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Also, let's make a list of movies or books or TV Shows Ellanjay should see. I will give two recommendations, both films.
Hotel Rwanda Once again, it shows a society completely shot to hell, but most importantly it shows just how useless and incompetent the UN really is, which would be a nice antidote to Ellanjay's belief that the UN is this all-powerful government entity.
Children of Men Shows what happens to a society when all the children are gone. The part where they see the first baby born in years is one of the most powerful moments of cinema.
You're probably wondering why all these tangents? Why won't I just get to the snark? Well truthfully there's not much to snark. A lot of pages, but nothing really happens.
Basically the TF and YTF minus Judd talk about Bruce and how much they mean to him and why do I have a feeling that after the funeral, he'll never be mentioned again?
There's more discussion about judgements and seven-part tribulations all of which makes MEGO. Oh and Lionel is told by the eevil principal to report to her office.
But it turns out that the eeevil pilot wants to use Judd. Apparently before he died Mr. Stahley uncovered some secret stuff about Nicky Grampian and the pilot thinks this is his chance to get it all out in the open. Why he needs Judd is not readily apparent? But in other words, he's a double agent.
Next chapter. St. Rayford reads about the martyrs and asks who would be willing to die for their faith? Ryan and Lionel and some nameless others stand up and you can't help but note that when eeevil muslim children blow themselves up in the name of their faith it's fanaticism yet when Christian children do it, it's faith. How about instead of dying for your faith you try living it instead?
Next, St. Rayford reads from Revelation 6:12-17.
12And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Now a sane person would know better than to try to interpret this passage literally. Everyone knows that stars are humungo balls of gas, incredibly hot and bigger than Earth, so even one falling would kill us all. So interpreting this passage literally is an idiot's game.
But of course, St. Rayford only addresses the first part, the only part that is actually physically possible according to the natural laws of the universe, by saying there's going to be a big earthquake called "the wrath of the lamb."
Meanwhile with Judd, Taylor Graham (I should probably stop referring to him as "the eevil pilot") tells Judd about Nicky MacGillicuddy's plans to form his own Hitler's Youth, a group of young people who serve him but wear no uniforms and basically rat out their neighbours. This is the only part of Nicky's plans that makes sense so far. I feel like giving him a gold star.
And that's it for this week. Have fun dissecting Ellanjay's latest failures of both thought and imagination.
18 comments:
"How about instead of dying for your faith you try living it instead?"
This. Dying is easy. Living is the real challenge and living well is the best revenge.
But as Fred has said before, the Martyr's Egress is easier than the Pilgrim's Progress.
am I the only one who thinks that Token Jew's family died ... because Ellanjay needed him to be able to serve as the new Bruce without a family to possible interfere or hold him back?
They also needed to be killed by Orthodox Jews in order for L&J to show that Big Bad Jews Who Reject Christ can be just as evil and depraved as those faux fake so-called "Christians" who persecuted Jews during the Crusades and Holocaust -- but aren't Really Truly Christian because RTCs would never do anything like that to the Jews because RTCs LOVE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE. (... At least until Jesus returns.)
St. Rayford reads about the martyrs and asks who would be willing to die for their faith? Ryan and Lionel and some nameless others stand up and you can't help but note that when eeevil muslim children blow themselves up in the name of their faith it's fanaticism yet when Christian children do it, it's faith.
As someone who is admittedly neither Christian nor Muslim, my understanding is that "martyr" has a different meaning in Christianity as in Islam. And I submit that there is a key difference between willing to die for one's faith and seeking to die for one's faith.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_martyrs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istishhad
If we have to read about this horrid world, we could at least have some proper catastrophes. Real stars falling to earth, none of this "big earthquake" crap.
It would be a shorter book, too, which would be good.
(Of course I would call a fusion bomb a pretty clear case of a star falling to earth, but that's being all figurative and stuff innit?)
15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
So... does this mean all of Nicky's staff and ambasadors go into underground shelters just before the earthquake? I seem to recall Nicky is in a plane when it happens.
Also, they ask the rocks to fall on them, so that when the earthquake happens, they don't die from rocks falling on them? Lolwut.
I seem to recall Nicky is in a plane when it happens.
Nicky is in his office building and escapes via a rooftop helicopter.
Also, they ask the rocks to fall on them, so that when the earthquake happens, they don't die from rocks falling on them?
From Book #3 Nicolae:
The earth continued to shift and roll, but he just kept [driving]. Through his blown-out window he saw people running, heard them screaming, saw their gaping wounds and their blood. They tried to hide under rocks that had been disgorged from the earth. They used upright chunks of asphalt and sidewalk to protect them, But just as quickly they were crushed. A middle-aged man, shirtless and shoeless and bleeding, looked heavenward through broken glasses and opened his arms wide. He screamed to the sky, “God, kill me! Kill me!” And as Buck slowly bounced past in the Range Rover, the man was swallowed into the earth.
aunursa: yeah, 'cus when people are caught in an earthquake their first thought is always "I know! I'll hide under something heavy and unstable!"
That is the single stupidest thing I've ever heard. Of course, I'm still pissed that stars aren't literally falling to earth and the moon isn't turning to blood.
You mean they don't even cop out and use meteors? Cus, y'know, we call them shooting stars so it totally counts! Perfectly predicted! (Hey, if Rayford assumes calling his gun Sabre or whatever makes it count as a sword...)
The moon turning to blood though... trickier, but not much weirder than some of the other miracles. I guess the main problem for L&J is that it wouldn't kill the filthy heretics. Where's the point in a miracle that doesn't really hurt the unbelievers.
And wow, the LB people really are even dumber than the Bible passage said, since they use for cover the rocks that were already upturned. Oh, and I think the middle of the street is supposed to be the safest place right? Glad to see Buck doesn't care and is driving straight through it (to where anyway, the earthquake is supposed to be everywhere)
(Hey, if Rayford assumes calling his gun Sabre or whatever makes it count as a sword...)
Reminds me of a riddle I learned in childhood. Q: How many legs does a dog have if you call its tail a leg? A: Four; calling the tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
The moon turning to blood though... trickier, but not much weirder than some of the other miracles.
During the earthquake the moon appears to be "bloodred."
Glad to see Buck doesn't care and is driving straight through it
Yep, that's our Buck. However at the beginning of Book #4, just minutes after the end of the earthquake, he steps out of character and attempts CPR on a woman who lost her arm and has suffered a head wound.
You mean one of the heroes actually demonstrates compassion towards another human being?! :cue dramatic prairie dog:
Oh and Lionel is told by the eevil principal to report to her office.
You know, in any other context, this would be an interesting opening....
... Oh, right. Nevermind. This is Ellenjay, after all.
The idea of child soldiers is for some reason particularly abhorrent to me, even with the difference between seeking to be a martyr and letting martyrship come to one. Though I guess the second group (er, latter?) doesn't really get much choice in the matter, it skeeves me a bit to think of kids standing up and saying, "Sure, I'll martyr myself!"
Really, kidd? Just like Raystard Steele right there lecturing you, how he martyrs himself by staying in his cushy job working for the fekking antichrist?
... Okay, Imma going to stop now. Seeing the hypocrisy on parade like this, especially when talking about and encouraging child martyrs, is like LeHaye and Jenkins pushing my Big Red Button repeatedly.
Basically the TF and YTF minus Judd talk about Bruce and how much they mean to him and why do I have a feeling that after the funeral, he'll never be mentioned again?
I can only remember one time (off the top of my head) that Bruce is mentioned after his death in the adult series. And it's not a happy memory--Chloe and Buck name their son after two dead guys, and...
[Rayford's] grandson, Kenny Bruce, had stolen his heart, but that very name reminded Rayford of painful losses. The late Ken Ritz had been a new friend with the makings of a good one. Bruce Barnes had been Rayford's first mentor and had taught him so much after supplying him the videotape that had led him to Christ.
-Assassins, p. 5
I can just imagine Rayford sniffling, "I miss Bruce so much...that was such a great videotape!!!
Ah, but Bruce Barnes comes back in #16 (adult series). Bruce goes to Africa (why?) to neutralize weapons (what?) and to build roads, buildings, and other infrastructure (oh, okay that's a decent job), all off-screen.
Bruce also hints at Kenny that, "Hey, I did your parents' weeding and your grandpa's second wedding, wouldn't it be nifty if I did your wedding too! Propose, already." Kenny's underage, but the series has always been a bit first love=true love.
I think in the middle of the adult series they really do have a humongous [technical term] meteorite/comet fall on earth. Somehow the planet survives with mostly localized damage.
[aunursa: "And I submit that there is a key difference between willing to die for one's faith and seeking to die for one's faith."]
Definitely. Basically, if it's a variation on suicide-by-cop, that's not a martyr.
"Pilgrim's Progress," yes, there's a chewy one. Also, I know I've recommended this one on other sites, but Susan Beth Pfeffer's moon trilogy is still good. "Life as we knew it" (narrator, a secular girl), "Dead and the gone" (narrator, a Catholic boy), and "This world we live in" (narrator, the girl's back but the boy shows up).
"and attempts CPR on a woman who lost her arm and has suffered a head wound."
And when that didn't work, he used a defilibrator right? Cause CPR is such great cure for all fatalities, including blood loss due to severed limbs and blunt head trauma.
And I may have mentioned this already, but I have to wonder: Isn't 'suicide by Anti-Christ' just about the smartest thing you can do? When he's making a live international television speech, walk up to the Anti-Christ and tell him how he sucks and what the next 10 prophecies to happen are. You're bound to get a 3 off before they drag you away. Then obnoxiously stalk the AC. This will a: Get the word on those bible prophecies out, so people recognize when they happen and b) show Zod how dedicated to his faith you are, even in the face of Satan and c) mark you for an execution as soon as possible... which means you get to ride out the horrible Tribulations in the comfort of heaven. Since the end result is living in the millenial kingdom whether you live or die, why not pick the easier option?
Of course, this brings up a question that I'm not sure I can answer. For most of us on earth, life isn't as bad as it would be during the Tribulations, but it's far from perfect. Is there thus, in time of misery, a good reason NOT to take up skydiving or start witnessing alone in rural Pakistan or something? If you really believe heaven is waiting for you, isn't it tempting to get in there as soon as possible?
I don't have an answer, but I don't really need one as I do not believe there is an afterlife. I believe that once I die, I'm gone. I thus weight the pleasures and setbacks of life against 'not existing at all', and that's a much lower bar to clear. I'm curious how some of the not-crazy believers on this forum feel about this subject, though I apologize to those who feel this is too morbid a question. I'm asking it out of curiosity, since I have never been a believer and am unable to comprehend how believing in an afterlife would shape my view on this world.
Ivan wrote: If you really believe heaven is waiting for you, isn't it tempting to get in there as soon as possible?
You're right about how this is a huge influence on how people live, as opposed to someone who believes in no afterlife. I'm not sure these metaphors will help -- if Christianity was that easy to explain we wouldn't ahve so many internal quarrels -- but here goes.
Let's say that what we do in this life influences the great painting of all of life. It requires having faith that God as the artist can see the whole painting in progress and knows it will be worthwhile. Throwing away a life makes the paint run and doesn't just foul up our patch on the canvas but can bleed onto other brush strokes.
Another metaphor is the one C.S. Lewis uses in the last paragraph of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The last battle." The lives that the characters lived, so long and real to them, turn out to be the introductory page in The Great Story. Death is thr turning of the page from the Introduction to Chapter One, in an afterlife in which the story never ends and every chapter is better than the one before. A lousy introduction might not stop that book from getting in the library, but it might not be as satisfying a tale as it could have been.
Another metaphor came from St. Therese of Lisieux, the "Little Flower." She was talking with her sister about the paradox of how people could be equal in Heaven and yet not be equal. Well, in Heaven the worldly divisions like face, race, and place won't be the measure of a person. So in that sense we will be equal. Then Therese's sister filled to glasses to the brim, one glass tall and one glass small. She then asked Therese which glass is more full. Well, both glasses were full. But one could hold more volume. That was what it meant to say that all will be equal in Heaven, but some will be greater in being glorified than others. The idea was that our time in this life and the way that we live our faith is supposed to help blow up the glass while it is still molten.
Dying in ways that could be taken for throwing away life show disrespect for God, but it also can hurt others who look to us for examples. I know some people I would call Saved keggers and others [adults] who would be Saved sippy cups. I'm not sure how to stretch the latter or if they've already hardened. But I doubt that double-daring God or man to whack them helps.
Coem to think of it, I can't be sure this post helps. I hope so. I like to think that one doesn't have to be an atheist to see this life as something worth fighting for.
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