To live spiritually in this world, you still have to understand the morality of our fallen existence. You cannot fight what you do not understand. We need to know the Laws of God, and the limits on Satan and his demons, and how the Laws of God bind them.
The virtual world of computers is also under Laws, but the nature of the virtual world bears a different set of Laws. The morals of human space (AKA “meat space”) do not apply uniformly in virtual space; they cannot. Obeying the morals which apply to the fallen world includes knowing the limits of morality in every context, and the virtual world is a highly unique context.
Computers are inherently agnostic and amoral. The only morality in computing is what you as owner impose artificially on your own computer. Machines only know what you tell them, or what you allow someone else to tell them. Because most of us have neither time nor talent for mastering the virtual world, any more than we do the human laws of the fallen world of meat space, we rely on experts. We bear a certain responsibility to choose whom we shall trust for this purpose. It is our obligation before God to choose wisely, listening with our spirits to His Spirit whether this or that choice bears more intense examination. We base that decision on what we understand to be His priorities for us regarding computers.
Thus, as one called by God to serve others in the field of computer technology, I keep one foot in the agnostic world of computers and another in the moral world of meat space. The moral burden upon me is to bear a faithful witness of what is possible in virtual space. Just as I cannot impose my morals on others in meat space, so I cannot impose them in virtual space. If you ask, I will tell you about my morals, but it remains your choice to walk your own path before the Lord, or ignoring Him.
Being faithful to my calling, I am bound to show you how to find the gates of Heaven and Hell. That includes the various portals not normally known to most of humanity. I will hold your hand right up to the very threshold, but I can’t cross over with you. I will answer any question you dare to ask regarding anything I know. You have an inherent right to claim my knowledge, and I am obliged to offer it freely and with as much objectivity as I can muster.
Thus, while I will gladly tell you what I know about online pornography, I find the entire field utterly repugnant. So much am I a prude I find mainstream clothing fashions entirely too revealing. I’m personally offended by women and men showing too much flesh, and my definitions are much more restrictive than average. This is one of the reasons I greatly prefer using plain text web browsers. But I refuse to impose my limits on others. You have to decide what you will tolerate, and I’ll gladly help you find what you seek, because you are free to use your computer any way you like. I will advise you on avoiding the common traps, from both law enforcement and from the malware mafia, but I will absolutely avoid looking at your computer screen when you go exploring.
Here’s a hint: You are safest doing your searches from a Linux live-run CD, such as Knoppix or Linux Mint. Don’t install it, just find something which works well with your hardware, boot for each session, and then close the session and reboot into your normal OS. Should you choose to save anything you find, always save to an external media device, and never explore your cache of media from your regular OS. Be aware any media you save for private reuse is evidence which can be used against you in one way or another. Of course, it’s the same regime for anything which the mainstream finds questionable, to include political dissent. I’ll also warn you Tor is not as anonymous as is claimed, since Tor was designed by military technicians, and some of the Tor nodes are on government owned computers.
On the other hand, I reject the common ethical assumptions about intellectual property. Those were formed in meat space, and simply cannot be applied in the virtual world. Attempts to do so are entirely artificial. So much as I know about such things, I’ll be glad to help you. Naturally, I’m not going to post links which will get me in trouble with agents of various governments and corporations, but that’s simply a matter of tactics, not morals and ethics. If you really want to face the risks of using cracked software, I’ll willingly advise you, but my knowledge has limits simply because I don’t like most of the software and media popular with the pirates. But there are places with names like Torrent this or that, or maybe Rapid Share, which, if you search patiently, and are willing to join their little clubs, you’ll find what you seek. I’ll warn you to run a virus and malware scan of whatever you download, because most of those who create and post such files are not nice people. But I will faithfully and honestly report this can be done, and is done daily by thousands of others.
Your computer is your business, as is your private moral choice in everything else. Data is free; I won’t pretend there are any limits where I believe God Himself imposes none in His Laws. Aside from the purely economic cost of accessing and processing data — you have to have a computer and access to the Internet — you must accept fully whatever moral costs are associated with your choices.
