{"id":22793,"date":"2015-03-02T01:44:36","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T06:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yankeegospelgirl.com\/?p=22793"},"modified":"2015-03-02T01:44:36","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T06:44:36","slug":"rethinking-the-phrase-r-i-p","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/youngfogey\/2015\/03\/rethinking-the-phrase-r-i-p\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking the Phrase "R. I. P.""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Leonard
Wikimedia Commons\/public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLeonard Nimoy (of Star Trek fame) passed away this past weekend. So naturally, the entire country is off and running on yet another one of those emotional orgies that we have to endure\u00a0when yet another celebrity we didn\u2019t really know happens to die.
\nYes, I know, it sounds kind of mean. But honestly, much as I love classic Star Trek and the character of Spock, I still don\u2019t get it. And when I read up a little on the crazy and sometimes downright sacrilegious stuff Nimoy was into, I really don\u2019t get it, especially coming from Christians. (Some of you may recall that I had a similar reaction when Robin Williams committed suicide, but at least there the suicide element gave it some emotional\u00a0weight, eventually inspiring my own reflective tribute<\/a>.)
\nIn particular, I notice that many people are reflexively saying \u201cR. I. P. Leonard Nimoy,\u201d or \u201cR. I. P. Mr. Spock.\u201d Now, I will confess that I have not always been scrupulous in avoiding this particular phrase for dead people whose salvation was questionable. But I think there\u2019s a good case to be made for eliminating it from the Christian\u2019s vocabulary in this context.
\n
\nLet\u2019s think about what the letters actually stand for: Rest in peace. In the case of a person who quite clearly wasn\u2019t a Christian, the phrase is frankly more than a little saccharine. What do we even mean by it? Are we interpreting it to mean, \u201cLet\u2019s cross our fingers really hard and just hope that Leonard Nimoy had a wild last-minute conversion so that now he\u2019s happy in heaven\u201d? Honestly, I think most people don\u2019t even think it through. They just say it, reflexively, because it\u2019s the thing to say when someone dies. Some people argue that the phrase allows for that kind of doubtful hope, but it seems like a stretch to me. It\u2019s not the kind of phrase that\u2019s meant to be uttered pessimistically, like Eeyore saying he hopes it doesn\u2019t rain as the clouds thicken and lower. It\u2019s supposed to be a feel-good phrase, a benediction even. It\u2019s what you say when you can\u2019t think of anything substantial to say, but you feel like you have to say\u00a0something.\u00a0<\/em>
\nHerein lies the problem. By expressing this vague, sentimental hope\u00a0that Leonard Nimoy is generically chilling out in some generically defined happy hunting ground, we are ironically failing to engage concretely with\u00a0Leonard Nimoy himself.\u00a0If you need proof that Leonard Nimoy wanted nothing to do with any remotely orthodox conception of God,\u00a0I think his late-life hobby of photographing semi-nude women to illustrate God\u2019s \u201cfeminine qualities\u201d should speak for itself. Likewise, his fascination with Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. At best, Nimoy was a cultural Jew. It appears\u00a0safe to say that he didn\u2019t seek or desire a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
\nSo what exactly are we hoping for? That God dragged Nimoy to the beatific vision kicking and screaming? Doesn\u2019t make much sense when you put it like that, now does it? And if you want to fall back on the \u201cfaint, wistful hope\u201d interpretation, then why not say something more articulate in the first place?
\nIt is one thing to say \u201cOh gee, look at that, Leonard Nimoy died. Too bad, hope he got saved before it was too late.\u201d It\u2019s another thing to say, \u201cGoodbye Mr. Spock! R. I. P.! *sniffle*\u201d One of these reactions takes Leonard Nimoy seriously as a real person with an immortal soul. The other reduces him to a comforting fiction. Christians, be the exception, not the norm.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leonard Nimoy (of Star Trek fame) passed away this past weekend. So naturally, the entire country is off and running on yet another one of those emotional orgies that we have to endure\u00a0when yet another celebrity we didn\u2019t really know happens to die. Yes, I know, it sounds kind of mean. But honestly, much as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3595,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith-and-culture","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"\nRethinking the Phrase "R. I. P."<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leonard Nimoy (of Star Trek fame) passed away this past weekend. 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