Every so often, one sees that famous, omnipresent image of the apple, a bite taken out of it, symbol of Apple Computers, and it brings to mind the obvious: Adam, Eve, and, alas, that serpent.

Have we all taken a bite out of something we’re not even sure of, with all the high-tech stuff (iPhones, all brands of cell phones, laptops, smart watches), something that (ophidian) may come back to bite us?

Right now the urgent concern is artificial intelligence. Machines and software may soon be conversing with us in a way that’s indistinguishable from actual human contact. Could they end up controlling and even damaging us? Have we already altered the way we think and relate through our use of the internet, social media, and text-messaging?

Has it all distracted us from prayer — and will it do so this Holy Week?

When the robots come marching, will we have a fig leaf with which to find cover?

The more “sophisticated” we get (or think we are), the more we seem to regress.

Christ needed no tech to communicate to the farthest reaches.

The analogies can be intriguing, and with tech, one can throw in Babylon.

Like Babylon, we all now have a universal language. It also takes “towers” to communicate.

Some say the bitten symbol is sort of a tribute either to Issac Newton (that apple that hit him in the head, opening his eyes to gravity, as high-tech now has opened our eyes); a few claim that the bite is a play on the word “byte”; others that it was a way of differentiating it from a cherry.

Still others wonder if it pays tribute to a Brit name Alan Turing, considered the father of modern computing, laying the groundwork for modern computers way back in the 1940s when he invented the algorithm and the idea of a computing machine that could run said algorithms. (Turing’s death was ruled a suicide, but many, including official biographers, believe Turing’s death was accidental. Turing’s body was discovered close to a cyanide-laced apple with a bite taken from it.)

Whatever the case, one notes that in ancient times the apple tree was a sacred symbol of life and happiness, and also associated with Aphrodite — the goddess of love. (Interesting it is that Aphrodite, like certain other gods and goddesses, including Baphomet, is often portrayed as having both male and female characteristics. Ah, yes: another recent trend.)

Pray we should for the right fruit of which to partake. Pray we should, this week, to avoid the seduction of past sins. An apple can bring health; an apple can also be rotten. Put it to the side, this week. Let the logo be the Cross. Let it be cleansing. Let the center of life be Him.

[resources: online retreat 4/15]