Laurentius

AVE

It would be an exaggeration to maintain that believers in general and Christians in particular lack wit. It's not what I mean. Wit is a human quality that enriches the every man's spirit to different extents.

Humor sometimes abunds in Christians' sermons, but it is so strictly controled that becomes dully expectable, which is the opposite of wit.

Wit, as the unique intelligence of a highly objective mind, considers all aspects of reality with superior detachment.

Can God laugh at the taboos he himself has imposed? Does God look into his own actions objectively and critically?
I doubt it.

He who is convinced of his perfection will fail to detach himself from his subjectivity.

He who places morality over intelligence will distort his perception of reality.

AVE

leonarde

Found the book I was alluding to earlier: it was
in an on-line catalog of a large university library:
The humor of Christ
Trueblood, Elton, 1900-
New York, Harper & Row [c1964]

(probably out of print though, so it would be hard
to find)

Amos

If the clever cunning serpent is raised wit must be a quality of heaven.

Laurentius

How come only the bad guys are depicted as witty?
Not only in the Bible I mean.

AVE

Alludium Fozdex

That is an interesting question. Down through the ages, the villain always get better cars, better clothes and better lines than the heroes.

Laurentius

I was telling the story of The Emperor's New Clothes to a kid the other day and she asked me who I symphatized with: the king or the fake weavers. The implicit question was: Can theft and swindle be justified when the victim is stupid (vain or whatever)?

Tough question. My answer was that nobody is that stupid as to go out naked and pretend he's wearing the best clothes one can have, just for fear that if he weren't doing so he would seem stupid. I said something like: "The story only stresses the idea that you must avoid being that stupid - and that vain. If you try to appear maore intelligent and handsome than you really are, then you will be likely to end the same as the emperor in the story."

Now, for God to show his all-wit he should be willing to perform similar tricks at times.

Firstly, it seems that there's no reason why God should employ wit in reaching his objectives since he holds the sheer physical power to attain any possible goals.

Secondly, setting arbitrary laws and fiercely punishing those who break them looks morally superior to speculating people's vices. Indulging in stupidity, vanity, and the kind is socially acceptable, while revealing all this is not, because authority generally grounds on these very pillars.
Why?
Society and culture are nothing but conventions and the act of exposing them as such is regarded as antisocial and immoral, mo matter how witty it may be.

The Renaissance freed the wit from the tyrany of the Dark Ages. It has been a long revolution, and today the scandalous wit appears more respectable, so respectable that even those who dislike its destabilizing inclination would like to pose as witty people.

In fact wit can only be shown by the cynical ones, those who are able to both perceive the sublime of the creation and mock its caducous nature.

Now, this is being witty.
Under the circumstances,
can God be said to be all-witty?

AVE

PS Paraphrazing a famous sally (approximate quote: the devil's most cunning trick is to make us think that he doesn't really exist), I'd say that if God and Satan were one and the same (as bogomilism claims), it would be a matter of wit for him to make us think that God and Satan were two separate guys, wouldn't you agree?

[ September 22, 2002: Message edited by: Laurentius ]</p>

Kantian

The same reason why there are great books about Hell as opposed to Heaven.

~Transcendentalist~

Jane Bovary

"Hell for company...Heaven for climate"

Mark Twain

Amos

That's only because books about hell are written from heaven and never the other way around. Senecan tragedies are good examples of this.

"A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cilinder" by James de Mille is a purgatory event.

[ September 22, 2002: Message edited by: Amos ]</p>

Amos

I am reminded of the words "get thee behind me satan" to indicate that faith (Peter) is sin (satan) while 'revelation' is the key to the kingdom. This is just Gods all-witty way of telling us that knowledge frees us from faith and doubt (Thomas was twin of Peter (satan) and when doubt was removed Peter was finally defrocked).

But wait, on their next fishing trip Peter (still naked) once again put on the cloak of faith and dove headfirst into the celestial sea (other side of the boat). This is how the serpent is raised (recalled into heaven) and is where bogomilism makes a point.

Of course faith is sin or Babylon could not fall and religion could not be a means to the end.

The clothes make the man and must be dispersed before the persona can be crucified.