Skip to main content

Candyland Is Pointless

 Did you know that there isn't even luck or chance in Candyland? The outcome is determined before you start. I made the mistake of saying that it was pointless, and someone said it was "deterministic," not pointless. He went on to say that "pointless" was a value judgment. You don't say?

I guess if you really think about it, you can figure out my views on the weirdly popular, evergreen debate in theology, with respect to God's sovereignty, and humanity's free will. Even the strict Thomists have to be careful, in my book.

You may be asking yourself, "If he doesn't like determinism, why does he watch the same movie over and over again?" I don't know, really. But it wasn't determined before it was made. And if you haven't seen it, it's not determined for you. Suppose I just like a happy story. Or at least a redemptive one. If you want to call me a hypocrite, that's fine, but at least I won't be a programmed hypocrite.

I also have very defined and passionate food preferences, which is probably a manifestation of, "By golly, I'm not in control of much, but I'm going to control something!" I might as well be unguarded for a moment.

Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. It kind of ruined the cereal for me, when I found out that Trix is all the same flavor, regardless of the color or shape. Don't take a food science course, if you like your breakfast cereal. And don't ask me to play Candyland.

Comments

TGWWS said…
Ooohhh why should we watch the same movie (or read the same book) over and over, if we don't care for determined things? I'll bite.

I think it is because really good actors/directors/writers are good precisely at showing us how things AREN'T determined. To take Pride and Prejudice (one of my favorite novels): I reread it because Austen shows how the characters get to where they get by their free choices. Every time I reread, I see more clearly how their outcomes are determined not by some fate, but by their own decisions and those of other people. Ditto for movies I watch and rewatch, like The Scarlet and the Black or The Music Man.
Jason said…
Hello there!

I'm with you; I re-experience things constantly. I can't say the objection here is tightly argued, in the Feingoldian sense. :)

Popular posts from this blog

A Friend I Once Had, And The Dogmatic Principle

 I once had a friend, a dear friend, who helped me with personal care needs in college. Reformed Presbyterian to the core. When I was a Reformed Presbyterian, I visited their church many times. We were close. I still consider his siblings my friends. (And siblings in the Lord.) Nevertheless, when I began to consider the claims of the Catholic Church to be the Church Christ founded, he took me out to breakfast. He implied--but never quite stated--that we would not be brothers, if I sought full communion with the Catholic Church. That came true; a couple years later, I called him on his birthday, as I'd done every year for close to ten of them. He didn't recognize my number, and it was the most strained, awkward phone call I have ever had. We haven't spoken since. We were close enough that I attended the rehearsal dinner for his wedding. His wife's uncle is a Catholic priest. I remember reading a blog post of theirs, that early in their relationship, she told him of the p
Hilarious Com-Box Quote of The Day: "I was caught immediately because it is the Acts of the Apostles, not the Acts of the Holy Spirit Acting Erratically."--Donald Todd, reacting to the inartful opposition of the Holy Spirit and the Magisterium. Mark Galli, an editor at Christianity Today, had suggested that today's "confusion" in evangelicalism replicates a confusion on the day of Pentecost. Mr. Todd commented after this reply , and the original article is here. My thoughts: By what means was this Church-less "consensus" formed? If the Council did not possess the authority to adjudicate such questions, who does? If the Council Fathers did not intend to be the arbiters, why do they say that they do? At the risk of being rude, I would define evangelicalism as, "Whatever I want or need to believe at any particular time." Ecclesial authority to settle a particular question is a step forward, but only as long as, "God alone is Lord of the con

Just Sayin.' Again.

One interesting objection to this chart has been to say that one gets stuck in a "loop" that doesn't resolve. This is a thinly-veiled way of putting forward the argument that we don't need absolute certainty in religious dogma. But Fred Noltie already dealt with this in the comments on another post. And to the specific objector, no less. I'll be blunt: The only principled thing to do is put down your Bible, resign your pulpit, and lead tours in Europe. Because a man must be able to distinguish dogma from human opinion, and this epistemology doesn't allow us to do that. One of dogma's distinguishing characteristics is infallibility; another is certainty. Without this, essential characteristics of God Himself are put into question. If we say that the most important Person any person could know is God, and the content of that knowledge (doctrine) is the means by which we know Him, it must be certain. This Reformed argument that certainty is a dangerous or un