I’m writing this letter as a short commentary of Sarah Bigler’s Sept. 27 column, “Praise be to Google, Who doth know all things.”

I had mixed feelings after reading her column. I found it to be very witty and clever. Yet I was also saddened to a certain degree regarding her characterization of what “God” is and her use of Google to, as I see it, poke fun at the Christian concept of God.

I believe that her column unintentionally revealed a kind of values mentality that seems to be very insufficient. She displays a lack of comprehension when comparing Google’s characteristics to God (it doesn’t bother me that she makes the comparison, only the way she does so.)

She seems to find Google so “holy” and “never failing” that she compares it to a God. Why? Because Google provides information and knowledge. She “feels the need to worship.” I’m not a Fundamentalist, but her feeling of veneration toward information is where I see the danger.

Atheists often seem to place human intelligence and knowledge as the supreme virtue (Christopher Hitchens is a case in point). This is not so with Christianity. The traditional Christian explanation of God has always been this, “Deus Caritas Est,” or, “God is Love.”

My point is this: We must never forget as a society that what is most valuable in our world is love, not just intelligence. Both are extremely important, but Google cannot give us love, that most fundamental human longing.

Geoffrey Zokal

Charleston