This is an interesting perspective on religion:
It would have been better narrated, but the concept is great.
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That was really awesome! It’s very interesting how many different mediums can be used to make a point, and in so many different ways. Do you know if they’ve done more of these?
I don’t know.
One of the creators, QualiaSoup, has some good videos explaining what constitutes science vs. faith, why anecdotes are not evidence, why coincidences aren’t really that coincidental, etc. Good, clear explanations of some very fundamental concepts.
I prefer it not to be narrated,like the old tom and jerry cartoons. I also watch a lot of anime so reading while watching it’s second nature to me.
Good video,I’ll have to go subscribe to their channel.
That was really good.
Matt L, I’m with you re: narration. I tend to watch most movies with the subtitles turned on, so I’m used to watching and reading also.
shwu, I also really enjoyed this one (found it yesterday via PZ Myers), and clicked through to their YouTube page. Just this morning, I posted on my blog a 10-minute video giving a fantastic basic explanation of how science works. Really good stuff.
Very thought provoking, I must say.
It makes me think that sometimes we drop the Bible but pick up other manuals , thus remaining rigid and predictable.
How can an ex-Christian remain manual-less, or at the very least, flexible enough to take information from many manuals, and to change manuals as needed?
@Lorena
Perhaps instead of a manual we should have a three ring binder which we can take things in and out of as science continues to progress. A manual seems so final.
That was..surprisingly beautiful, to be honest.
I liekd it un-narrated. It would presumably have been in the accent of origin, which appears not to be British.
Wow! I enjoyed that immensely.
… Is this about religion, or about sexuality, or about something else entirely? Seems to be about homosexuality to me (still a great point)
@LNIngram
There’s a strong insinuation that this particular “manual” refers to the Bible. Of course, the video couldn’t have explicitly said that, or it would risk alienating the Christians who need its message the most.
I’m sure you can apply the lesson to any form of narrow-mindedness, though.
Am a pastor of a church in the UK and have just discovered your website.
I guess I can see the point the guy makes in the video but I don’t think it can really be taken as an attack on Biblical Christianity.
Being a Christian is not about the shape of a cupboard by your bed – although I grant you that it’s become that in the West, and that makes me angry too. In fact it’s a bit like the Pharisaism that Jesus hated so much – see Mark 7 for example.
Rather being a Christian is about knowing God and his intentions with the world through knowing Jesus. And the amazing thing is how Jesus has been accepted by millions of people all over the world and in different cultures. So the typical Christian is not the white boy in an awkward tie sitting in a victorian style church building listening to a bloke no-one understands. Rather the typical Christian boy is probably black and living in Nigeria and part of a community of people who share their lives and their wealth, trusting that God knows what he’s doing and they know what his plan is too.
What’s amazing is that, that biblical Christianity which has no strong cultural expectations – it doesn’t tell you what to wear or what to eat or when to marry, it doesn’t tell you to go to war, how to sing, or what language to speak – has been taken on by lots of different cultures and preserves the good things in them.
Tim Keller makes several good points like that at his address to the Google company.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxup3OS5ZhQ
steve, this isn’t an attack on christianity neccessarily, perhaps the reason you see it that way is because you’re christian and it speaks through that particular channel to you.
i think the most important bit of all this is the equalisation of the parents’ anger with their fear of challenge and change.
very good video!
@Steve:
I don’t think it’s an attack on Christianity either. In fact, I wouldn’t characterize it as an attack at all. It’s more reflective than reactive in tone, and it’s a statement on narrow mindedness, not any particular religion.
As far as what constitutes a typical Christian…I don’t really think there is such a thing. There are so many individual Christian churches, each with their own theology, and even within any particular church (at least the more liberal ones) there’s usually a pretty interesting diversity of belief. And I don’t think the creator of this intended to present the story from the perspective of a “typical” Christian; I think he poeticized experiences from his own life to share his perspective on the dangers of becoming too judgmental about the way other people view the world around them.
@LNIngram
That’s very interesting that you interpreted it that way. I would have never thought about that. It just shows that perspective can change the meaning of something so much.
@Steve
I think you’re not getting that it can be ‘about the shape of a cupboard by your bed.’ Because the cupboard is a metaphor for belief.
Two differing religions within Christianity might teach from the same book, but manage to teach different fundamentals and emphasize different aspects.
Then take how family or the church will teach interpretation from the bible; but if you read the bible yourself you might interpret some parts differently.
So the movie illustrates the basics that all religions have belief (the cupboard), but throughout all the religions there are an indefinite amount of ways to interpret their holy book (the manual), and thus find an indefinite number of resulting faith (the different cupboard shapes and drawer arrangements).
The truly sad part is that out of all these religions (many of which share origins), each one professes to be the right one, and many condemn those who build their cupboard differently.
Additionally the story could be used as a metaphor for half-a-dozen other controversial things; politics, sexuality, scientific views, etc, etc. It is our own perception that sees it as a metaphor for religion.
Furthermore Steve, you describe how Christianity ‘should’ be, not how it truly is for many. You also sound isolated in your experience to think that many sects of Christianity do not impose direction on clothing, food, marriage, war, music, language, or more.
That was great! Thanks for sharing it. The creators deserve a lot of respect, that was thoughtful, un-preachy and abstract. Could be about a lot of things really.
I’m a parent raising a child who’s going to a religious school. Neither his mom or I are religious. This video gave me hope that he can move past the rigidness of religion and see a bigger truth.
For those commenters saying “it’s not about religion”, then whats with the preacher in the pulpit, and the standing in pews and singing at the “weekly classes”? And the guy with the different book is dark skinned and named Sanjay? And the girl telling him that he will “burn” for having the wrong cupboard? Nobody says you will “burn forever” for having the wrong secular or political beliefs. Religion has a monopoly on “eternal combustion”.
It is pretty clearly about religion, although, like any good parable or fable or metaphor, it can be extended to other subjects as well.
And yes, I picked up a very pro-gay theme in there too, although mostly a theme of tolerating gayness, rather than the character “turning gay” himself (although that’s another perfectly valid interpretation.
My favorite part, and the most subtle, was the fact that the cupboard built by following the manual exactly wouldn’t stand up on it’s own, and had to be “propped up with books”. There is a LOT going on in that one sentence.