Right, so Charlie Brown is frustrated with commercialism and asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about, and Linus replies by quoting the Bible, reminding Charlie Brown about the religious significance of the day and thereby guarding against loss of purpose. (In our state of knowledge, we don’t regard religious observance as a legitimate purpose, but conditioning on the premise that Christianity is true, it would be important to make sure your holidays remain being about Christ, rather than wandering off and becoming about gifts or something.)
I like the indirectness of Linus’s reminder (the scene would have been much less effective if Linus had just said, “Well, it’s about Jesus”), which is why I referred to the Eliezer’s “twelfth virtue” in my (apparently still too opaque) attempt at explanation above. Mere words can only be pointers; they don’t in themselves contain the complexity of a thought. The thoughts that you can only invoke indirectly are important. (“You may try to name the highest principle with names such as ‘the reason for the season,’ ‘the true spirit of Chirstmas,’ or ‘God’s word,’ but what if &c.)
I like the seeming incongruity of using a religious quote in a Rationality Quotes thread, which on a meta level illustrates that specific ideas can be accepted or rejected on their own merits. Of course Christianity is false, but if a religious quote also demonstrates something true or useful, the irrationality of the source doesn’t matter.
Maybe too subtle (judging by the downvotes), but I’m not so sure.
Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please?
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
It did occur to me after the first attempted explanation that perhaps my unreligious upbringing was why this quote doesn’t work for me. My immediate reaction to Linus’ quote is simply ‘no, that’s not what Christmas is about at all’ - Christmas has almost nothing to do with religion for me so the quote doesn’t work.
Right, so Charlie Brown is frustrated with commercialism and asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about, and Linus replies by quoting the Bible, reminding Charlie Brown about the religious significance of the day and thereby guarding against loss of purpose.
This context is absent in the quote, which makes it impenetrably confusing (and as such, a bad quote).
Hmm, I still don’t get it but thanks for the explanation.
Right, so Charlie Brown is frustrated with commercialism and asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about, and Linus replies by quoting the Bible, reminding Charlie Brown about the religious significance of the day and thereby guarding against loss of purpose. (In our state of knowledge, we don’t regard religious observance as a legitimate purpose, but conditioning on the premise that Christianity is true, it would be important to make sure your holidays remain being about Christ, rather than wandering off and becoming about gifts or something.)
I like the indirectness of Linus’s reminder (the scene would have been much less effective if Linus had just said, “Well, it’s about Jesus”), which is why I referred to the Eliezer’s “twelfth virtue” in my (apparently still too opaque) attempt at explanation above. Mere words can only be pointers; they don’t in themselves contain the complexity of a thought. The thoughts that you can only invoke indirectly are important. (“You may try to name the highest principle with names such as ‘the reason for the season,’ ‘the true spirit of Chirstmas,’ or ‘God’s word,’ but what if &c.)
I like the seeming incongruity of using a religious quote in a Rationality Quotes thread, which on a meta level illustrates that specific ideas can be accepted or rejected on their own merits. Of course Christianity is false, but if a religious quote also demonstrates something true or useful, the irrationality of the source doesn’t matter.
Maybe too subtle (judging by the downvotes), but I’m not so sure.
Loss of purpose indeed.
If you haven’t grown up in a Christian household or something, this completely fails. It doesn’t sound like a reminder of purpose. Just a fail.
It did occur to me after the first attempted explanation that perhaps my unreligious upbringing was why this quote doesn’t work for me. My immediate reaction to Linus’ quote is simply ‘no, that’s not what Christmas is about at all’ - Christmas has almost nothing to do with religion for me so the quote doesn’t work.
This context is absent in the quote, which makes it impenetrably confusing (and as such, a bad quote).
Edited to include character names and previous line of dialogue