iPods and Christianity

I write this in a sudden flash of bathroom inspiration coupled with the heady influence of Bach. Again, this is another tenuous link waiting to be blasted. In the days of waiting for the nationwide shortage of iPods to come to an end, I think I have gone a little mad. (this is not a cue for you to say, "But aren't you, already?")

The iPod comes along, all nice and white, waiting to save the mp3 player market, which it does, until the nasty Zen Micro rears its Hydra head, in all its arguably attractive spectrum of bright colours which distracts many an unsuspecting buyer into defecting from the Holy Grail of getting an iPod.

Ultimately, it all boils down to appearances (or colours). Whichever appears the most lust-able for the moment wins. Yet at the same time, between iPod users a.k.a Podders, there is the constant battle to keep the iPod scratch-free -- in other words, as white as possible. Others choose to cover up the white with candy-coloured iPod skins, perhaps not very unlike having purple and white hair extensions, to appear more like the Zen Micro. Towards these errant, fallen-by-the-wayside deviants, the I-swear-by-the-white Podders, can only shake their head in disapproval, smile their knowing smiles and/or avert their eyes to avoid looking at what may be contagious.

On the other hand, Apple, being forever aware of changes in Market Taste, have come up with the iPod mini -- different forms of the iPod religion that appeal to the non-hard core music listeners (presumably, 20GB of music might be a little too much for comfort) but still want the 'street cred' that comes with being a Podder. Yet to the staunch, orthodox Podders, Apple issues a reminder with the U2 iPod, in black and red, that "Hey, guess what, we haven't actually forgotten what all this is about!"

And now that it's Christmas, there is not a single iPod 20 GB/iPod mini in this little island, but the Pod spirit still hovers, and will be back in full force two weeks from now, after the festivities have subsided and soberness returns. This physical absence is but a recharging of the 12-hour battery. No doubt the Zen Micros are out partying in full force like the Duracell bunnies they are, yet only with the continuous draining and refilling of battery juices will the battery be properly calibrated, which then leads to a longer battery life. (think the sine curve of one's spiritual life)

In the fullness of time, the ones that have fallen by the wayside perhaps will be unceremoniously dumped by the guts of a raven and will end up in a mound of fertile soil.

I figured I might as well blast my own tenuous analogy while I am at it -- the essential counter-argument in any argumentative essay. For one, I use the sower and the seed analogy loosely to incorporate the backslidden Podders, instead of sticking the original version of Podder vs. non-Podder. Also, certain 'Christian' denominations cannot be classified under the iPod mini category as they actually are Zen Micros in disguise. More importantly, considering how the iPod is quite a luxury good, seeing how price inelastic it is, it doesn’t function as a good metaphor for Christianity which is open to everyone and anyone regardless of material wealth. And more importantly, we can’t buy our salvation because, well, it has all already been paid for upfront. Think Steve Jobs buying up all the iPods in the world and giving them out free. (Again, metaphor! Steve Jobs does not faintly resemble God, and...dream on!) Not to be forgotten is the fact that there is no way that salvation can be encapsulated in a Pod, save for John 3:16 (in which case it should be called a nutshell rather than a Pod but...)

This should be taken with a pinch of salt, and a healthy dose of irony (oxymoronic, maybe). Afterall, it is ultimately an analogy, and even if you have a Zen Micro in real life, it doesn’t mean you cannot be/are not a metaphorical Podder.

N.B. I hope I didn’t unwittingly pull a DaVinci Code here i.e. blaspheme. (details of which can be found here. Though one might consider the writer rather 'extremist', yet I think there is much truth here which should be considered by the metaphorical (or not) Podders.)