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A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

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Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#11
post #9
post #6

As a note on Santa Claus being something different than we think: "Is Santa Claus a god?" ( http://nautil.us/blog/is-santa-claus-a-god ). tl;dr: Omniscience (of child's deeds), rewarding the good (with gifts) and punishing the bad (with coal).

I always wondered how Christians were able to square the existence of Santa with the 2nd commandment. Then again, how they can reconcile Jesus with the 2nd commandment is bit dodgy to me too so what do I know.

I don't think any adult Christian thinks that Santa is actually real, so there's nothing to reconciliate

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#12
post #9
post #6

As a note on Santa Claus being something different than we think: "Is Santa Claus a god?" ( http://nautil.us/blog/is-santa-claus-a-god ). tl;dr: Omniscience (of child's deeds), rewarding the good (with gifts) and punishing the bad (with coal).

I always wondered how Christians were able to square the existence of Santa with the 2nd commandment. Then again, how they can reconcile Jesus with the 2nd commandment is bit dodgy to me too so what do I know.

First, by making the guy a saint.

Second, by making him an aspect of god...

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#13
post #8

I realize this article is a tongue-in-cheek fan theory. However, it does make me wonder what Tarantino was up to with Pulp Fiction. The Ezekiel "quote" always bugged me because even without looking it up, anyone who spent any amount of time in the Old Testament, could tell that it was fabricated. "Finder of lost children" is not an OT motif in general, and certainly not in Ezekiel. Obviously, Tarantino knew people wo…

There's nothing supernatural going on, except that the film is a very obvious and self-aware pastiche of, uh, pulp fiction plots. The Ezekiel quote is borrowed from an old martial arts movie, and the characters fully admit they just say it because it sounds cool before killing someone.

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#14
post #9
post #6

As a note on Santa Claus being something different than we think: "Is Santa Claus a god?" ( http://nautil.us/blog/is-santa-claus-a-god ). tl;dr: Omniscience (of child's deeds), rewarding the good (with gifts) and punishing the bad (with coal).

I always wondered how Christians were able to square the existence of Santa with the 2nd commandment. Then again, how they can reconcile Jesus with the 2nd commandment is bit dodgy to me too so what do I know.

Trinity is how they reconcile Jesus with the 2nd commandment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity

Basically put God == Jesus

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#15
post #8

I realize this article is a tongue-in-cheek fan theory. However, it does make me wonder what Tarantino was up to with Pulp Fiction. The Ezekiel "quote" always bugged me because even without looking it up, anyone who spent any amount of time in the Old Testament, could tell that it was fabricated. "Finder of lost children" is not an OT motif in general, and certainly not in Ezekiel. Obviously, Tarantino knew people wo…

Because he took it from a kung-fu movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LYT4JC2dd4

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#16
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always wondered how Christians were able to square the existence of Santa with the 2nd commandment. Then again, how they can reconcile Jesus with the 2nd commandment is bit dodgy to me too so what do I know.

I don't think any adult Christian thinks that Santa is actually real, so there's nothing to reconciliate

Sure, but they're teaching sacrilege to their kids.

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#17
post #9
post #6

As a note on Santa Claus being something different than we think: "Is Santa Claus a god?" ( http://nautil.us/blog/is-santa-claus-a-god ). tl;dr: Omniscience (of child's deeds), rewarding the good (with gifts) and punishing the bad (with coal).

I always wondered how Christians were able to square the existence of Santa with the 2nd commandment. Then again, how they can reconcile Jesus with the 2nd commandment is bit dodgy to me too so what do I know.

In Christianity, Jesus is God. There is a concept called Trinity which you can read about. Some Christians won’t make images of Jesus and some will.

Santa Claus is a folk tale version of a Christian who lived about 1500 years ago. I suppose you could argue that letting children “believe in Santa Claus” violates the first commandment. Not sure about the second.

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#18
post #15
post #8

I realize this article is a tongue-in-cheek fan theory. However, it does make me wonder what Tarantino was up to with Pulp Fiction. The Ezekiel "quote" always bugged me because even without looking it up, anyone who spent any amount of time in the Old Testament, could tell that it was fabricated. "Finder of lost children" is not an OT motif in general, and certainly not in Ezekiel. Obviously, Tarantino knew people wo…

Because he took it from a kung-fu movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LYT4JC2dd4

That's awesome. Thanks for that.

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#19
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think any adult Christian thinks that Santa is actually real, so there's nothing to reconciliate

Sure, but they're teaching sacrilege to their kids.

Of course, but sacrilege is in the eye of the beholder. It used to be sacrilege to own a Bible not written in Latin and for a layperson to read it directly, now many Christians consider any Bible other than the King James version to be sacrilegious. There's no objectivity or rational thought at work, it's essentially cultural norms and politics.

Many Conservative Christians do believe Santa Claus is an attempt by the "atheist establishment" to remove the Christian identity from the holiday, but that's due to a modern interpretation of Santa Claus as a capitalist icon, and the defensive nature of Christian conservatism. No Christian would likely have questioned the "Christianness" of Santa Claus a century ago, when the status of religion in Western society was unquestioned.

Re: A History of the Silmarils in the Fifth Age

#20
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always wondered how Christians were able to square the existence of Santa with the 2nd commandment. Then again, how they can reconcile Jesus with the 2nd commandment is bit dodgy to me too so what do I know.

I don't think any adult Christian thinks that Santa is actually real, so there's nothing to reconciliate

Saint Nicholas was very real however, and had a mean right hook for heretics.
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