A Text in the Middle of the Night

This is a reprint of a post from 2012 but is very relevant today.

This blog is ακωλυτως, unhindered. (Acts 28:31) Any subject is fair game. We are allowed to have and to express opinions on any subject. 

Since you are reading this post, you are using the internet. While it is not explicitly a Christian subject, internet safety is a very important thing you need to understand. There are many wolves out there who basically see you as food. They would love to drain any of your bank accounts and use your credit card numbers as their very own piggybank. Matthew 10:16 warns us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jesus was speaking to the Twelve, and as a first-century Jew, he knew nothing of the internet but his words are applicable to our modern concerns. We really are surrounded by dangerous predators.

Here is the original post:

Last night at one-thirty AM my wife's smartphone received a text message.  We have someone in the hospital so we burst out of bed to read the message.  It was a text of an internet scam which has been active for over a year.  The text says that the receiver has won $1000 and to get the money one needs only go to a link provided in the text.  The link loads a virus which steals a person's private personal information (passwords, account numbers, social security number, etc.) from a computer or smartphone. This is a criminal activity.

The person who sent the text does not care why you might respond, whether it is out of greed or anger at the late-night text. Either way, they have you. If you send them any information, they have you.

And, they may have you even if you do not send them any information. Just opening the link may install MALWARE, malicious software that will run in the background without your knowledge. One of the things this might do is to give to the predator the names and contact information of everyone in your contact list. If you have stored sign-on information, the wolf can now sign on as you on any of your online accounts. The predator will also search your phone for banking and credit card numbers. 

Attacks on personal information are rampant. In just the same way, Christians are constantly under attack from The Evil One and his servants, especially when they are distracted by life's worries or worse, are spiritually asleep.  It is not currently popular to think of Satan as a person but the Bible clearly does.  Most people, including Christians, do not need his help in falling short of the mark.

Remember, if you resist the devil in the power of the Lord, the devil will run away! James 4:7.

A Few Internet Safety Tips

 

This blog is ακωλυτως, unhindered. (Acts 28:31) Any subject is fair game. Since you are reading this post, you are using the internet. While it is not explicitly a Christian subject, internet safety is a very important thing you need to understand. There are many wolves out there who basically see you as food. They would love to drain any of your bank accounts and use your credit card numbers as their very own piggybank. Some may even be stalking you personally. 

Matthew 10:16 warns us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jesus was speaking to the Twelve, and as a first-century Jew, he knew nothing of the internet but his words are applicable to our modern concerns. We really are surrounded by dangerous predators.

Some unknown person wants you to open an unknown link. Opening the link, or sometimes, even calling the sending number, installs malware in your devices, giving that person access to all of your personal and financial accounts, probably not a very good idea.  

Here are some useful internet safety tips:

 Be highly skeptical of unsolicited emails.

R    Restrict your accounts so that only people whom you choose can view your posts and photos.

Tu  If a phone call comes from someone not on your contacts list, send it to voice mail.

 Make sure your social media profiles are set to private.

Use complex passwords and have a totally different password for each online account. If you are like me, you will need to keep a small notebook to remember them all.

4.      Add a second layer of security (like a time-sensitive code sent to your phone or authenticator app) for banking, email, and social media. This is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

5.      Never Share any access codes with anyone else. Delete them from your phone after you use them.

6.      Turn on automatic updates for your operating system, browsers, and applications to patch any newly discovered security vulnerabilities.

7.      Always use a VPN on public Wi-Fi. If you can, avoid public Wi-Fi entirely.

8.      Be highly skeptical of unexpected messages claiming you won a sweepstakes or have been hacked. 

R      Turn off any location services. They do not need to know where you are.

D    Do not post your schedule of when you will be at home alone, and especially, do not tell them when you will not be at home.

R    Remember that anything that is posted online will be online forever.

Internet Safety: Confirm Who Has Sent You a Mesaage

 This blog is ακωλυτως, unhindered. (Acts 28:31) Any subject is fair game. Since you are reading this post, you are using the internet. While it is not explicitly a Christian subject, internet safety is a very important thing you need to understand. There are many wolves out there who basically see you as food. They would love to drain any of your bank accounts and use your credit card numbers as their very own piggybank. Matthew 10:16 warns us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jesus was speaking to the Twelve, and as a first-century Jew, he knew nothing of the internet but his words are applicable to our modern concerns. We really are surrounded by dangerous predators.

We recently received a text message which read:

            A quick reminder to check the email from

            us regarding some important insurance 

            updates!

This text made no sense to us. Who sent it? Was it legitimate? Was it an attempt to get us to make a return call to the sending phone number? Why was the sender not identified? It is possible that merely responding to the text could install malware on your cell phone. Be very suspicious of text messages which come from senders not on your contacts list.

Often, an unknown person desires for you to open a link within their text. When you open the link, or sometimes when you even call the number, malware is installed on your device, giving that unknown person access to all of our personal and financial accounts, probably not a very good idea. 

After much investigation, we determined that this message came from our dentist and was not malicious. It was merely clumsily composed. The sad part was that our dental expenses may be increasing!

Internet Safety: Unexpected e-mails

This blog is ακωλυτως, unhindered. (Acts 28:31) Any subject is fair game. Since you are reading this post, you are using the internet. While it is not explicitly a Christian subject, internet safety is a very important thing you need to understand. There are many wolves out there who basically see you as food. They would love to drain any of your bank accounts and use your credit card numbers as their very own piggybank. Matthew 10:16 warns us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jesus was speaking to the Twelve, and, as a first century Jew, he knew nothing of the internet but his words are applicable to our modern concerns. We are surrounded by dangerous predators.

Recently my wife and I received an e-mail from our son, who lives in a different state from us, telling us that he had some new photographs for us to see. This was surprising since he communicates with us almost exclusively by phone calls and text messages. So, we texted him to ask if the e-mail came from him. It did not.

Some unknown person wanted us to open the e-mail, which probably contained a link which we would be instructed to open in order to view the photographs. Opening the link would have installed malware in our devices, giving access to all of our linked devices, probably not a very good idea. 

Book Comment: The Rise of Benedict XVI

The full title of this 2005 John L. Allen book is The Rise of Benedict XVI. The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church. I am not a Catholic and so have no standing one way or the other on this. I do not wish to offend. But, speaking as an outsider, as one of the “separated brethren,” I personally think the tragedy of this book is that Benedict did not ultimately complete the promise of his election. He did speak about the problem on numerous occasions. Then, he resigned eight years into his papacy.

I am sure that I am not alone as one who was thrilled at the thought that a champion of the faith had arisen. Joseph Ratzinger, elected as Benedict XVI, had identified relativism as the “gravest problem of our time.” 

Many thought that he would marshall the resources of the Catholic Church to battle what he called  the “dictatorship of relativism.” Many conservative Evangelicals understood this phenomenon by a different terminology, the “war on Christianity”

Exactly what is relativism? It is the idea that objective truth does not exist or that, if it does exist, it is not attainable by the human mind. Truth is defined as it is determined by the community. Sometimes the community is as small as one person. That is how one can hear the absurd statement, “Well, that is your truth. That is not my truth.”

Proponents of relativism talk about tolerance, pluralism, avoidance of imperialism and colonialism, and of non-interference in other cultures. All of these things are good but the relativists go even further. 

They utterly deny and even condemn the possibility of any absolute truth which is valid for all people in all cultures and for any time in history. This is a direct hostile frontal challenge to Christianity which is based on an absolute truth claim. The claim is this: God has revealed the Truth about Himself and about humanity in the revelation presented in Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. As Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father except through me.”

Relativism attacks Christianity in several ways.

1. It denies the exceptionality, the exclusivity, and the universality of Christianity. It sees Christianity as just one religion among many, all of which are equally valid.

2. It declares evangelism and missions to be imperialistic and colonialistic. It sees them as an attempt to force our beliefs and culture upon others.

3. In its zeal to be “tolerant” relativism seeks to punish and suppress those whom it defines as intolerant; such as those who wish to not be involved in cooperation with same-sex marriage.

4. Relativism can lead to totalitarianism because it removes any legitimate basis for moral judgement over the limits of state power used to enforce "tolerance."

5. Relativism’s removal of moral limits has caused a cheapening of human life. This has led to the abortion and human cloning controversies. Human rights are seen as being determined by social convention rather than by any absolute intrinsic human value.

As Benedict XVI said, “All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way. They justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity. God, who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the crucified, not by those who crucify. Pray for me that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”

Pray for all of us that we may not flee for fear of the wolves!

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Back to the book.

The Rise of Benedict XVI is a fascinating unfolding of the history of the events and politics which swirled around the last days of John Paul II, the various factions, the leading papabili (papal candidates), a discussion about how Joseph Ratzinger was viewed before his election, why smoke is used to signal the populace of Rome about the progress of the conclave, the meaning of various rituals and declarations, why three sets of robes are prepared for the incoming pope, and why the Cardinals are locked into the conclave rather than other people being locked out. There is also speculation about what Benedict might do as pope.

Back to the concern which began and ended this post. Why did Pope Benedict resign and who  are the wolves he referenced? Benedict XVI was the first pope to resign in 600 years, citing waning physical and mental powers. This flew in the face of the adage, "The Pope is not sick until he is dead."

John L. Allen, the writer of the book being discussed, was present at the papal announcement and says that as soon as Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and said the name "Ratzinger," several of the monsignors from the Secretariat of State turned around and went inside the building.  Benedict's butler, Palo Gabriele, leaked documents which exposed numerous Vatican power struggles. Benedict's successor, Pope Francis, has declared that "the court is the leprosy of the papacy." Cardinal Carlo-Maria Martini is quoted as having told Pope Benedict, "The curia is not going to change, you must go ..."

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Why I Sometimes Post Shocking Things on This Blog

Some web pages and sources referenced on this blog may shock you. Some may contain profanity, hostile attitudes, offensive images, and other disturbing elements. As Christians, we need to know about these things.  It is short-sighted to be like the proverbial ostrich and “hide our heads in the sand.” (See the note at the end of this post.)

 

I never edit sources which I quote here because I believe we are all big boys and girls.  Jesus said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

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Ostriches do not actually bury their heads in the sand. http://www.ostriches.org/factor.html#head