The Search for Spock Movie Laughs at Superior Science

***Spoilers Alert!*** Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ironically puts down progress in science and technology and lifts up simple, mortal ways.

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/102537907@N03/13313565214/sizes/l

First, the Genesis science project goes to hell (quite literally). The USS Excelsior's new warp drive goes kaput. The USS Enterprise is blown up. The heroes are transported in the end by a flying tin-can warship. Were the writers laughing at superior science and technology?

It took an unethical scientist to use banned proto-matter. It took the removal of only a few computer chips to disable the state-of-the-art trans-warp drive of the Excelsior. It took three people to destroy the Enterprise. Reading Klingon, getting back to basics was required to leave the self-destructing Genesis Planet.

For what? To get the movie's namesake to his home-planet in able to get their quasi-witchdoctors to put him back together. How back-of-the-woods?

Why are they doing this? I think it's because no matter how much science discoveries and technology inventions are revealed, mortals still have a desire to relate to mortal matters.

What do you think?

When the Time Has Come Gnostic Lyrics by Huey Lewis and the News

The song When the Time Has Come by Huey Lewis and the News was looked at in two previous posts regarding redemption at the end of the world and Universalism.

In this post, an apparent gnostic idea of the song will be explored.

Image source: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Jul/10/huey-lewis-and-the-news-interview/

A portion of the song is this:

Everything's gonna clear up
Everybody cheer up
Walls are gonna crumble
All men will be humble

Feeling getting stronger
Won't be down much longer
We will be free
When the time has come

"We will be free" seems to indicate that at the end of the world, people will cast-off their bodies and be only spirits. This action will lead to a kind-of-freedom. This is a gnostic idea.

Gnosticism under the umbrella of Christianity has been around since the beginning of Christianity (even before the Christian Bible was canonized).

Christianity calls Gnosticism a heresy since Jesus is revealed to be resurrected in a glorified body. The body is not seen to be a prison for the spirit, but a temple of our spirit.We were meant to be embodied souls just like incarnated Jesus, the archetype of humanity.

Blu-ray Disc and DVD Player HDMI Connection to RCA Component Jacks on TV Info

I've been trying to connect my new (on sale) Blu-ray player with a HDMI output to my old CRT TV. The TV I have is a Sanyo HT3246. The Blu-ray player I bought was Sony BDP-BX510.

My TV has a digital input shown below (from the manual).

Most TV's just have 3 inputs, 2 audio (red and white) and 1 video (yellow). If this is the case, you'll have to buy a not-cheap "scan converter" (or buy a new TV with HDMI and/or Pr/Pb/Y digital connections). (My TV doesn't need a converter since it has an internal converter via the Pr/Pb/Y connections.)

If you have a mid technology TV (CRT) like I do, you should have three inputs for video (Pr/Pb/Y respectively Red/Blue/Green; see figure above) and the same two audio inputs (R/L).

You'll need a HDMI to Five RCA Audio/Video cable (like here) to connect the HDMI to the 5 component jacks (3 video/2 audio).

Lastly, make sure the ratings for the HDMI cable, TV specs, and Blu-ray outputs are compatible. My TV uses 480i, the Blu-ray outputs have that rating listed (here at page 4), and the cable I bought also has the rating (above).

Hope this helps.

Captain America Movie Transhumanist Superman Wacky Wednesday

***Spoilers Alert!***

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93779577@N00/5975886634/sizes/l

Captain America is a Product of Germany

The methods used weren't so new,
Some light'ning's still part of the brew.
The science still mad,
The methods a tad
Unethical. Who's on the crew?

A scientist of Hitler's docs
Came over with some of his socks.
It's now understood,
Capt's life's now a good
Who's freedom is now under locks.

Noah Movie is an Adaptation from the Original Genesis Story And So Is the Church

The Noah movie with Russel Crowe follows the pattern of all book adaptations that I have seen. The movie departs substantially from the book. The question is, how much departure is too much?

Image source: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/02/21/do-christians-care-if-noah-movie-jibes-with-bible-survey-says-yep/

Here are three takes on the question:

(1) Fr. Barron "Noah: A Post-Modern Midrash" ("The midrashim—extremely popular in ancient Israel—were imaginative elaborations of the often spare Scriptural narratives.")

[Update 4/15/2014 YouTube: "Fr. Barron comments on 'Noah'"]

(2) The Catholic World Report "Noah: A Theological Reflection: Darren Aronofsky’s controversial film is sometimes divisive and divided, but is also deeply serious about Scripture and essential questions"

(3) Alfonzo Rachel "ZoNATION: Does the Noah Movie Float?"
"Zo knows that liberal Hollywood has long leeched off the Bible to promote their world view. Whether it's making characters that are religious fanatics to make people prejudiced against the Bible, or cherry picking scriptures and twisting what they don't even really believe in to justify their world view. The 2014 Noah movie is no exception."

The traditional Christian understanding of Noah's ark compares it to the Church. The word Church comes from the Latin word ecclēsia (ecclesiastical is the adjective in English). It literally means to "call out from".

In a similar way that Noah, his family, and animals were called out from the fallen, disordered world, Jesus and His Bride the Church are to call all of humanity from its fallen-ness, or sinfulness onto the boat of the Church. We are all called to be passengers on the boat that Jesus built, and baptism is the way onto the boat. We just have to answer the call and follow Jesus on His Way.

Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arche_No%C3%A9_Vaisseau_Eglise.jpg

So, maybe the latest Noah movie departed from the original Genesis Noah story in some substantial ways. The Church also has in some aspects, but She relies on Jesus for the Way to depart from the world today.

 (The picture above shows Noah's Ark in the upper portion, while the lower portion shows Jesus in the boat with His followers, the Church. Many church building show Noah's ark which represents the Church.)

Huey Lewis and the News When the Time Has Come Describes Universalism

Huey Lewis and the News' song When the Time Has Come really says quite a bit about the end times of the world/universe, or eschaton (as I mentioned last time).

Image source: http://espngrantland.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/gl_g_hlts_57611.jpg?w=524

These lyrics will be looked at.

So don't you worry about a thing
Cause you know that train is gonna run
You will be on it
Not just for some
We'll all be on it
From here to kingdom come
When the time has come

The "kingdom" is heaven. "We'll all be on it" says that everyone will go to heaven. This is Universalism.

Jesus didn't teach this. There are quite a lot of places where Jesus mentions hell; I'll just point to Matthew 25: 31 and on.

[Jesus said,] "Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25: 44-46)

"Eternal punishment" is commonly referred to as hell. So, according to what is revealed by Jesus, we won't "all be on" the "train" from "here to kingdom come".

Huey should tell Madonna. (The one in the picture, that is.)

Wondering Zygote Emeritus Blog and Zonation Milestones

So, Wondering Zygote Emeritus blog just finished posting its 300th post! It's been a great time, especially with the dialogs I had with commenters.

Image source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151910422861751&set=pb.100133201750.-2207520000.1396041299.&type=3&theater

Also, Zo had a five year milestone at PJTV. Congrats Zo!

The Matrix Did Not Incinerate Humans

***Spoilers Alert!*** This post was inspired by someone who usually doesn't talk about pro-life issues (link to YouTube video; UPDATE: Here's another video by Zo.) directly. He couldn't help but address it since this report came out from the UK, "Aborted babies incinerated to heat UK hospitals".

Image source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8ozy4DJ43_abtlbbqxwJmgbMDTDWCw4jxi1iXMwRqqnLJkyLX4W7ixxy0XnpoR15WhcrjfSLFNq5W3xYjnoRujRdHrBzxt0FsRcUKrWgElSsnH6yRqyHTxZtom7mN_4fJg2lwhAXVUGK/s1600/the-matrix-power-plant-bodies.jpg

Yes, liberty was taken from humans in The Matrix. But at least the de-humanizers didn't incinerate them. Are we really worse than The Matrix?

I've mentioned before that something like what happened in the UK shows that we have descended closer to Gehenna.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.” (Matthew 5: 27-29)

In my Bible commentary, Gehenna was described as the place of “an idolatrous cult” where “children were offered in sacrifice” (2 Kings 23: 10; Jeremiah 7:31). So, those who are “thrown into Gehenna” go with those who sacrificed their children.