operating systems.

With all this talk of evolution and change and adapting, maybe it’s a good spot to compare it to something else, always changing: 

Operating systems. 

With every new operating system release, the same kind of things happen. It doesn’t matter whether the operating system is Android, Mac OS, Windows, or simply a change in websites...

Some complain that it’s more confusing. 
Some complain that they liked the old one better. 
Some don’t understand the new functionality. 
Some don’t understand why they changed it again. 
Some try to learn. 
Some love it. 
Some can’t believe how much better it is. 
Some can’t imagine how they ever did work in the old one. 

No matter the response, if someone doesn’t keep up on the iterations, at some point, they will not be able to use the machine. Unfortunately, it’s often the elderly at the butt of these jokes. It moved too fast and they haven’t kept up. They’re now lost. 

Then, inevitably, the talk of a time when we didn’t need that specific machine begins...  to make ourselves feel better for not being able to operate the machine in question. 

When I grew up no one had a computer! How ridiculous! 

But the universe keeps putting out new operating systems because that’s what the universe does. It moves. It advances. It evolves whether we like it or not. The driving force of the universe is a little new, then some more new, and then a sprinkle and dash of a little more new and then a lot of new just to pile on the new that we haven’t quite caught up with yet. 

By default, that means there are constant mysteries, unknowns, uncertainty, and new operating systems to make us look stupid. As the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli puts it “It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy— or in our physics. We did not even suspect the existence of radio waves and neutrinos, which fill the universe, until recently.” 

Science gets this. They are fine being found stupid - in fact it means that something new has been discovered. Stupidity is almost celebrated. Mystery and searching demands admitting some stupidity. 

Religion is the same. There is always new. Some religious followers insist that we have figured out everything because somewhere along the lines mixing religion and stupidity was dangerous -  but that is like a scientist insisting that Newton was correct in the way he saw the universe. You’d be laughed out of the building. 

Religion, to keep up with this universe (and God) is no different. It has to evolve. It’s got to move. It can’t sit still or it becomes useless... and one of my favorite things about Christianity is that it has done exactly that. This is not a knock, this is a gift. 

I assume we are somewhere around Christianity version 43174.3 at this point. Roughly. 

And like all updates, there are many who say they don’t understand the language. It’s confusing. They liked the old one better. They don’t understand the new functionality or why it was changed. Others embrace it and try to keep learning and can’t believe how much bigger and better it is. 

These trends tend to stick with generations.

The Macintosh operating system is now over 30 years old. The first iteration looks nothing like the most recent one.. and yet it does. It works the same basic way. It was built on it. It wouldn’t exist without it. It’s so new and yet, so not. 

For those who want to go back to the old operating system, there are no current machines that run it. No software. No capability to do anything. And if you were to insist on using an old machine, you would be missing out on so much. 

And to say that Apple is no longer the creators of the new operating system because it’s so different than the first one… that would be ignorant and foolish. And imply that Apple was so content with their original creation that they became something other than Apple. Apple thinks differently. Apple creates. It’s who they are. 

They can’t stop. 

I hope Apple is not more creative than the creative force behind all creativity. That would seem a little strange. To quote Pope Francis, “God is not afraid of new things.” 

To add to it, God insists on new operating systems.