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On Religion (Redux)

2011-06-24 · letter vlog · John · 2:36 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Philosophy & meaning (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal essay · tags: community lore, recurring series

Following Hank's point that 'do you believe in God?' needs its terms defined, John argues that religious identities are impossible to define cleanly, since believers disagree within every tradition, and that there was never a golden age to return to.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting, the Blue guys, John's doctor's note against his punishment, a dancing interlude

  • ★★ John says he has been sick lately and has a doctor's note saying he doesn't have to do his punishment, but wanted to continue the religion conversation. (playful) — 00:00:07 · Punishment

00:00:19 — Picking up Hank's video: religious identity is hard to define (Five Pillars, kosher, nirvana, Christians damning Christians)

  • ★★★ Hank's point that 'do you believe in God?' requires defining 'believe', 'God' and even 'in' made John think how difficult it is to define any religious identity. — 00:00:19
  • ★★ John says Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Islam (shahada, prayer, zakat, pilgrimage to Mecca, Ramadan), yet the majority don't follow them, e.g. most don't pray five times daily. — 00:00:32
  • ★★ Similarly, John says, many Jews don't keep kosher, many Buddhists disagree radically about nirvana and how to reach it, and many Christians think other Christians are going to hell. — 00:00:53

00:01:06 — The Pentecostal church anecdote: disagreement even within one denomination; another dance break

  • ★★ In college John visited a Pentecostal church in rural Florida where a woman asked the pastor to pray for her sister, lost because she attended the Pentecostal church across the street. — 00:01:06 · Florida
  • ★★★ Even within one denomination of one sect of one tradition there are big disagreements: whoever you are, someone in your own tradition will say you aren't really Jewish, Muslim or Christian. — 00:01:25

00:01:50 — Fuzzy labels lead traditions to look back to golden ages; there never was one

  • ★★★ So the words Christian, Muslim and Jew are very hard to define; John, a Christian, shares more theologically with some Muslims than with many of his fellow Christians. — 00:01:50
  • ★★ John says this fuzziness is one reason traditions look back to a clearer past: Islam's first four caliphs, Paul and the first apostles, King David's rule. — 00:01:58
  • ★★★ But there was never a golden age and no way to recapture one by going back to it, which thousands of years of failure show. — 00:02:13

00:02:25 — Nerdfighters keep inventing the word's definition; sign-off

  • ★★ Likewise, John says, Nerdfighters are constantly inventing and evolving the definition of the word 'nerdfighter'. — 00:02:25 · Nerdfighteria

In the description and comments

  • ★ The description frames the video as closing an unplanned 'Religion Theme Week' and revisiting the 2011 vlogbrothers theme that the truth resists simplicity, so we must live with ambiguity. — video description · Nerdfighteria, the truth resists simplicity
  • ★ In the description John again invites viewers to continue the conversation in Your Pants (yourpants.org). — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Christianity · Islam · religion

Also: Rituals: Punishment

Concepts: Buddhism · existence of God · Five Pillars of Islam · Hajj · Judaism · kashrut · Mormonism · nirvana · Pentecostalism · rosy retrospection · Salah · Shahada · transubstantiation · Zakat

Places: Florida · Rashidun Caliphate

Events: Ramadan

Myths: David (religious figure (tradition=Judaism)) · Jesus · Paul the Apostle

Only in the description or credits: Your Pants

Also centred on Christianity: My Religion

Also centred on Islam: On Iran, Islam, and Amazingly Stupid Comments · Is Obama a Muslim? Examine the Evidence! · Muslims Aren't Dangerous

Also centred on religion: On Iran, Islam, and Amazingly Stupid Comments · On Religion · Religion and Gay Marriage · Death, Love, and John's Religion: The Big Questions Take Over Question Tuesday

Replies to

  • continues · Do You Believe in God? — “in your video on Wednesday, you pointed out how difficult it can be to”

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