Fred’s 2012 Speculations
The turn of a new year is always a time of forecasts and prognostications. Prophets literally come crawling out of the woodwork, on a scale not seen since the Showdown at Mount Carmel. I’m certainly not a prophet, and I have no desire to add to the predictive glut of the season, but this blog isn’t called Speculative Faith for nothing. So, today I’m offering a list of speculations for the coming year.
I claim no divine inspiration or authority for these statements. Don’t rearrange your travel plans or restructure your 401K based on anything I say here. Whatever you do, don’t repeat them at the office, quote them at church, or share them with friends on your social network of choice. People might think you’re as disordered as I am.
I do, however, reserve the right to say, “I told you so,” when they come true.
- The world will not end in 2012. I favor 2020, if only because it would be so cool to be able to say for eternity, “In hindsight, it was always 2020.”
- Scientists will discover at least three planets capable of supporting life as we know it. The short list of potential names submitted by the public will include Vulcan, Tatooine, Gallifrey, and Pizza Planet.
- On March 9, a human being will walk on the surface of Mars, encounter a thriving humanoid civilization, and fall in love with a smokin’ hot alien princess who has the proper number of arms and legs. Mark your calendars.
- The writers of Doctor Who will leak a memo confirming that Doctor #12 will be female. The Internet will crash for one week, and screams of horror will be audible on Ganymede.
- The Christian Booksellers Association will issue a formal statement apologizing for their years of snubbing speculative fiction writers. They will direct their membership to stock a more balanced proportion of Christian science fiction and fantasy, relative to historical romances.
- C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien will be mentioned at least once a week at Speculative Faith. As you may note, I’ve already taken care of this week.
- Frustrated critics of Rob Bell’s Love Wins will attempt a more nuanced and aesthetically-sensitive strategy, beginning with an essay posted on Facebook, titled, “Yes, Virginia, There is a Hell.”
- Oops, I forgot to mention that prediction #5 will come true only on an alternate Earth where pigs can fly and Skittles grow on trees for the nourishment of rainbow-colored unicorns.
- The winner of the 2012 United States Presidential election will announce his first official act upon taking office: “Save the cheerleader…save the world.”
- Bilbo Baggins’ memoirs will appear on the big screen in November to much rejoicing and the public wearing of pointy ears and hairy feet. Only the first half of the story will be presented. This is another reason the world will not end in 2012.
Excellent and comical predictions. I particularly love the logic for the world ending on 2020. It works for English-speakers familiar with the simile, anyway!
This is not entirely implausible. Perhaps you saw that one feature in which actress Helen Mirren said she’d like to be the next Doctor. (The story, true to silly form, erroneously referred in its headline to “Doctor Who” as if that was the character’s complete name. Also, ‘ware British-tabloid nastiness at that link.) However, the suggestion is mostly implausible, and not only for the geek-outrage that would result. Casting the Doctor as a woman, permanently, in canon, not only violates imaginary law, but an even more vital constraint: television series demographics. And that line must not ever be crossed.
Uncanny. I had just been considering this review of that situation from doctrine-wonk blogger Trevin Wax, who in one of his most popular posts of 2011 wrote this:
God is inherently beautiful, but many times, we don’t do well at drawing out the inherent beauty of Truth with a capital T. (re-quoting for emphasis).
Hmm. Sounds like the realm of the Christ-honoring writer/artist/poet to me, and not just for yet even more mathematical-proof-style nonfiction doctrine-wonkery (though all of us certainly also need that, and I do not mean to disparage it).
Trevin Wax himself seems to think that, and later he specifically mentions storytelling:
And now, if I’ve done my job right, Fred, I’ve completely twisted your hilarity into dour seriousness — the very thing I was just lamenting. Ha ha!
Finally, a moment of nitpickiness, brought to you by New Line Cinema and MGM:
December, methinks. Also known as: That Month That Is Much Too Far Away.
She’d be on my short list. And who said I was trying to be implausible?
Not so uncanny. You mentioned the idea on Facebook last week. It’s a lot easier to do this sort of thing with inside information.
Well, somebody’s got to keep the kids under control, and off the lawn. That’s okay, I can always come back later with some toilet paper for the trees.
Peter Jackson recently announced the world premiere will be November in New Zealand. If you mean the U.S. debut, yes, that’s December. Sorry–I keep forgetting we’re the bright center of the universe. 🙂
Nitpicked the nitpicker! Success. Yes, I had forgotten about that, and perhaps indeed re-bought the silly Ameri-centric assumption.
I’ll simply remember to avoid spoilers by staying off the internet for about a month.
This sets up a very important discussion that I think we should defer until you’re ready to introduce it properly in its own article. I think Wax sidesteps the issue a bit. We’re dealing with a very specific and unattractive truth here–he’s asking the creative community to somehow portray a beauty in an eternal Hell that is superior to and more compelling than Bell’s vision. How might this be accomplished?
It may take a bit before I get to that. First, a series that name-drops Tolkien. No, I’m not kidding; that’s what I’ll start this week. However, it will mainly be about the films.
Though I agree that a comment discussion can’t do this deep topic justice (we’d need a whole column to resolve it completely!), here’s a further summary thought. Hell itself is not beautiful. It’s ugly. What is beautiful and should be lauded is God’s justice. In response to all the evil men do, against the world and against their fellow men — but mainly against their Creator — though God is holding back justice, it does exist and “He will repay” (Rom. 13). That’s the beautiful part. That’s also why we love to see bad guys getting their due, such as those Orcs created by Tolkien Tolkien Tolkien.
If we wanted to nitpick, Hell is a prison of torment that results from the wrath and justice of God. God is just and altogether good, which means his penalties are also. I don’t think there’s a comfortable way around that. Personally, I don’t find the idea of “Hell is really just Purgatory” compelling, good, or desirable, because it annuls “The righteous live by faith” and “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” All physical actions aside, it’s problematic to strip away even the spirit of the Law – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself – just to placate sensitivities.
The nature of heresy is that it circumvents a truth we find inconvenient, uncomfortable, or inexplicable. Don’t believe Jesus was God incarnate? Hey, we’ve got a heresy for that. The idea that human beings are fallen and need redemption gives you hives? No problem. We’ve got a heresy for that. Think a loving God and eternal punishment are mutually-exclusive? We’ve got a heresy for that, too.
The argument with Rob Bell isn’t going to be won by out-aesthetic-ing him because, as you’ve both observed, Kaci and Stephen, you can’t prettify Hell. However, I don’t think singing the praises of justice is going to work with the general public either, and it hasn’t, so far.
It’s like the old Bill Cosby skit where he has to fix the kids breakfast and decides to go with chocolate cake–milk, eggs, flour…sounds pretty balanced, and Bill’s a hero to his kids, until his wife comes down the stairs like Medusa in full rage, hissing, “Where…did you get…CHOCOLATE CAKE FROM?”
Yeah, Bill is totally in the wrong here, but everybody wishes they could live in the world where you could have chocolate cake for breakfast and it would be okay. So who seems like the mean-spirited villain?
Similarly, the biggest problem with the response to Rob Bell, I think, is all the running around with hair on fire, screaming that he’s the worst thing to happen to the Church since Tetzel started selling indulgences. Regardless of the merits of our argument, we sound like the mom who’s caught dad feeding his kids chocolate cake for breakfast.
I was actually going to say something like “Hell is good,” but then that wasn’t quite right, either. I just don’t think of Hell as evil, and it sort of bothers me when people tell me Hell’s existence should bother me and it doesn’t. (Say that three times fast.) It’s disconcerting, yes. But I don’t see why “God is unjust” just because it exists.
Great analogy, Fred. The difference comes in our response, however. We all know Mrs. Huxtable was right even though we wish her husband was.
With Rob Bell and Paul Young and the rest of the universalists and those sitting on the fence, they don’t know or won’t recognize that justice is right and God is a righteous Judge.
Well, let me qualify that. I do think people as a whole want justice, but it’s generally justice for everyone else, mercy for me. Or it’s justice for the really bad guys, mercy for the rest of us who are good (and man is good, they think, just not perfect). In other words, I think there’s been a fundamental shift in our view of Man which makes the discussion of hell unpalatable.
Becky
Fred,
It isn’t really speculative to say that an alien princess with the proper number of arms and legs is smokin’ hot. They all are, even if they have a tail.
You’re right, Bob. It was the Mars part that was speculation.
Really funny, Fred!
Interesting comments, Stephen!
Happy New Year, Gentlemen!
Yay! Barsoom! I don’t know if I’ll watch…I’d need to go back and read the books first so I could compare the films and books. Plus, it looked quite violent and gory. But it’s such a fun story…
AHHHH!! Not a female Doctor! If the companion was a woman, it’d be two chicks out on a girl date, shopping all the best spots.
NO. The Doctor cannot EVER be a woman! I would have to stop watching just out of sheer gag-factor.
Amen to that, Kessie. But I must note that you can say this, and not me:
Or else: the really original story-trick of making — get this! it’s revolutionary — the girl behave like a big tough action hero man. Wow! What a fantastically groundbreaking concept this would be! The action heroine could also, then, do exactly as all the male action heroes do, and do all the action-hero bits, only while also being scantily clad.
I’d best patent this one, before some hack out there goes on and steals the idea.
Very glad to take up this subtopic. It’s so rare that we discuss Doctor Who around here, almost as rare as we happen to cite or discuss J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis.
If he turned into a woman, they’d need a male companion to keep the balance proper.
As for the rest, Stephen, I’d need a separate post to go after that subject. At that point I steal the title “On-coming Storm.”
Half the time, the Doctor runs around with a male and female companion anyway. We just went almost two whole seasons with Amy and Rory and apparently Moffat’s not done with them yet, because they’ll hang around the beginning of season 7, too.
I can tackle the female Doctor issue in one word. NO.
And for another word: NEVER.
Ditto.
The only reason I’d ever consider having a female Doctor is if they cast me. 😀 And I don’t act, so we’re safe! 😀
(That being said, it is rather fun to cosplay girls-versions-of-Doctor-costumes. After all, Romana II started it. :D)
All you need is a bowtie and a fez!
Actually, I do have a bowtie and a tweed jacket… I just need the fez. 😀 I’ve substituted with a fedora.
I didn’t say I *wanted* a female Doctor. 😛
Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone thought so. XD
Not so outrageous. There’s already a planet nicknamed after a Star Wars homeworld. I don’t remember the details though.
Fred is never going to write another funny post again. 🙁
I blame Stephen.
I blame The Doctor.
And Stephen.
Next week’s topic: Puritan New England.
No! Please don’t. Though I love the Puritans, sometimes I simply need to get away from them to set a spell, you know?