Emerging Church for Hackers, Anyone?
I Just finished reading Eric S. Raymond’s The Cathedral and the Bazaar. If you’re unfamiliar with this work, it’s not (despite the title) anything about church. It’s actually the seminal text on the history and rationale behind the open source software movement, from one of its key architects and proponents.
That said, although ESR (as he is generally referred to in hacker culture) cautions against the expansion of the open source label to other fields (ie music, books, politics, etc), I was amazed in reading this book just how much potential application there is for the world of theology. Actually, I think the open source movement paralells the Emergent movement in many ways. Here are a few of my favorite observations from the book:
- How to Be a Hacker. First of all, ESR differentiates between the media’s great misunderstanding of a hacker as a punk teenager who “creates problems and destroys things,” and the original understanding of a hacker as a computer programmer who “solves problems and builds things.” To “hack” code is not to break it, but to add something to it that makes it more valuable for one’s self and for the community. Sharing, obviously, is a big part of hacker culture. In response to the question, “How do I become a hacker,” ESR says that “You aren’t a hacker until people in the hacker culture call you a hacker” on the basis of your contribution to the community.
Yeah. There’s an old song — “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they will know that we are Christians by our love.” How awesome would it be if, rather than slapping a chrome fish on the bumper of our SUV and then driving like a**holes (can I say that here?), we simply refused to call ourselves Christians until others recognized the Christ in us?
- The Cathedral and the Bazaar Metaphor. ESR compares proprietary software and programming to a cathedral — development and release of the “product” are tightly controlled by small, exclusive group of people, shrouded in secrecy and authoritariansim. The result is large, costly, and frozen in time. Contrasting this is the bazaar right outside, which ESR compares to open source software — open, ever-changing, where anyone can produce and/or consume a diversity of products.
The theological implications here are pretty obvious, especially since it’s already a “churchy” sort of image. In his book The Emerging Church, Dan Kimball actually points out the fact that most European cathedrals are largely empty on Sunday mornings, a relic of another time. Most local marketplaces (my favorite = coffee shop), on the other hand, thrive, and often provide more service to the community than just the products they sell. Note I said “local.” IMHO, Wal-Mart is more of a cathedral than a bazaar.
- Sale Value vs. Use Value. Since most open-source software is free (as in “no cost,” although it’s always, by definition, free as in “liberty” or “speech”), some people fear that its rise would have damaging economic effects on the software industry. ESR points out that the current industry over-emphasizes “sale value” (immediate exchange of good for cash up front) over “use value” (think support & service) to the detriment of the consumer. If the biggest profit comes from the up front sale, companies have more incentive to provide a nice slick “box” and a marketing campaign than they do to provide something that actually works or has any sort of longevity. If the product is free, companies are forced to compete to provide the best support and service to make their profit. The book was written in the late 90’s, and already this idea is becoming industry standard, even in companies like Micro$oft.
From a theological standpoint, this one really jumped out at me: Often in Evangelical Christianity of the past two decades (and ocasionally in our beloved Presbyterian ones, too) we find a *huge* emphasis placed on “salvation” and “alter calls,” (sale value) while we have largely ignore things like ongoing spiritual education and practice (use value). It seems we have taken the position that the most important question one can be asked is “Are you saved?” rather than “How do you live your life?” And, like the software industry, the church is often guilty of slick marketing campaigns and “packaging” of our product at the expense of the real stuff Jesus did, like caring for the sick, the poor, and the oppressed. Come to think of it, Jesus was pretty big on “service and support.” (Matt. 20:25-28)
Finally, I was encouraged to read this in the final chapter:
The hacker mind-set is not confined to this software-hacker culture. There are people who apply the hacker attitude to other things, like electronics or music — actually, you can find it at the highest levels of any science or art. Software hackers recognize these kindred spirits elsewhere and may call them “hackers” too — and some claim that the hacker nature is really independent of the particular medium the hacker works in.
So, I think I want to be a hacker when I grow up. An open-source software hacker, yes. But also a music hacker. A literature hacker. An education hacker. And a Presbymergent theological hacker. Book of Order, look out…
Comment by Drew Ludwig on 24 May 2007:
Wow. True dat. He’re an excerpt from a story that I am telling for Pentecost:
One of the programmers asked, “So life with God is like open-source software?” Rev. Lovejoy looked at Nelson. Nelson understood what the programmer was saying. “Yes, it is!” said Nelson, “Church is just like open-source software. We believe that things go better when we are honest, and share all we have!”
Yes. I stole my character names from the Simpsons. I just want to see who (in my congregation) notices.
Comment by Rev. David Williams on 24 May 2007:
“Book of Order, look out…”
Aye, we can make our cathedrals out of just about anything.
Comment by Shawn Coons on 24 May 2007:
So who is going to set up the wiki that will handle all future overtures to our constitution?
The great thing about open source software and the wiki culture is that hopefully everyone in the community learns as everyone contributes. This isn’t just mob mentality it involves growth and development.
Way relevant to the church.
Pingback by Sarx » Hacking Church Emerging Church for Hackers, Anyone? | Presbyterian Church (USA) | Emergent | Presbymergent on 24 May 2007:
[...] at Presbymergent , they take an EMChurch look at a classic essay, The Cathedral and the Bazaar: The theological implications here are pretty obvious, especially since it’s already a [...]
Comment by Neal Locke on 25 May 2007:
Thanks Shawn. And yes, Wikis Rock. There’s another great book that just came out this year by Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams, called “Wikinomics.” I helped (along with another 500 people or so) write the “thirteenth” chapter of the book on their wiki site. Most of my contributions had to do with applying their findings to the field of theology.
I’ve also noticed, though, that just as the Emerging Church makes a lot of people very nervous, and some even actively oppose it at every turn — so too with all things Open Source, which is routinely demonized by the likes of Micro$oft and the RIAA.
Americans just aren’t very good at sharing, be it our intellectual property or our perceived theological “property.”
Comment by Dennis on 25 May 2007:
There is an emerging / emergent church website featuring Brian McLaren among others…
http://opensourcetheology.net/
Comment by Neal Locke on 25 May 2007:
Yeah, I’ve been following opensourcetheology.net for about a year now. Unfortunately (from my perspective) they are incredibly heavy on the “theology” part (just about every thread is steeped in theological jargon) and almost negligible on the “open source” part (can’t find any tech or OS jargon in any of the threads). Not that jargon is important, but it’s a pretty quick identifier of who the discussion is aimed at.
I think we at presbymergent are a good contrast to that. We have a very good blend of Presbyterians, Emergents, and people with one foot in each world. We speak both languages.
I don’t mean to sound uncharitable towards OST. The things they are talking about are very emergent, very deep, and very much needed. It’s just that, as a self-professed hacker-geek, I was so excited to find that site, and then so disappointed at how lopsided the focus was. Other than Andrew Perriman (site founder and admin), I don’t get the sense that many of the participants are conversant or even passionate about the Open Source Movement — just the emergent one.
Maybe someday I’ll find a good OpenSourceMergent community, or a PresbyOpenSourceMergent one or something. I guess presbymergent isn’t for everyone either, though. To each his own. Or her own.
Comment by Neal Locke on 25 May 2007:
If anyone is interested in a more balanced view of what open source theology might look like, here’s an article by Douglas Rushkoff that demonstrates a deep understanding of both theology and the open source movement. Interestingly, Rushkoff comes at this whole issue from a slightly different theological perspective: He’s the founder of a project called Open Source Judaism.
Comment by Nate Custer on 9 June 2007:
Neal,
Great link to Rushkoff’s book. As a long time linux user (10+ years now) and Free Software fan (I prefer the term free software to open source, but that is a different discussion) I think he makes a great point.
Have you read the other two essay’s in ESR’s seminal work? I think they are more full of theological and ecclesiastical concepts. Have you read RMS’s original GNU manifesto? For me that is the most important work. RMS locates free software as a justice movement and free software development as a moral action. RMS locates free software in the basic charge to help your neighbor.
I wrestled a bit with these ideas on my own blog. This being the best example (and not very good yet either.) But I think its a great topic, so lets discuss it some more.
Nate
Comment by Neal Locke on 14 June 2007:
Hey Nate — great to hear someone else who speaks the language and knows the players. I should have said this in the post, but what I actually read was ESR’s book, with the other two essays. And yes, the whole thing was full of enough theological concepts to engage us in discussion for quite awhile — which is why OpenSourceTheology.net was such a disappointment: there’s no OS discussion going on there, just theology.
I really hear you (and sympathize) on RMS and the “free software” side of things. Stallman is indeed the true moral high ground, and my heart yearns to be squarely in that camp.
But at the end of the day, “Open Source” is language that I think can be expanded into other fields, while “Free Software” is limiting. There’s always Lawrence Lessig’s “Free Culture” but even using “Free” as an adjective I think can be more misleading than helpful at times.
Ok–I just got back from reading both of your posts on the subject, and I’m excited to continue the conversation…
Comment by JakeT on 27 January 2008:
Is anybody doing any work with Free Software as a model for a shift in economic theory, particularly wrt to McLaren’s new Everything Must Change book?
It seems to me that there’s a lot potential there for some interesting ideas/solutions, with sharing/contributing being a fundamental value….
Any links?