Ted Carnahan

I have begun to write more about Freedom Software as a particular ministry of the Christian church. I believe that the principles of freedom that are embodied in the Free/Open Source Software movement are principles held in common with Christian beliefs about the Gospel. Using Freedom Software ought to be an important priority for the church because it is another way that we can live so that everything we have is freely available to our neighbor.

As I continue exploring this topic, this page will serve as a starting point for my writing.

• Three steps to Open Source in the Church - introduces the dangers of relying upon proprietary software in view of preserving the history of the church
• Why Open Source Software is like Church Coffee Beans - examines costs and benefits of Freedom Software, and argues that churches should pick Freedom Software even if the financial cost is higher.
• “Freedom Software” versus “Free Software” - why I prefer the term “Freedom Software” instead of “Free Software” or “Open Source”
• The Christian Ethos of Freedom Software - why software unencumbered by proprietary licensing is intrinsically valuable to the church.
• The Coming Death or Rebirth of Church Publishing - how church publishers must embrace freedom models of distribution inherent to the Internet or be marginalized in the same way that blogging marginalized newspapers
• Closed File Formats and Christian Ethics - how the ethical battle over open file formats is, in a way, really about the existence of freedom software