Does God love human 'entertainment' and will he ressurect it?

[Thomas_Jennings]

Obviously nothing in the Bible tells us if God likes us making films/books/fictions/toys/games etc.

However, I latched on to a wonder of an idea (via CS Lewis) that seemed to suggest, inspired by Plato, that all ideas and things have a Heavenly version. As a Protestant, I tried to research this Platonist idea via many means, but one attempt was an email to Justin Welby. I got his secetry instead, who said that God (though unseen by us) is not anything that was not conveyed to us via Jesus; that this fact " turns Platonism on its head." I am positive he is correct about all things through Jesus our Lord, yet it is hard to picture- while I am still trying to learn his sayings on morality, what was his personal tastes as a character? Could I have sat down with him to discuss my favourite movies, like ‘Aliens’, to find him smiling and nodding along, understanding my enjoyment of them?! I also looked elsewhere: nothing in the Bible, some support (and some refusal of the notion) by others…
The imagination means a lot to me. I enjoy many things. Personally, I’d love to believe that my interest in fictional monsters (not a sinful one- I don’t mimic their actions!- it’s got a lot to do with the philosophy of the ‘sublime’.) like the ‘cybermen’ in Dr Who…are echoes/shadows/reflections of something desirable in Heaven (just to clarify- I don’t mean that we’d go to Heaven to find out that fictional critters are ‘real’ beings, chasing everyone!)

It is perhaps a pipe-dream and you might find yourself laughing at it. Yet I DO get a sense of longing for the ineffible via such creations.

However, as there is nothing in the Bible to say “yes or no” to this…where to prove or disprove it? For, to do one or the other, is what I must do! CAN I do either, or is the honest truth that, “no body knows for sure if Plato/CS Lewis were correct.”

CS Lewis made his donkey character, in The Last Battle, find a heavenly version of grass in the ressurected Narnia. MIGHT there really be Heavenly grass?

 

[1ke]

Based on the number of posts you have started on this topic, you seem overly concerned about this. Is there something bothering you causing you to post on this same topic repeatedly?

We don’t know what Heaven will be like. What we do know is that Beatific Vision will be perfect union with God and immediate knowledge of God, and we will not need anything else.

newadvent.org/cathen/02364a.htm

newadvent.org/cathen/07170a.htm

 

[Thomas_Jennings]

Based on the number of posts you have started on this topic, you seem overly concerned about this. Is there something bothering you causing you to post on this same topic repeatedly?

We don’t know what Heaven will be like. What we do know is that Beatific Vision will be perfect union with God and immediate knowledge of God, and we will not need anything else.

newadvent.org/cathen/02364a.htm

newadvent.org/cathen/07170a.htm

It is a question I want to ‘sort out’ as it’s an idea that thrils me but it’s so hard to get concrete proof! If it is not so, I’ll be honest, that bothers me. The idea of our interests existing to perish concerns me.I HAD set a goal for myself: to get it answered by the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas so I can move on to other questions! Sorry if it’s all getting a bit much…
This is one of the few sites on the web that actually is good at answering any questions you have. I’m just holding out hope…

 

[1ke]

It is a question I want to ‘sort out’ as it’s an idea that thrils me but it’s so hard to get concrete proof! If it is not so, I’ll be honest, that bothers me. The idea of our interests existing to perish concerns me.

Well, perfect union with God means we will have everything we need. So, your concerns are very human, but extremely limited by your inability to comprehend God in his infinite beauty, wisdom, and perfection (no one can comprehend God fully).

You will have no such concerns in the Beatific Vision.

I HAD set a goal for myself: to get it answered by the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas so I can move on to other questions! Sorry if it’s all getting a bit much…

You are not going to reach that goal because no one has the answer. God does, but he has not shared that information with us. I suggest you read the two links I posted above to give you a better understanding of the Beatific Vision.

It is best to try not to think of it in human terms of human activities, because we will be transformed into so much more.

This is one of the few sites on the web that actually is good at answering any questions you have. I’m just holding out hope…

Well, if no one has answered it in 2000 years, it is unlikely you will get an answer in 12 days. It cannot be answered. But it certainly can be contemplated.

 

[dee_burk]

No offense but…if these fictional ideas and monsters and such of our minds are not for the praise and glory of God, i do not see this as something that will be in Heaven.

 

[Thomas_Jennings]

No offense but…if these fictional ideas and monsters and such of our minds are not for the praise and glory of God, i do not see this as something that will be in Heaven.

Personally I think they are (subconsciously) for His praise, as all beauty is. It may be an unusual aesthetic (the beauty of a shark rather than a beautious woman!) but beauty none the less. He made the tiger as well as the lamb!

 

[Thomas_Jennings]

Well, perfect union with God means we will have everything we need. So, your concerns are very human, but extremely limited by your inability to comprehend God in his infinite beauty, wisdom, and perfection (no one can comprehend God fully).

You will have no such concerns in the Beatific Vision.

You are not going to reach that goal because no one has the answer. God does, but he has not shared that information with us. I suggest you read the two links I posted above to give you a better understanding of the Beatific Vision.

It is best to try not to think of it in human terms of human activities, because we will be transformed into so much more.

Well, if no one has answered it in 2000 years, it is unlikely you will get an answer in 12 days. It cannot be answered. But it certainly can be contemplated.

Thanks. I know there won’t be an utterly proven piece of data confirming it (after all, the Bible provides no hint here!)…but do you happen to know of any theologian/part of the church who’d agree that God will ressurect ALL things (even fictions- like films/theatre/heroes/monsters) into things so joyous and satisfactory they are beyond our imgination? Did CS Lewis’s Platonism mean he felt ALL things have a heavenly archaetype? He certainly felt both fairy tales and Norse myth were symbolic of joy in Heaven.

Again, thanks. It might appear a silly question (particularly as I keep returning to it) but it is an important one for me as it seems relevant to how I communicate with God: I must know if I can ‘see’ part of Him through different kinds of media/genre.

 

[1ke]

but do you happen to know of any theologian/part of the church who’d agree that God will ressurect ALL things (even fictions- like films/theatre/heroes/monsters) into things so joyous and satisfactory they are beyond our imgination?

No.

Did CS Lewis’s Platonism mean he felt ALL things have a heavenly archaetype?

No.

Again, thanks. It might appear a silly question (particularly as I keep returning to it) but it is an important one for me as it seems relevant to how I communicate with God: I must know if I can ‘see’ part of Him through different kinds of media/genre.

I think you can “see” God in these mediums here, as a reflection of His creativity and inspiration. I think you will have no need of these things in the Beatific Vision when you will encounter God directly.