The Final Cut

During the summer, I watched a film starring Robin Williams in a dramatic role.  Contrary to his comedian image, I’ve always thought he was better as a serious actor.  This particular film, The Final Cut, was about a future in which it is possible to have a bio-implant that essentially records every event of one’s life.  At death, it is removed and a “cutter” reviews the material (organized by the software into amazing categories) for compilation into a remembrance.

As you might imagine, the raw footage is all too honest.  The only people who ever see it are the cutters.  They know the real truth, but rarely show it.  The surviving friends and relatives don’t want that.  They want an idealized memory.

I recommend the film, but the bigger point is that it is provocative of thought.  As I watched, I kept thinking about how people would think or how they would live their lives differently if they knew they had such an implant.  What would that be like?

Then I realized that we do have an implant like that.  It’s called a soul.  And God will be the one who judges our lives in their entirety.  You think about that and you know you need a savior.  You know you need someone to make up for everything you failed to do and for every wrong decision you made.  You know you need someone to help you account for the sheer waste and lack of human sympathy in your life.

Letter to a Friend about New Atheist Sam Harris and Doubts about the Faith

[Name withheld],

I started looking through the stuff you copied for me. One thing jumped out right away from [Sam] Harris. I had forgotten this quote:

“I no more believe in Zeus, Isis, Thor, and the thousands of other dead gods that lie buried in the mass grave we call ‘mythology.’ I doubt them all equally and for the same reason: lack of evidence.”

This is one of the most absurd statements I have ever seen. I promise you that I am open and susceptible to counterarguments about Christianity, but this one is utterly ridiculous. To say that there is some equivalence between, for example, Christ and Thor is to reveal incredible illiteracy about history and religion. Sam Harris is not qualified to write on the topic, especially not with the degree of certitude he claims. It is as though I started a conversation with someone who told me he was quite certain the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. I’d be suspicious of anything else he said.

The simple fact is that there is evidence, substantial evidence of the claims about Christ. Far more than for Zeus, Isis, etc. If Sam Harris thinks otherwise, it is because he entered the subject with his mind made up and thinking he had no need to perform research.

On the other hand, the bits you highlighted about the tragedy of being insecure in faith and doubt and faith not being at war make a lot of sense to me. The only people without a doubt would be the ones who participated with the Israelites in the amazing acts of God or the early Christians who actually saw the risen Christ. I have become a believer in Christ because I think the Christian faith, both historically and personally, offers the best explanation for why the world is the way it is and why we are as we are. I hope it is true. I can say with little difficulty that it is substantially more likely than the alternatives. I suspect it is Christ or nothing. And I find it very hard to believe in nothing. It wouldn’t explain anything about creation, would it?

Thanks for the article. I enjoyed the interaction between Warren and Harris. Anything you want to talk about (or email about), please let me know. I enjoy talking about this stuff.

Hunter