Eli Stone on ABC

[zionchild]

I've been watching Eli Stone lately on http://abc.go.com (they have the last four or five episodes up, if you want the earlier ones I can get you a link). I actually like it a whole lot. It's about this lawyer that starts having visions - medicine explains it as an aneurysm, while others think it's

Comments

[australiafemale]

I read this book recently about a nun that had visions. She and her fellow nuns considered it to be a gift from God, she wrote books about developing your relationship with God and others felt inadequate compared to her.

Anyway, then she discovers that she has a type of epilespy where the fits are almost like a spiritual experience. Some write poetry, ballads and paint. They think Van Gogh may have had it. So she goes through months of denial and confusion and is completely devestated that her relationship with God may have been the result of an illness. Apparently there is another Nun in history that went through the same thing. They made her a saint I believe.

It was incredibly interesting book and I found it quite challenging of my atheist ideas.

[childclover]

Yesterday I was watching a "Penn & Teller: Bullshit" episode about near death experiences. The brain is an amazing machine. When the body begins to shut down these experiences seem to be more about the body coping with stress than revelation. I liked that they referenced combat fighter pilots training in a centerfuige at 9Gs most blacked out as the blood moved from their head to their lower extremities. 18% reported having an out of body/dream-like experiences.
But honest, I'm not that eager to write of divine revelation.

[zionchild]

If I remember my undergrad Psych classes correctly, many religious scholars had this same kind of struggle when they found out that dreams were randomly-discharging neurons that usually recapped the events of the day in weird new configurations and frameworks. It took them about 5-10 years to decide that God could still be speaking through that.

I like that the show takes that premise - Eli's got an aneurysm, some people believe God speaks through that, others believe that it precludes it. Somehow it's inspirational without being preachy in the least (imho).

[telsh7]

Y'know, someone asked me once how I could be a scientist AND a Christian. I said, assuming God is real, science is just the study of His (or Her) creation. Even if dreams or epileptic visions are neurons misfiring, I find God at work in that process. After all, He (or She) designed it that way, perhaps as a pathway to communicate with select people in a deeper, more powerful way.

I've considered atheism. I'm hung up on how the universe could have started willy-nilly. Like, I've heard some of the theories about how the universe will collapse and then explode again, restarting the whole process. Also, I think it's kind of a cop-out to just take anything we don't understand and attribute it to God, but what if that really IS the answer? Divine Creation? Intelligent Design? I'm not preaching here, I'm really seeking alternate explanations. Thought you might be able to give me your take on this- willing?

[childclover]

Reasons for Zion liking "Eli Stone":
15% plot, story, insight
85% it's DADE friggin MURPHY

Just kidding, love.

[zionchild]

Nah, I am highly appreciative of Jonny Lee Miller! Especially in this series. You can really see how he's grown as an actor. In some of his earlier stuff I sat there thinking, "Wow, Dade Murphy's on an AIRSHIP" or whatever - there's a lot of times in Eli where I totally forget he acted another role.