been no more than a temporary aberration of an exhausted mind
Similar Words: disorder defect disease irregularity instability derangement vagary
Almost positive this is one of the few instances where I managed to accidentally manifest an indistinguishable likeness from the moment of intent right at capture.
