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Friday, October 3, 2008

Bugger All Down Here on Earth

Posted by at

13 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 3, 2008 at 8:23 AM

    I love this movie!!! (Even though it made me reconsider being an organ donor):)

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  2. nonmagicOctober 3, 2008 at 8:53 AM

    What movie is this from?

    Before anyone says they can't believe I don't know, keep in mind I don't watch tv and I rarely watch movies anymore. Go easy.

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  3. YaegerOctober 3, 2008 at 9:06 AM

    Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Worthy of a viewing, especially the wafer thin part.

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  4. AnonymousOctober 3, 2008 at 9:09 AM

    NM,

    Somewhere some uber nerd had a raging fit when they read your comment :p

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  5. nonmagicOctober 3, 2008 at 9:20 AM

    Yeager, thanks!

    LOL Skep. I know, I live in a small, self made bubble!

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  6. ltlgeorgeOctober 3, 2008 at 10:45 AM

    So what's a Raytractor, a mythical farm impliment designed for harvesting sunrays?

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  7. LizOctober 3, 2008 at 12:03 PM

    Soooo, this is going to be completely off topic for this post, but being the most recent post I wanted to put it here. Also, I can't watch the clip because my work computer is currently running windows 98 and my memory is almost gone so I can't download flashplayer or anything.

    Anyhooo,

    I wanted to ask any theists here a question I've been pondering.

    If there were no mention of heaven and hell, everlasting life, or eternal punishment in the bible (but everything else was exactly the same), would you still believe in your god? Please elaborate on you answer if you can.

    Not a snarky question, I'm honestly curious.

    Thanks in advance.

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  8. LizOctober 3, 2008 at 12:05 PM

    would you still believe in your god?

    I meant to ask would you still worship your god. Sorry about that.

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  9. nonmagicOctober 3, 2008 at 12:14 PM

    Liz,

    Because this I feel like this is a very interesting question and it might not be seen here, do you mind if I give it its own separate post?

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  10. YaegerOctober 3, 2008 at 12:17 PM

    I don't think the New Testament would have as large of an impact if it never mentioned a promise of afterlife.

    You would essentially have a story about a guy who is God's son, telling everyone to be good, give away their possessions for no reason, and who eventually gets killed.

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  11. LizOctober 3, 2008 at 12:45 PM

    NM,

    I have no problem with that. :)

    Yeager,

    Couldn't Jesus have died to begin the new covenant between God and the gentiles? Bringing them into the fold so to speak-nothing more nothing less.

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  12. nonmagicOctober 3, 2008 at 1:13 PM

    Thanks, Liz!

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  13. felixOctober 4, 2008 at 2:54 AM

    Without the 'Kingdom of Heaven' promises, which depend on an afterlife of some sort, people would have little reason to follow such a covenant. Some people might be content in trusting on the creator of everything to help them out in their lives and still worship. The type of beliefs Ray endorses however rely on pure faith; he has explicitly told believers not to expect such help in their daily lives, but to rely purely on the promise of justice after death. From what I've heard from a Pentecostal free church member, their belief relies on the same thing. It is their ultimate reason to believe in God and Jesus, in that it would be senseless to hold this trust if there were no promise of setting the wrongs of life right and punishing the evildoers. As the guy I mention said, life would be disheartening and cruel to him if people like Hitler would get away with their crimes just by dying. Believers of many denominations do believe in God's active help in life, from helping them win a football game to getting a new job or finding a person to love. But I think that without an afterlife and ultimate justice, this position is equal to the worldview that we're in a cosmic simulation, an experiment or a pastime for a superbeing entertaining itself by playing around with life on a little planet. I think for most theistic believers this straw of a promise is the essential thing to cling to.
    A Satanist would say they are weak and scoff at them. I would not, sice I attribute this to the way our brains are 'wired', or in many cases (self-)conditioned.

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