The Good Place
I posted this when I first started watching the show The Good Place which I think was originally on NBC but now is all on Netflix. While I don't "binge watch" per se I have watched 25 of them in the past two weeks and have gotten to where Michael makes a big decision. The Good Place is an afterlife without God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit, but I think it gives us some food for thought about faith and expectations of Christian spirituality. (January 5, 2020)
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Because we cut the cable and I was determined not to watch any schmaltzy Christmas miracle movies (I'm looking at you, Hallmark Channel), I have been looking for things to watch on Netflix when I am doing my physical therapy, laundry, or need a break from research. I have added an addendum to the original post of three days ago.
I started watching The Good Place. I've gotten to the eleventh or twelfth episode and will probably stop; I think I've got the general plot figured out and the vibe is getting old.
The Good Place is a woke, humanist, 21st century view of the afterlife for people who have been humanitarians in their earthy life. It is run by the Architect who is ostensibly an angel or eternal being. He is learning about humanity while the new inhabitants of his perfect town (one of multitudes) are learning how to live in an eternity that looks like a gated community. None of the inhabitants are old, and they are diverse and accomplished.
Eleanor shares a name with a South Asian humanitarian who died at the same time. Fake Eleanor should have been sent to the Bad Place; Good Eleanor was sent there instead. Fake Eleanor is a truly bad and selfish person who knows she's there mistakenly. She's not the only one; a supposed Buddhist monk with a vow of silence is actually a low-IQ Filipino kid from Jacksonville, Florida (Florida gets to be the butt of jokes from these woke people).
So, the plot is about keeping Fake Eleanor and the Fake Monk in the Good Place, getting the Good Eleanor out of the Bad Place, and making fun of everyone's pretensions. I think.
I think it's a satire on our view of the afterlife. One gets to the Good Place by ethical living and service to humanity; one must accrue points, as on a Reward card. The satire is based on our view of what makes us good; also that the afterlife looks like suburbia.
The rules of the afterlife get bent and changed quite a bit to fit the plot; perhaps also a satirical point on how we change the rules to fit our needs and still think ourselves good.
I'm thankful that the afterlife in the Good Place is not what I expect to live after death. I'm also thankful there is no point system. The just shall live by faith, or the just by faith shall live. My righteousness is pretty unimpressive (dirty rags) so I trust Christ's righteousness through the cross.
Unfortunately, I think too many people do exhibit God's kingdom to be like gated surburbia with colorful frozen yogurt shops. Old gospel songs had references to going fishing and living in a mansion. Worse, too many think there is a balance sheet of good and bad, a point system, so that if there is a heaven they'll be ok. That seems a strange belief in 2019, with so much agnosticism and moral relativism.
Addendum: I watched the rest of the first season last night. There was a somewhat delightful plot twist that I should have seen coming, but bravo to the writers. I don't know if I'll continue to watch in the New Year, but it did give some food for thought. I do think it would be a good show to watch for starting discussions about reality, the afterlife, good and evil, and real redemption.
I did notice that whenever the "Bad Place" is mentioned there are references to different types of torture. The writers are creative with what kinds of tortures are inflicted on inhabitants of the Bad Place. Biblically, you can conclude Hell is either a place of great loneliness, darkness, and separation, or a place of unquenchable fire. I think there are arguments for both and I tend to go with the first. However, none of the continual tortures imagined by these writers are included in the Biblical Hell or Judgment. Conclusion: Mankind is more cruel than God (who is not cruel, only just and holy); Mankind would torture for glee; Mankind has an almost infinite capacity to think of ways to inflict pain on others, as we have seen many times.
King David was offered God's judgment or man's, and took God's.
____________
Because we cut the cable and I was determined not to watch any schmaltzy Christmas miracle movies (I'm looking at you, Hallmark Channel), I have been looking for things to watch on Netflix when I am doing my physical therapy, laundry, or need a break from research. I have added an addendum to the original post of three days ago.
I started watching The Good Place. I've gotten to the eleventh or twelfth episode and will probably stop; I think I've got the general plot figured out and the vibe is getting old.
The Good Place is a woke, humanist, 21st century view of the afterlife for people who have been humanitarians in their earthy life. It is run by the Architect who is ostensibly an angel or eternal being. He is learning about humanity while the new inhabitants of his perfect town (one of multitudes) are learning how to live in an eternity that looks like a gated community. None of the inhabitants are old, and they are diverse and accomplished.
Eleanor shares a name with a South Asian humanitarian who died at the same time. Fake Eleanor should have been sent to the Bad Place; Good Eleanor was sent there instead. Fake Eleanor is a truly bad and selfish person who knows she's there mistakenly. She's not the only one; a supposed Buddhist monk with a vow of silence is actually a low-IQ Filipino kid from Jacksonville, Florida (Florida gets to be the butt of jokes from these woke people).
So, the plot is about keeping Fake Eleanor and the Fake Monk in the Good Place, getting the Good Eleanor out of the Bad Place, and making fun of everyone's pretensions. I think.
I think it's a satire on our view of the afterlife. One gets to the Good Place by ethical living and service to humanity; one must accrue points, as on a Reward card. The satire is based on our view of what makes us good; also that the afterlife looks like suburbia.
The rules of the afterlife get bent and changed quite a bit to fit the plot; perhaps also a satirical point on how we change the rules to fit our needs and still think ourselves good.
I'm thankful that the afterlife in the Good Place is not what I expect to live after death. I'm also thankful there is no point system. The just shall live by faith, or the just by faith shall live. My righteousness is pretty unimpressive (dirty rags) so I trust Christ's righteousness through the cross.
Unfortunately, I think too many people do exhibit God's kingdom to be like gated surburbia with colorful frozen yogurt shops. Old gospel songs had references to going fishing and living in a mansion. Worse, too many think there is a balance sheet of good and bad, a point system, so that if there is a heaven they'll be ok. That seems a strange belief in 2019, with so much agnosticism and moral relativism.
Addendum: I watched the rest of the first season last night. There was a somewhat delightful plot twist that I should have seen coming, but bravo to the writers. I don't know if I'll continue to watch in the New Year, but it did give some food for thought. I do think it would be a good show to watch for starting discussions about reality, the afterlife, good and evil, and real redemption.
I did notice that whenever the "Bad Place" is mentioned there are references to different types of torture. The writers are creative with what kinds of tortures are inflicted on inhabitants of the Bad Place. Biblically, you can conclude Hell is either a place of great loneliness, darkness, and separation, or a place of unquenchable fire. I think there are arguments for both and I tend to go with the first. However, none of the continual tortures imagined by these writers are included in the Biblical Hell or Judgment. Conclusion: Mankind is more cruel than God (who is not cruel, only just and holy); Mankind would torture for glee; Mankind has an almost infinite capacity to think of ways to inflict pain on others, as we have seen many times.
King David was offered God's judgment or man's, and took God's.
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