Bible Gateway is now back on my computer screen. After reading here about NGINX, I'm not sure that this was just a temporary, personal problem. Christianwriters.com might be among their future targets.
Brother
@William D'Andrea, if you don't know what a browser is, the software that you and everyone else uses to browse internet websites, perhap you shouldn't spread conspiracy theories about a common open source (not something controlled by the Russians, or any nation-state) web server used by internet providers across the planet.
Internet hiccups happen all the time. You can see them on downdetector.com. The fact that internet servers are up as much as they are is a minor miracle and is the result of a lot of people working tirelessly to keep the internet running (mostly) smoothly.
"Nginx (pronounced "engine-x") is a web server that can also be used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, mail proxy, and HTTP cache. It was created by Igor Sysoev and publicly released in 2005.
Nginx has grown in popularity and is used by many high-profile websites. Its architecture makes it particularly well-suited for modern web applications that require efficient handling of concurrent connections."
Nginx itself is a tool, much like any web server software, and doesn't inherently engage in malicious activities. It was developed by a Russian programmer, Igor Sysoev, but its use is widespread across the globe due to its efficiency and reliability in serving web content and handling web traffic.
In other words, no, Bible Gateway wasn't down as a result of a malicious attack, and no, christianwriters.com is not at any special risk of attacks as a results of Nginx activity.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it clear he doesn’t want us to worry. In fact, he tells us so five times in Matthew 6:25-34: “Do not worry about your life” (v. 25). “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (v. 27). “Why do you worry about clothes?” (v. 28). “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” (v. 31). “Do not worry about tomorrow” (v. 34). So, Jesus doesn’t want us to worry. Jesus calls us to take our eyes off all the stuff around us and reorient ourselves to God. And if we are reoriented to God, there is no place in our lives for worrying about any of this. (This is good news. It is a good and blessed thing to give up worry for faith and joy in the love of the Lord.)
(One more thing–your administrator,
@Rebecca makes her living as a specialist launching websites, tuning them, setting up industry-standard protections for them, and keeping them safe and active. She's not just a good host, this is her job. She's waaaaaaaaay smarter than I am. Give your admin some credit and stop worrying about nefarious actors. If you want to apply your time productively, pray for Rebecca's health and safety and career success. We know from James 5 that "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." How many people pray for your admin? That would be a good and productive use our time.)
