Okay. Stick with me here... In Japan, someone has set up a modest temple for the god of poverty. Why? So people can come by and.. well... see for yourself:
Japanese beat poverty Video - Yahoo! News UK
This would get so completely out of hand in the US. This is something that could probably only really work in Japan, but I have to wonder if everyone wouldn't benefit from a quick trip to this temple.
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, February 11, 2008
Finished the Pullman Trilogy
So I'm done. Whew!
***Mini Spoilers Below! - Proceed At Your Own Risk!***
I'm not convinced this is the great Atheist treatise so many people wind up believing it is. It's a nice story. Sometimes there are points in the narrative that I wish he would just tell me what he's getting at - almost as if he wants to say something with his allegories, but can't easily put it into words. At those times, his prose suffers, but generally it's a good set of fantasy books.
Yes, there are points in the stories where most religious people would be offended or consider them too controversial (for one reason or another) to be children's material. This is definitely intentional on Pullman's part and impossible to miss (heavy handed?). There are points where the underlying message seemed a bit forced and occasionally disrupt the flow of the story. It's still a worthy read.
I get the feeling that Pullman is less of an Agnostic or a Satanist as he sometimes promotes himself (to great consternation for some and attention in general) and more of a dedicated (reckless?) heretic. In that, he and I are have some points of agreement. In other aspects of faith, we differ greatly. If nothing else, it's a great book for allowing you to examine your thoughts on some very important points of faith. For that, it does succeed and is recommendable. I would argue that, when approached with an open and curious state of mind (i.e. not blindly), the Bible already fills this need in our existing theological bibliography. The inevitable controversy surrounding interpretations and abuses of the Bible, however, creates a vacuum that this trilogy fits into fairly well.
The ending (which I will not give away, but is complete with a thought-provoking "Hmmmmmm" moment) is saved until the very last sentence. If anyone else has read through all three books, let's talk about what it all meant in the comments.
***Mini Spoilers Below! - Proceed At Your Own Risk!***
I'm not convinced this is the great Atheist treatise so many people wind up believing it is. It's a nice story. Sometimes there are points in the narrative that I wish he would just tell me what he's getting at - almost as if he wants to say something with his allegories, but can't easily put it into words. At those times, his prose suffers, but generally it's a good set of fantasy books.
Yes, there are points in the stories where most religious people would be offended or consider them too controversial (for one reason or another) to be children's material. This is definitely intentional on Pullman's part and impossible to miss (heavy handed?). There are points where the underlying message seemed a bit forced and occasionally disrupt the flow of the story. It's still a worthy read.
I get the feeling that Pullman is less of an Agnostic or a Satanist as he sometimes promotes himself (to great consternation for some and attention in general) and more of a dedicated (reckless?) heretic. In that, he and I are have some points of agreement. In other aspects of faith, we differ greatly. If nothing else, it's a great book for allowing you to examine your thoughts on some very important points of faith. For that, it does succeed and is recommendable. I would argue that, when approached with an open and curious state of mind (i.e. not blindly), the Bible already fills this need in our existing theological bibliography. The inevitable controversy surrounding interpretations and abuses of the Bible, however, creates a vacuum that this trilogy fits into fairly well.
The ending (which I will not give away, but is complete with a thought-provoking "Hmmmmmm" moment) is saved until the very last sentence. If anyone else has read through all three books, let's talk about what it all meant in the comments.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Subtle Knife - Making progress
So I'm making excellent progress through the Pullman trilogy and am just about finished with the second of the three books: The Subtle Knife. The author's intentions are radiantly clear as never before. There is no doubt of what's going to happen in the third book nor of what the outcome will likely be:
*Spoiler Alert*
-=Here's another chance to look away if you intend to read the books=--
What's coming is an epic battle between God (as the establishment defines it) and "what is right" (i.e. what Pullman and his sympathetic characters believe). It's most likely going to have the main female character (Lyra) become an unwitting hero who is sacrificed for the betterment of mankind. Knowing the difference between our reality and that of this book (and what Pullman has said he thinks), the establishment will likely win and the "morale" will be that this is a bad thing but that we have a choice to reject our notion of god to create a better world. I'm not sure there is not some sympathy to be shared with this vision, but I can see why many people would have trouble with this collection being marketed to children. Then again, think about what kind of pollution is fed to kids in the name of the Church these days.
We'll see what happens... What do you think?
*Spoiler Alert*
-=Here's another chance to look away if you intend to read the books=--
What's coming is an epic battle between God (as the establishment defines it) and "what is right" (i.e. what Pullman and his sympathetic characters believe). It's most likely going to have the main female character (Lyra) become an unwitting hero who is sacrificed for the betterment of mankind. Knowing the difference between our reality and that of this book (and what Pullman has said he thinks), the establishment will likely win and the "morale" will be that this is a bad thing but that we have a choice to reject our notion of god to create a better world. I'm not sure there is not some sympathy to be shared with this vision, but I can see why many people would have trouble with this collection being marketed to children. Then again, think about what kind of pollution is fed to kids in the name of the Church these days.
We'll see what happens... What do you think?
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Neuroscience and God
Neuroscientists have been able to track down sections of the brain that light up when nuns recall epiphanous moments. So what does this mean about God and our relationship with God? Not being a neuroscientist, it doesn't mean a whole lot to me, but be certain that people will use it an excuse to argue about the existence of God.
Just because the brain lights up in reproducible ways when a person is thinking about God doesn't mean God is a figment of their imagination. It's like saying that litmus paper changes colors when I drop lemon juice on it because the paper really likes acids.
I'll stop now... it's early and I need coffee. What do you think about all of this?
Just because the brain lights up in reproducible ways when a person is thinking about God doesn't mean God is a figment of their imagination. It's like saying that litmus paper changes colors when I drop lemon juice on it because the paper really likes acids.
I'll stop now... it's early and I need coffee. What do you think about all of this?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
