Mark of the Beast

The biblical book of Revelation (the last one in the Christian canon) is full of wild imagery and evocative symbolism. It lends itself well to interpretation, reinterpretation, and application in all sorts of times and places. I begin BIBLE BABEL with reference to concerns aired in Florida some months ago about inserting microchips in animals. The chips have retrievable electronic data to make it easier to, well, retrieve Fido or Fluffy should he or she get lost... which sounds good. But to some Revelation-readers it hints of evil because a passage there tells of a wicked Beast increasing its power and control. Without its mark one can neither buy nor sell. There's talk also of implanting chips in people these days, by employers (of all things!) to track their workers. It has ominous implications even apart from the religious. Add Revelation, as this recent Washington Post article reports, and people are past uncomfortable.