Enlightenment in the Cinema

I'm doing the readings (slowly), don't get me wrong. But, on rare occasions, I've come across the profound in other mediums. Rarest of all, I saw this in a movie (not that movies can't have significant insight, it just seems to have degenerated in recent years). Mind you, it always seems more profound when spoken in another language -- German, in this case. The film that I refer to is "Wings of Desire" from 1987, starring Bruno Ganz and directed by Wim Wenders. If those names mean anything to you.

This is the movie that was ripped off and turned into "City of Angels" in 1997. As with most of these cases, the original was better but American audiences below a certain class are too lazy to read subtitles. This is our moviegoing public, for the most part. Doesn't that make you proud? Well, grousing about the illiteracy of the Great Unwashed aside, I much prefer "Wings of Desire."

The gist of the film is this: angels walk among us, listening to our thoughts for a chance to glimpse the sublime in our everyday lives. Damiel the angel falls for a trapeze girl and is forced to either remain hidden from her or fall from Grace. The film uses black and white photography versus color to show the angels' perspective (b&w) and the human point of view (color). It's all very metaphorical and cinematic. But, for the purposes of this blog, I just wanted to transcribe some lines from the movie.

Damiel, talking to another angel after they've summarized their observations for the day:

It's great to live by the spirit, to testify day by day for eternity, only what's spiritual in people's minds. But sometimes I'm fed up with my spiritual existence. Instead of forever hovering above, I'd like to feel a weight grow in me to end the infinity and tie me to earth. I'd like, at each step, each gust of wind, to be able to say "now!" "Now and now" and no longer "forever" and "for eternity."

What I hope to grasp in the course of this study on spirituality is to more fully grasp the moment. In that, I use the two meanings of "moment" -- both a unit of time that is by nature immeasurable yet always fleeting, and the momentousness as importance, as something greater than ourselves. I know not if I need a god to achieve this. Perhaps a shared consciousness, purpose, or goal of one community united by belief. That would count as much greater than the individual, regardless of the delusions of conceit.

One more quote, this one from an old man who was a teacher and now just goes to the library to read and think:

But no one has so far succeeded in singing an epic of peace. What is wrong with peace, that its inspiration doesn't endure and that it is almost untellable?

This brings me around to my first religion under scrutiny: Hinduism. Yes, the religion that is so well represented by Gandhi, who in turn inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to campaign with such devotion for civil rights. These are two giants that represent great goals for peace. But what stands foremost in my mind is the suffering they endured in their cause, and the fact that they were both assassinated. One can also draw a parallel to the gleeful torture and execution of Catholic martyrs, which I will also study in due course. How cruel is this world that they cannot stand a man of peace to live?

A brief moment of hilarity

Because I have a sense of humor (and the hour is late, it is possible that my good sense already went to bed), I thought I would re-post this old treasure from long-forgotten blogging days:

Last night, I discovered iGod, a chat bot that simulates a conversation with God. I don't currently have any burning questions for the Big Guy, but I'm amused by this new discovery. Here's how my last conversation went with iGod:

Me:
hello
God:
Hello friend. What is your name?
Me:
Bridget
God:
Welcome to my chat room, Bridget.
Me:
Thank you. Are you busy?
God:
you are quite welcome. I am just doing my job.
Me:
Me, too. Do you know what time of year it is?
God:
I'm glad we agree, Bridget. Sometimes I think time is giant screw.
Me:
Can you explain?
God:
There is no more information to clarify.
Me:
You said time is a giant screw.
God:
Did I really say that?
Me:
Yes.
God:
Oh well I say a lot of silly things somethimes.
Me:
So I gather. How do you feel about Christmas?
God:
Give me a break. That's good information: Bridget said gather. A holiday on December 25 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Me:
Are you the Christian God?
God:
Yes I am the one and only Christian God.
Me:
Why aren't you a pagan god?
God:
Being a pagan god is not part of my programming.
Me:
That's unfortunate.
God:
Thanks for explaining it.

I know, this is neither profound nor original, but it is amusing (for what it's worth). I mean, it's a common stereotype that programmers and the like consider themselves to be god. I just think it's funny that someone took that extra step and programmed a "god" bot.

Being a student of religion

I found the definition of religious studies provided by the University of South Carolina to be most succinct in summarizing my goals in this project:

"The academic study of religion, which is often called religious studies, is a relatively new field that aims to treat all religious traditions even-handedly. Utilizing the tools from many other academic fields (including philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and theology itself), the academic study of religion arises out of a broad curiosity about the nature of religion and religious traditions."

As much as I would like to take full credit for this course of self-study, it would be remiss of me as an academic not to cite my sources. Here are the syllabi from which I have drawn my plans for the textbook part of my study:

UC Santa Barbara, RS 15: Religion & Psychology

http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/syllabus/RS15.pdf

Virginia Wesleyan College, RELST 113: Intro. to Religious Studies

http://facultystaff.vwc.edu/~emazur/RELST113.html

University of South Carolina, RELG 110: Intro. to Religious Studies

http://people.cas.sc.edu/elansary/relg110wea.html

I'm taking the readings and general order of my studies from a combination of these three courses, as my schedule and inclinations permit. My readings for this week will be from the following texts:

• Studying Religion: And Introduction Through Cases by Gary E. Kessler (2nd ed.)
• The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion by Mircea Eliade
• Living Religions by Mary Pat Fisher (6th ed.)

I hope to post more about the readings and what I'm learning from them as the week progresses. Studying Religion is a particularly interesting book, since it addresses the desirable qualities of a student of religion -- openness, honesty, critical intelligence, careful observing/reading/listening, and critical tolerance -- and attempts to re-align the thinking of students to prepare them to approach religious studies in a scholarly manner.

The Mission

I am not a believer. When pressed, I define myself as "agnostic," which translates to "waiting to see how it all turns out." To be painfully honest, I have no desire for faith in a higher power. Or, to be accurate, I have no desire to belong to any of the major religions. Their concept of the Universe and our role in it always struck me at too nitpicking, arbitrary, and...well...too human to accurately represent the plans of any omnipotent Creator.

This project isn't about finding "meaning" in my life. It's a pure quest for knowledge. Short of the fact that I don't want to be a member, I know little of the details about most major religions. It's a sad commentary on how informed I am if most of my understanding of some faiths such as Mormon/LDS were weened from South Park. So when I found myself a year out of grad school and facing the prospect of making myself comfortable in a mental rut for the foreseeable future, I set out to find a mission. This is the project I settled on.

Here is the plan: August 1, 2010 - August 1, 2011

I will be doing an independent study and comparison of major world religions and the psychology of faith. Luckily for me, the world of online degrees and college course Web sites has provided me with plenty of syllabi (plural of syllabus) to be found online. I will be taking my readings and some of the structure from these.

As one does not learn from books alone (as much as I try to prove otherwise), there will be an element of field work involved in my project. I intend to bodily enter various houses of worship, as many as I can access and that my schedule allows. I'm particularly excited by the prospect of visiting a temple of Buddhist monks right here in town.

I may also audit a couple of college classes in order to get a firmer grasp of the discussions and different opinions involved in the study of these religions. So here is the trinity of my study: 1) reading, 2) observation, 3) discussion. By posting the development of this project in an online blog, I also hope to spark some debate. Even flamers can be learned from, once you filter out the inappropriate language and common misspellings.

So, there you have it. Anyone reading this blog can also help me with motivation, since it's always more difficult to throw in the towel when people are watching. Wish me luck.