Tuesday, April 21, 2015

more phylisophical

If we don't believe in God do we need to fill that void by believing in monsters?
Sure monsters are really glorified in Hollywood and in the movie theaters but is that why its laced into our culture? So if people don't believe in God, why would monsters be the 'new thing'? I mean, there's no concrete proof that Big Foot lives in our back yard, there's no proof that vampires and werewolves are fighting in the sewers like portrayed in Underworld, yet some people would rather believe in that than in a supernatural transcendence. Of course there's no scientific proof of God but there isn't really any undisputable evidence of Big Foot, vampires or werewolves. If were replacing transcendence with science, why is it that our we believe in creatures science can't prove?

5 comments:

  1. I think this is an interesting idea. When I presented my section on religion today from Taylor, he mentions that a lot of people now feel the need to believe in something. He says that people now define themselves as being spiritual as opposed to religious. That means that they are on some kind of journey or quest to find themselves. People often like to have something to believe it, specifically something that is bigger than themselves. I think monsters and werewolves etc could be that to someone. The examples he gives however, are the funeral of Princess Di and a rave or a concert. I think the point Taylor was trying to make was that it is not only about believing in something bigger than you, but having a community with the same school of thought. In this case, it would be the bigfoot hunters etc.

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    1. I think a lot of it is associating with a larger community in an attempt to appeal to the transcendent. Human beings often wish to feel like their lives have purpose and that they are a part of something greater; in recent times, I believe that this desire has manifested in the form of Bigfoot enthusiasts.

      There is mystery involved with the existence of aliens and cryptids as well. Mystery has traditionally been a key component of religion because it hints to something beyond human knowledge or comprehension, not unlike these evasive creatures that we know so little about. As such, monsters often act as a substitute for traditional religious practices.

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  2. I think the reason that people believe in these things is because they are relevant to todays society. People tend to want to hold on to the idea that someday they might actually find Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster because they will have physical evidence. Whereas believing in God, people understand that he died thousands of years ago so their belief is nonexistent since it is known how the Passion of the Christ ends. He dies and ascends to heaven but there is no physical evidence that is presented to us on this. People in this day and age are materialistic and want to be able to see something to believe it. I personally confess that it is hard to believe something without seeing it for yourself. You want to be able to see, hear, or touch something to fully believe. So as far as believing in God goes, it comes down to a person faith and how much they truly believe in the stories presented in the Bible.

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  3. In today's society, it is hard to believe in something there is no physical proof of. Like Becca said, Taylor stated that he thinks many people today feel the need to believe in something bigger, and these monsters may fill that persons void. In addition to monsters, there are so many different religions in the world, if one chooses to follow a certain one they may do that to feel this sense of something greater. Also, to feel apart of a community. The many different options allows a person to be individualist and fill this desire.

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  4. The modern fascination with monsters is a very interesting topic. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of a lot of monsters is that they have suffered a similar fate to religion. Take the zombie as an example. Our culture is seemingly obsessed with zombies. One need only look at the number of films involving zombies that have been made in the past few decades. However, these zombies are a far cry from the original zombie. Zombies have their origin in the Voodoo culture of the Caribbean. Their original origin was most definitely associated with an appeal to the spiritual. Granted this spiritual life is a far cry from any of the major Western religions, but it is still an appeal to something transcendent. Now think back to all those zombie movies that are made. How many of them involve any appeal to a spiritual world? They generally attribute the origin of the zombies to something like a virus. That is hardly an appeal to the transcendent. Here is a monster that was definitely associated with something transcendent reduced to something created in a purely natural way. This is an interesting parallel to religion in the modern world. Viewed in this way monsters are hardly replacing God. Even in the case of something such as Bigfoot that is difficult to see. There is no appeal to the spiritual there anymore. The explanation is that it is either a species unknown to science or a man in a monkey suit. Both of these are purely natural answers to the question of what it is. The modern world seems obsessed with trying to explain monsters in a scientific fashion.

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