Manti Te’o’s love affair happened
on-line. He never met the young woman in
person. Te’o was not living a
fantasy. The emotions were real, the
love genuine, and the communication passionate.
The electronic woman ended the virtual romance at the time when the
football team made its way to the great confrontation with the Crimson Tide of
Alabama. His tearful story became the
highlight of heroic sportsmanship. He
lived with his brokenness and put all of his energy into teamwork.
Now this young man faces the
humiliation of the hoax. His story tells
us a lot about the power of human imagination, and the sinful human will that
now has an electronic reach. Te’o
definitely is not the first person to deal with the sinful side of “virtual
reality” and demonic forces that are happy to use these means for global
impact.
The story reminds me of a movie that
made an impact on me as an early sign of the dark side of technology. Back in 2002, the movie Simone (or S1mOne) foretold the dangers of electronic
imagination. A movie producer (played by
Al Pacino) is nearing financial ruin after his top star and temperamental diva
(played by Winona Ryder) walks off the set. But the project has to be finished
and released. The producer has learned
something about digital technology—and creates a hologram actress, Simone. The movie is released to global acclaim—and
the producer has a problem. Simone is
not real. She is a product of technology. No problem—she does interviews from her
digital location. She becomes a global
rock star and does virtual concerts before thousands of fans. And the whole project gets out of control.
The movie comes to a good end, of
course. Yet it was a prophecy and a
warning about how our imaginations can be manipulated. It’s just another means of blessing—and of
sin. Manti Te’o just happens to be the
latest to yield to a virtual relationship.
This young man has given us a
warning about our digital age. Imagine
that!
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