Can you know for sure 3 ?

The Truman Show

The film stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a man who grew up living an ordinary life that, unbeknownst to him, takes place on a large set populated by actors for a reality television show about him... 

As the show approaches its 30th anniversary, Truman begins discovering unusual elements such as a spotlight falling out of the sky in front of his house and a radio channel that precisely describes his movements... [and attempts to escape] Truman continues to sail until his boat pierces the wall of the dome. Initially horrified, Truman discovers a nearby staircase leading to an exit door. As Truman contemplates leaving his world, the Truman Show director Christof speaks directly to Truman through a speaker system and tries to persuade him to stay, claiming that there is no more truth in the real world than in his artificial one, where he would have nothing to fear. 

Which raises philosophical questions like: are all of us actually only living in a setup, an experiment run by some superior being or beings? After all, haven't we discovered some "unusual elements" like Modern Physics or even in Mathematics, which most of us figured was pure almost by definition, until the advent of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems where undecidable questions have even arisen in physics, suggesting that Gödelian incompleteness afflicts not just math, but... in some ill-understood way... reality.

What some interpret as conspiracy others claim as die-hard truth. Take, for example:

Horatio Spafford: Not Well With His Soul

The very well presented Hugh Bonneville narration, and the oft congregational singing of "When peace like a river", leave out what for many are the more questionable aspects of Horatio Spafford's life. I quote: 

Like the false prophet Harold Camping [who predicted that the rapture and Judgment Day would take place on May 21, 2011 and that the end of the world would take place five months later], from his “bad experience” in an instituted church (brought about by his own egregious sin), Spafford proceeded to write off not just his own local church but all churches. Horatio repeatedly claimed, “God has showed us that ‘the Church’ in all its parts… is destitute of spiritual power… Theirs are false teachings”. Horatio, his wife Anna and their followers viewed the visible churches with “contempt”, calling them “Babylon” and that "God had chosen [us] instead of the organized church as the new ‘holy and peculiar people’ to be ‘the Bride made one with Him and one another'”

There are some noticeable resonances here with doctrine that I have described elsewhere in regard to my own loose connection with the Move although it is not my intention to equate them. Such movements are often driven by a singular personality and that attribute ought to be enough to warn the rest of us. But the opposite of singular is "all we like sheep" and anyway wasn't Jesus decidedly singular? The world might think Spafford a heretic but what would we have done, had we been around him? It's too easy to see the wool after the event. The trouble is, there is likely a degree of truth in the thinking of the Move, Spafford, and many present day "conspiracy" theories, and isn't it also easy to pick holes in the strange activities of the institutionalised "church"?

All of which does not help a chap in his quest for truth.

Go back to Part 2

In search for Birds Instant Whip

 

Knowing my childhood infatuations, my beloved snapped this up from a Lidl store. From the name it looks more like an Angel Delight look-a-like, but we tried it out anyway on her mother and myself. Did it satisfy? Well, kind of. She didn't comment, but ate it all, and for me it didn't quite resonate with my childhood memories but perhaps my tastes have changed over the years. In fact I am sure they have for I used to love roes on toast...

Like most deserts Heavenly Delight was vastly improved by the addition of double-cream and a generous dollop of ice cream.

Memories: Part 2

Why do we like to delve into our past? Is it because we are at least partly a product of our memories? Or maybe our memories are an increasing treasure as we get older, and might even in some small way live on in our children's minds long after we die. 

We are at the moment caring for A's aged mother who has been diagnosed with cancer. Her short term memory gets worse but every so often she comes up with a memory of long ago. Memories are certainly of value to her, even if for us we have heard her speak of some of them rather too many times! So I'm not at all sure that any of any of my readers has the least interest in the memories I recall herewith but maybe they will resonate or at least make you chuckle. 

I was about 13 when my parents took me to see the newly released Sound of Music. I became infatuated not only with the music (which has become a part of me) but also with Julie Andrews as Maria - to the point that my father thought it necessary to warn me that it wasn't any good falling in love with a film star. I hadn't thought I had fallen in love, but I bookmarked his words.

My dad's LP record collection was about as limited as my own small pile of CD's. One of his favourites was Mediterranean Moonlight by Frank Chacksfield and this became, along with hymn tunes, my early musical bread and butter: example tracks here and here. This music still haunts me. Lady of Spain I adore you...

My best friend's musical taste was much more refined than mine - I suppose I was less mature and had not yet discovered the sort of music that I would end up loving for the rest of my life. Back then I listened to what might be described as light music. As opposed to "pop" which my parents disapproved of. I remember Cliff Richard's Congratulations when it first came out and feeling ashamed because, though 'pop', I rather liked it. Even to this day I do not allow myself to listen to pop music channels on the radio whether or not I like what is playing (generally I do not but there are exceptions). 

Of this "light music" two songs are still part of the rather limited repertoire of tunes that to this day still go persistently around and around in my head.

Things is a song which was written and recorded by Bobby Darin in 1962 and reached No.2 in the UK. One pertinent line goes Memories are all I have to cling to.

The other is For all we know, this may only be a dream. We come and go like a ripple on a stream. So love me tonight - Tomorrow was made for some - Tomorrow may never come - For all we know, which was written before my time but was performed here by Bobby Vinton in 1970. I found the analogy of a ripple very evocative.

These songs are all mixed up in my memories with my adolescent discovering an attraction to the opposite sex: puppy love I suppose, but at the time it was heart rending. 

I am almost ashamed that I had such shallow musical tastes and I guess my recent "music appreciation" classes that I have given to four youngsters in our community have been my attempt to make sure they at least have the opportunity to hear some genuine music. Whether or not they like it! Although I doubt if my attempt will be wholly successful.

But then by accident I discovered Bruckner and all of a sudden I started to grow up.

Can you know for sure 2?

My recent post proposed that, for mortal man, there cannot be any sure knowing of anything, much less of a divine omnipotent, omniscient eternal being about whom You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart - which I quote because sentiments like this only make me less sure. If that's the only way that I can know He lives then it's decidedly shaky ground!

So it was with some interest that I read the article that Facebook presented to me this morning in its inimitable way. It's worth reading if only because it sums up what I was trying to say, but does it somewhat better than I did.