It is the most watched program on television every year, and as ChurchMag explores the intersection of Church and technology, this cannot be overlooked. Never in human history can so many experience the same event, at the same time. Through television, radio and the World Wide Web, the Super Bowl is followed throughout the world.

With that kind of attention, comes big bucks from advertisers and sponsors, who go to great lengths to capitalize on all of this attention. So much so, there are those that watch the Super Bowl, just for the ads.

However, none of these things are really a reason to hate the Super Bowl.

The Dark Side of Super Bowl Sunday

While everyone’s eyes are on the field, evil triumphs with a sinister sleight of hand; the Super Bowl has become the largest sex trafficking event in the United States.

Large sporting events like the Super Bowl are prime targets for sex traffickers because of the high demand generated by thousands of men pouring into an area for a weekend of fun. The 2010 Super Bowl saw an estimated 10,000 sex workers brought into Miami. Despite efforts to crack down on sex trafficking at the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, there was still a tremendous number of women and children sexually exploited.

Thankfully, the State of Indiana has taken notice and has done all they can to crackdown:

Indiana rushed a bill through state legislature to ramp up penalties for sex traffickers two weeks ago. Hundreds of cab drivers have been trained to know whether or not they are hauling a prostitute, pimp or john. Catholic nuns have even been making phone calls to all the hotels and motels within a 50-mile radius of Indianapolis to make sure the management knows how to spot trafficking.

Who are these people?

According to Theresa Flores, a victim of trafficking for two years as a teenager living in Detroit, says:

“You have traffickers that are businessmen and looking for this opportunity and exploiting vulnerable people. So they will be bringing in literally vans full of girls who work. They’ll be putting their pictures up on Backpage and Craigslist, and offering them for sale. They’ll be going to area motels to service these men.”

So sick. So wrong.

Knowing that this is going on around the event of the Super Bowl, has personally put a damper on Sunday’s fun. Almost to the point of hating it.

Of course, it isn’t the Super Bowl we must hate. It is this sin. It is the victimization that we must hate.

It’s sad that millions will be spent on a 30sec ad for the Super Bowl, while only a fraction of that is invested in rescuing, rehabilitating and preventing human sex trafficking.

Will you do something to stop it?

[via Resurgence & IHRG]

The Luminarie De Cagna is an imposing cathedral-like structure that was recently on display at the 2012 Light Festival in Ghent, Belgium. The festival was host to almost 30 exhibitions including plenty of 3D projection mapping, fields of luminous flowers, and a glowing phone booth aquarium, however with 55,000 LEDs and towering 28 meters high the Luminarie De Cagna seems to have stolen the show.

Photos and video below:

As amazing as this festival is on video, I can only imagine how awe inspiring it was in person!

[via Colossal]

Thousands of Church goers will be attending Church sponsored Super Bowl parties, today, I wonder if they’ll see anything this elaborate?

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Yum!

Our Brady, who art in Foxborough, hallowed be thy arm.
Thy bowl will come, it will be won, in Indy as it is in New England.
Give us these two weeks, our daily practices, and give us many touchdown passes, but do not let the Giants pass against us.
Lead us not into frustration, but deliver us to the valley of the sun.
For thine is the MVP, the best of the AFC, and the glory of the Patriots, now and forever, AMEN

In all seriousness, there is a deep spiritual lesson we can learn from all of these football fans who will be losing their voices, today, on Super Bowl Sunday.

Dave Moser wrote an insightful piece on Learning Worship from the Idolaters: Sport Fanatics.

He outlines the fact that as humans, we are made for worship. The question is, if we’re not worshiping God, what are we worshiping?

In comparison, there are plenty of football fans who put Christians to shame. Their lifestyle of worship should make us take notice. Here’s what Moser says we can learn from “sports idolaters:”

1. “Fan” Means Fanatic

When someone is a fan, you know it. They infuse it into their conversation and will praise them whenever they’re given a chance.

2. We Want to Look Like Them

You know when someone is a fan by what they wear, the products they endorse, and sometimes, how their kids dress. They even absorb all sorts of media, analyzing every angle, so know they know as much as possible of who they’re following.

3. We Put Our Hope In Them

It can make us happy. It can make us sad. It excites us and inspires us. A victory can make us want to throw a parade, while a loss can make us cry.

4. We Pass It On to Our Children

Our passion, joy and dedication is something we want to pass onto our children. We want them to follow, just as we have.

Question

As you go through these four points, what does it sound like?

What are you a fan of?

Is it the New England Patriots?

Apple computers?

WordPress?

Jesus?

Let’s become fanatical as we try to look like Jesus, put our hope in Him and pass it onto our children.

[via Armchair Theology]

None shall pass!

No, you shall not pass!

This could go on for quite some time:

From Threadless for an easy $20.

#WINNING!

Enjoy!

This last one confuses me a little, as I’m trying to understand why Yoda and Darth are chillin’ together.

Any ideas?

[via Between the Pages]

You won’t find this combination anywhere else!

• Pay what you want.
• Support a charity.
• DRM free AND you can redeem them on Steam!

And, for the first time ever, the Humble Bundle is available for multiple platforms, including mobile — Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux, and Android.

The Humble Bundle for Android

Here’s a closer look at each of the titles in the Humble Bundle:

Anomaly: Warzone Earth

Anomaly is an intense reversal of the tower defense formula, with players managing a convoy’s path through various war torn environs. Careful planning of powerups, unit composition, and more will make or break your journey. Anomaly: Warzone Earth has rocked gamers on Windows, OS X, and iOS, and is now available to challenge the tactics of Linux and Android gamers.

Osmos

In Osmos, you play an amoeba-esque creature (called a “mote”) in a world with a few basic rules: you absorb smaller things, and bigger things absorb you. The catch? The amoeba propels forward by shooting out bits of itself, so move with care! Different game modes introduce opposing AI amoebas, gravity, and other twists, and a chilled out soundtrack provides the perfect mood for floating your way to cellular domination.

EDGE

EDGE is a casual puzzle-platformer that challenges you to roll your cube through over 100 levels. The innovative level design and “edge hangtime” mechanic will test your planning and reflexes. Nothing can quite describe the satisfying noise of rolling your cube to victory and securing a speedy finish.

If you choose to give above the average donation, you’ll also receive:

World of Goo

This critically acclaimed puzzler challenges you to build dramatic and innovative structures using goo balls. The somewhat sentient globs create rigid planks upon being placed in proximity to other goo balls, and with your help, they can escape! World of Goo is an indie classic, and the Android iteration gives the game a perfect new form factor for experiencing the magic of goo.

Remember, buying the Humble Bundle for Android also gets you Mac, Windows, and Linux versions of the games.

Game on!

This week, on Saturday Sunday Share, I would like to open things up for not only the great stuff you have been working on, but also some great content or resources you may have stumbled upon this past week.

First, here’s a quick review of what you guys shared, last week:

• Frank Gantz - posted a powerful blog post.
• Raoul Snyman - started a new job (congrats!) and knocked-out some great blog posts.
• James Cooper - is #WINNING!
• Jay Caruso - started digging into Standard and has started getting ready for a BIG move!

Stellar as always!

If there’s something you want to show us or have critiqued, please share!

In additional to the usual shares, if there’s any awesome stuff you come across the web this past week, drop a link.

We would love to check it out!

[Image via Buzzfeed]

Like this?

Good times.

Now laser tag comes to your smartphone along with some sweet augmented reality apps!

You’ve got to see this, check it out:

Oh, yeah.

How hawt is this?

This spring, ATK will be released, which will enable player-to-player combat, throwing guns, rifles, grenade launchers, and pulse weapons into the mix. True to the FPS genre, multiplayer will include deathmatch, team mode, and last man standing.

With a $45 price tag, I could see these selling well. Plus, there are some pretty sweet single player augmented reality apps:

• AR Invaders
• AR Wars
• Spray’Em
• ATK

Pre-orders for the XAPPR Gun have already begun.

[via ChipChick]

It’s amazing to see the early uses and purposes of computing.

My favorite ad is the Thomas Edison dictation machines.

How about you?

Tomorrow, we’ll have some ads from the 1950s!

[via Vintage Ad Browser]