The third season of After Life launches on Netflixtoday, bringing the latest comedy project from Ricky Gervais to an emotional conclusion.
The so-called ‘sadcom’ has tackled some heavy themes during its rollercoaster run, which has seen widow Tony Johnson (Gervais) give into self-destructive tendencies as he struggles to come to terms with his wife’s tragic death.
Adding some extra heft to the most dramatic scenes are the music choices, which are usually directly relatable to the difficult situation that Tony finds himself in.
After Life season 3 features a wide range of musical acts, including legendary songwriters Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens, as well as rock bands Radiohead and Death Cab for Cutie.
For any viewers who hear something they like in the last six episodes, we’ve compiled a full list of the licensed songs in After Life season 3, of which the finale has the largest jukebox.
Read on for the full tracklist, while we also have details on the After Life cast and locations for you to peruse at your leisure.
Episode 1
The Things We Do for Love by 10cc
Back to the Beginning by Aaron Espe
Episode 2
Not Dark Yet by Bob Dylan
Who Will Sing Me Lullabies by Kate Rusby
Episode 3
Let Down by Radiohead
Episode 4
The Wind by Cat Stevens
Episode 5
Hammer and Felt by Beneath the Mountain
Episode 6
I Will Follow You Into the Dark – Death Cab for Cutie
Love Is the Answer (Single Version) by England Dan & John Ford Coley
Introspective Inquiries by Margaret Dahlberg
Mandolin Wind by Rod Stewart
Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
In episode 1 of season 1 of AFTERLIFE Tony’s late wife Lisa tells Tony, “Don’t get drunk all the time alright? It will only make you feel worse in the log run.”
In the 3rd season of AFTER LIFE Matt says to Tony:
Seriously Tony you need to do something about your anger. It’s gonna kill you one of these days…You know staying up drinking every night.
Also the music of AFTER LIFE 3 is excellent and the song LET DOWN by RADIOHEAD makes the point on the empty answer of alcoholism.
The lyrics say it all:
Transport Motorways and tramlines Starting and then stopping Taking off and landingThe emptiest of feelings Disappointed people Clinging onto bottles And when it comes it’s so so disappointingLet down and hanging around Crushed like a bug in the ground Let down and hanging aroundShell smashed, juices flowing Wings twitch legs are going Don’t get sentimental It always ends up drivel
Francis Schaeffer discusses the views of Solomon on drinking:
In Ecclesiastes 1:8 he drives this home when he states, “All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. THE EYE IS NOT SATISFIED WITH SEEING. NOR IS THE EAR FILLED WITH HEARING.” Solomon is stating here the fact that there is no final satisfaction because you don’t get to the end of the thing.
What do you do and the answer is to get drunk and this was not thought of in the RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KAHAYYAM:
Ecclesiastes 2:1-3
I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with winewhile my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaventhe few years of their lives.
Ernest Hemingway like Solomon looked for meaning UNDER THE SUN in what I call the 6 big L words in the Book of Ecclesiastes. These areas are learning (1:16-18), laughter, ladies,luxuries, and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and labor (2:4-6, 18-20). All three men agree with the conclusion of Ecclesiastes 2:17:
17So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a striving after the wind
Then in last few words in the Book of Ecclesiastes Solomon looks above the sun and brings God back into the picture: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
— After Life Season 3 Ending Explained & Review —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows January 5, 2022Ricky Gervais London, W1F […]
— After Life season 3 review: Its greatest strength is also its biggest weakness “Let’s just carry on, and nothing changes.” Netflix By Abby Robinson 3 weeks ago 3.0 out of 5 star rating To say a fair bit has happened since the arrival of After Life’s second season back in April 2020 would be a […]
— Ricky Gervais & Tony Way Talk After Life Season 3, Male Friendship And Shooting Outrageous Scenes BY BOYD HILTON | POSTED ON21 01 2022 Ricky Gervais is one of the creative minds behind some of Britain’s most classic comedies – Extras, The Office, Derek, to name a few. With Netflix series After Life, he took on a topic altogether more vulnerable, […]
— In episode three, Ewen plays a fells who gets chucked out of an all-you-can-eat buffet for eating too much AfterLife Season 3 – All You Can Eat Scene {Keith from office} Ricky Gervais: “The people in ‘After Life’ aren’t freaks. Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp – they’re freaks!” As his melancholic Netflix drama draws to […]
— Kaths best moment from After Life season 3 ‘After Life’ season three review: Ricky Gervais’ humanist hit goes out on a high The final scene, moving and poignant, is among its creator’s greatest works ByJames McMahon14th January 2022 Facebook Twitter They don’t make television like After Life anymore. They don’t make them much like Ricky Gervais either. This, the third […]
— —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows January 28, 2022 Ricky Gervais London, W1F 0LEUK Dear Ricky, “JUST SOUNDS?” OR DO […]
— Tony and Kath care for each other but they love to argue too! NETFLIX Most Powerful Moment In After Life and great Review — — —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just […]
— — After Life season 3 review: Ricky Gervais’ show is a terrific closure to a story of grief and acceptance After Life season 3 review: The third iteration in this Ricky Gervais series about grief and loss serves as an emotion-laden, poignant closure to the story. – Written By Kshitij Rawat | New Delhi | January […]
— After Life 2 – Brian’s stand up performance David Earl plays Brian — —- —- —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy […]
— Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark (Official Music Vi… Why Is After Life So Popular? Afterlife Season 3 – “I wish I had a brick” —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes […]
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events |Tagged Bible Prophecy, john macarthur | Edit|Comments (0)
Prophecy–The Biblical Prophesy About Tyre.mp4 Uploaded by TruthIsLife7 on Dec 5, 2010 A short summary of the prophecy about Tyre and it’s precise fulfillment. Go to this link and watch the whole series for the amazing fulfillment from secular sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvt4mDZUefo________________ John MacArthur on the amazing fulfilled prophecy on Tyre and how it was fulfilled […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (1)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 2) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 1) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers – How you can be certain the Bible is the word of God Great article by Adrian Rogers. What evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God’s Word? I want to give you five reasons to affirm the Bible is the Word of God. First, I believe the Bible is the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (0)
Is there any evidence the Bible is true? Articles By PleaseConvinceMe Apologetics Radio The Old Testament is Filled with Fulfilled Prophecy Jim Wallace A Simple Litmus Test There are many ways to verify the reliability of scripture from both internal evidences of transmission and agreement, to external confirmation through archeology and science. But perhaps the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
Here is some very convincing evidence that points to the view that the Bible is historically accurate. Archaeological and External Evidence for the Bible Archeology consistently confirms the Bible! Archaeology and the Old Testament Ebla tablets—discovered in 1970s in Northern Syria. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | E
On Saturday April 18, 2020 at 6pm in London and noon in Arkansas, I had a chance to ask Ricky Gervais a question on his Twitter Live broadcast which was “Is Tony a Nihilist?” At the 20:51 mark Ricky answers my question. Below is the video:
—
—
Ricky Gervais 25/07/2021 Facebook Live at 28:29 mark Ricky answers my question about Sam Harris
Scripture: Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight – Proverbs 11:1
God detests dishonest scales; they cause rage and disgust to burn within Him. Why?
Dishonest scales give privilege to some and abuse others when “the Lord is the Maker of us all” (Proverbs 22:2). They appear balanced, but someone has manipulated the dial to give them the appearance of a truth they do not possess.
We must use scales of truth, but whose truth? Whose scales will give every person a fair assessment? God’s truth is not on a sliding scale; His values never change. What He considered sin in the Garden of Eden is still sin today.
The weight required to balance the scales of unrighteousness has not changed. The measure of its cost has not changed; the wages of sin is still death. Sin and death hang in the balance, and the weight remains the same: without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22).
The scales that bring balance to our lives must be large enough to manage the weight of the issues of our day. The scales must be accurate enough to ensure that every person, tribe, tongue, culture, and nation are treated and valued equally. They must be true enough to withstand the deception and corruption of our society – of a culture that bends, stretches, and buries the truth. A just weight is the delight of the Lord.
Today’s Blessing:
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. Give thanks for the blood of Christ that has justified you and brought balance to your life!
Proverbs 11New Living Translation
11 The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.
2 Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
3 Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.
4 Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.
5 The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin.
6 The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them.
7 When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength.
8 The godly are rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.
9 With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous.
10 The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed; they shout for joy when the wicked die.
11 Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.
12 It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet.
13 A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.
14 Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.
15 There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt; it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.
16 A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.
17 Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.
18 Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.
19 Godly people find life; evil people find death.
20 The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity.
21 Evil people will surely be punished, but the children of the godly will go free.
22 A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.
23 The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgment.
24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
26 People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.
27 If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!
28 Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.
29 Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise.
30 The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends.[a]
31 If the righteous are rewarded here on earth, what will happen to wicked sinners?[b]
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. It is tough to guard your […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. What does it mean to fear […]
Ecclesiastes 6-8 | Solomon Turns Over a New Leaf Published on Oct 2, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 30, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I […]
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how […]
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how […]
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Ecclesiastes 6-8 | Solomon Turns Over a New Leaf Published on Oct 2, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 30, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series […]
Ecclesiastes 4-6 | Solomon’s Dissatisfaction Published on Sep 24, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 23, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider ___________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope […]
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. _______________________ Tom Brady ESPN Interview Tom Brady has famous wife earned over 76 million dollars last year. However, has Brady found lasting satifaction in his life? It does not […]
Adrian Rogers: How to Be a Child of a Happy Mother Published on Nov 13, 2012 Series: Fortifying Your Family (To read along turn on the annotations.) Adrian Rogers looks at the 5th commandment and the relationship of motherhood in the commandment to honor your father and mother, because the faith that doesn’t begin at home, […]
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man […]
Adrian Rogers – How to Cultivate a Marriage Another great article from Adrian Rogers. Are fathers necessary? “Artificial insemination is the ideal method of producing a pregnancy, and a lesbian partner should have the same parenting rights accorded historically to biological fathers.” Quoted from the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, summer of 1995. […]
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net ________________ Obviously from the video clip above, Tom Brady has realized that even though he has won many Super Bowls […]
Kathleen Ferrier’s rendering of Handel’s “He was despiséd” is sublime.
Robin Lane Fox (The Unauthorized Version) suggests that “The Suffering Servant” (the “He” to whom Isaiah’s poem refers) meant the Jewish captives in Babylon, not a single individual.
The Robin Lane Fox assertion is absurd concerning Isaiah 53 and why you as an educated man can fall into the trap of believing that just reminds me of Romans chapter 1. Why don’t you take the time to examine Zechariah 12 and Psalms 22 and see how accurate they are too!!!
Co-edited by Darrell Bock, research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, and Mitch Glaser, president of Chosen People Ministries, this volume “presents the redemptive work of the Messiah to the Jewish community, exploring issues of atonement and redemption” in light of Isaiah 53. And in addition to providing “unparalleled help in preparing Bible studies and sermons,” the book is bound to prove useful as “supplemental reading for classes on Isaiah, the Prophets, and Jewish evangelism.”
I corresponded with Bock about the significance of the passage on which his new volume is based.
What biblical passages and traditions is Isaiah 53 drawing on? How does it connect to the rest of the Old Testament?
Isaiah 53 is unique in the Old Testament in portraying an individual who suffers for sin by making reference to a guilt offering (Isa. 53:10; see Lev. 5:14-6:7 [=5:14-26]) and who does so after being rejected by his own people (“esteemed him stricken” [Isa. 53:3-4]), much like a leper was to be separated from his people (see the reference to the deformity he was perceived to have; cf. Isa. 52:14, 53:2). Isaiah 53 draws on texts that picture sacrifice for sin, the move to ritual purity, and the image of a leper rejected. The passage also, along with Psalm 118:26, pictures a move from rejection to exaltation that the New Testament uses to describe how Jesus fulfilled God’s plan. Most people know about Isaiah 53, but I think Psalm 118 in this role is not as appreciated.
Did Isaiah consciously anticipate the Messiah?
His text anticipates a decisive delivering figure of the end who suffers and then is exalted. We call such a figure messianic, even though Isaiah does not use that specific term, because the role and timing now fits. In context, Isaiah’s remarks look ultimately to the decisive deliverance of God’s salvation of his people, even though there are elements of his picture of the Servant in other texts (Isaiah 42:1-4; 19:1-6; 50:4-9; 61:1-3) that portray a prophetic figure (Isa. 61) or that point to the role of Israel as the Servant (Isa. 49).
At the end of Isaiah, the individual servant takes on the role that Israel as a nation failed to achieve. Nonetheless, the Servant in Isaiah 53 cannot be the people or the remnant, because he is said to be cut off from the people (Isa 53:8) and is said to die for our sins and iniquities (Isa 53:5, 11). This cannot be the nation, because how can the Servant be cut off from himself? In addition, he is a righteous sufferer. That cannot be the nation, as Isaiah has portrayed the nation as being in sin (just look at Isaiah 58).
Christian readers today directly link the servant to Jesus on the cross. Who did Isaiah and his first readers have in mind?
Isaiah describes a suffering figure who dies for the sins of those who reject him and then is exalted by God. No specific name for this person is given other than to call him the Servant of God. His role is simply described. Jesus fits the portrait. Outside of Jesus himself, the New Testament says this in several texts (Rom. 15:21; 1 Pet. 2:21-25; Matt. 8:17; Acts 8:32-33). There are even more allusions to the passage. In Paul alone, one can mention allusions in Romans 15:21; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Romans 10:16; Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 15:3; and Romans 5:19.
Did Jesus understand himself to be fulfilling Isaiah 53? If so, what’s the biblical evidence?
Yes, Jesus described his mission as involving his being a ransom for many in Mark 10:45. At the Last Supper, Jesus mentions dying for many, using the language of this text. He also speaks of being reckoned with criminals as the Isaiah text describes (Isaiah 53:11-12; Mark 14:22-25; Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:37). So the idea of being the Servant comes from him. Jesus also cited Isaiah 61:1-2 in Luke 4:18-19, which is a text most tie to Isaiah’s servant imagery. Jesus declared that he fulfilled the mission of this text of bringing the gospel to those in need of it.
You contribute a chapter on “Isaiah 53 in the Book of Acts.” What is the function of Isaiah 53 in Acts?
It shows Jesus died an unjust death as Isaiah predicted. He also died without fighting the charges. This actually fits how Luke 23 and the Passion narrative portrays Jesus’ death. Six times in Luke 23 Jesus is said to be innocent of any crime worthy of death. Yet the injustice is that despite Pilate’s recognition of this, Jesus is put to death. I think this dimension of the use of Isaiah 53 often goes unnoticed and is underappreciated. The injustice of Jesus’ death is prevalent also in the preaching of Acts, as Jesus was put to death although God had attested to his position (Acts 2:24-26; 10: 38, 40-42).
What are some common evangelical misunderstandings about Isaiah 53?
We do not appreciate how much of this chapter Jesus fulfills. We might see a verse or two, but the entire passage summarizes Jesus’ death and the reaction that produced it. All this comes some 700 years before Jesus was born! That makes Isaiah 53 quite an unusual text. That is why we wrote about it.
Below is a piece of that evidence given by Francis Schaeffer concerning the accuracy of the Bible.
TRUTH AND HISTORY (chapter 5 of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?, under footnotes #97 and #98)
A common assumption among liberal scholars is that because the Gospels are theologically motivated writings–which they are–they cannot also be historically accurate. In other words, because Luke, say (when he wrote the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts), was convinced of the deity of Christ, this influenced his work to the point where it ceased to be reliable as a historical account. The assumption that a writing cannot be both historical and theological is false.
The experience of the famous classical archaeologist Sir William Ramsay illustrates this well. When he began his pioneer work of exploration in Asia Minor, he accepted the view then current among the Tubingen scholars of his day that the Book of Acts was written long after the events in Paul’s life and was therefore historically inaccurate. However, his travels and discoveries increasingly forced upon his mind a totally different picture, and he became convinced that Acts was minutely accurate in many details which could be checked.
What is even more interesting is the way “liberal” modern scholars today deal with Ramsay’s discoveries and others like them. In the NEW TESTAMENT : THE HISTORY OF THE INVESTIGATION OF ITS PROBLEMS, the German scholar Werner G. Kummel made no reference at all to Ramsay. This provoked a protest from British and American scholars, whereupon in a subsequent edition Kummel responded. His response was revealing. He made it clear that it was his deliberate intention to leave Ramsay out of his work, since “Ramsay’s apologetic analysis of archaeology [in other words, relating it to the New Testament in a positive way] signified no methodologically essential advance for New Testament research.” This is a quite amazing assertion. Statements like these reveal the philosophic assumptions involved in much liberal scholarship.
A modern classical scholar, A.N.Sherwin-White, says about the Book of Acts: “For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming…Any attempt to reject its basic historicity, even in matters of detail, must not appear absurd. Roman historians have long taken this for granted.”
When we consider the pages of the New Testament, therefore, we must remember what it is we are looking at. The New Testament writers themselves make abundantly clear that they are giving an account of objectively true events.
(Under footnote #98)
Acts is a fairly full account of Paul’s journeys, starting in Pisidian Antioch and ending in Rome itself. The record is quite evidently that of an eyewitness of the events, in part at least. Throughout, however, it is the report of a meticulous historian. The narrative in the Book of Acts takes us back behind the missionary journeys to Paul’s famous conversion on the Damascus Road, and back further through the Day of Pentecost to the time when Jesus finally left His disciples and ascended to be with the Father.
But we must understand that the story begins earlier still, for Acts is quite explicitly the second part of a continuous narrative by the same author, Luke, which reaches back to the birth of Jesus.
Luke 2:1-7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
2 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all [a]the inhabited earth. 2 [b]This was the first census taken while[c]Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a [d]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the opening sentences of his Gospel, Luke states his reason for writing:
Luke 1:1-4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things[a]accomplished among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those whofrom the beginning [b]were eyewitnesses and [c]servants of the [d]word, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having [e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellentTheophilus; 4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been[f]taught.
In Luke and Acts, therefore, we have something which purports to be an adequate history, something which Theophilus (or anyone) can rely on as its pages are read. This is not the language of “myths and fables,” and archaeological discoveries serve only to confirm this.
For example, it is now known that Luke’s references to the titles of officials encountered along the way are uniformly accurate. This was no mean achievement in those days, for they varied from place to place and from time to time in the same place. They were proconsuls in Corinth and Cyprus, asiarchs at Ephesus, politarchesat Thessalonica, and protosor “first man” in Malta. Back in Palestine, Luke was careful to give Herod Antipas the correct title of tetrarch of Galilee. And so one. The details are precise.
The mention of Pontius Pilate as Roman governor of Judea has been confirmed recently by an inscription discovered at Caesarea, which was the Roman capital of that part of the Roman Empire. Although Pilate’s existence has been well known for the past 2000 years by those who have read the Bible, now his governorship has been clearly attested outside the Bible.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inheriting a mental condition that ran in the family. Studying at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania (today’s Oslo), Munch began to live a bohemian life under the influence of nihilist Hans Jæger, who urged him to paint his own emotional and psychological state (‘soul painting’). From this would presently emerge his distinctive style.
Travel brought new influences and new outlets. In Paris, he learned much from Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, especially their use of colour. In Berlin, he met Swedish dramatist August Strindberg, whom he painted, as he embarked on his major canon The Frieze of Life, depicting a series of deeply-felt themes such as love, anxiety, jealousy and betrayal, steeped in atmosphere.
But it was back in Kristiania that his legendary work The Scream was conceived. According to Munch, he was out walking at sunset, when he ‘heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature’. That agonised face is widely identified with the angst of modern man. Between 1893 and 1910, he made two painted versions and two in pastels, as well as a number of prints. One of the pastels would eventually command the fourth highest nominal price paid for a painting at auction.
As his fame and wealth grew, his emotional state remained as insecure as ever. He briefly considered marriage, but could not commit himself. A breakdown in 1908 forced him to give up heavy drinking, and he was cheered by his increasing acceptance by the people of Kristiania and exposure in the city’s museums. His later years were spent working in peace and privacy. Although his works were banned in Nazi Germany, most of them survived World War II, ensuring him a secure legacy.
Edvard Munch was born in a farmhouse in the village of Ådalsbruk in Løten, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, to Laura Catherine Bjølstad and Christian Munch, the son of a priest. Christian was a doctor and medical officer who married Laura, a woman half his age, in 1861. Edvard had an elder sister, Johanne Sophie, and three younger siblings: Peter Andreas, Laura Catherine, and Inger Marie. Laura was artistically talented and may have encouraged Edvard and Sophie. Edvard was related to painter Jacob Munch and to historian Peter Andreas Munch.[2]
The family moved to Christiania (renamed Kristiania in 1877, and now Oslo) in 1864 when Christian Munch was appointed medical officer at Akershus Fortress. Edvard’s mother died of tuberculosis in 1868, as did Munch’s favorite sister Johanne Sophie in 1877.[3] After their mother’s death, the Munch siblings were raised by their father and by their aunt Karen. Often ill for much of the winters and kept out of school, Edvard would draw to keep himself occupied. He was tutored by his school mates and his aunt. Christian Munch also instructed his son in history and literature, and entertained the children with vivid ghost-stories and the tales of American writer Edgar Allan Poe.[4]
As Edvard remembered it, Christian’s positive behavior toward his children was overshadowed by his morbid pietism. Munch wrote, “My father was temperamentally nervous and obsessively religious—to the point of psychoneurosis. From him I inherited the seeds of madness. The angels of fear, sorrow, and death stood by my side since the day I was born.”[5] Christian reprimanded his children by telling them that their mother was looking down from heaven and grieving over their misbehavior. The oppressive religious milieu, Edvard’s poor health, and the vivid ghost stories helped inspire his macabre visions and nightmares; the boy felt that death was constantly advancing on him.[6] One of Munch’s younger sisters, Laura, was diagnosed with mental illness at an early age. Of the five siblings, only Andreas married, but he died a few months after the wedding. Munch would later write, “I inherited two of mankind’s most frightful enemies—the heritage of consumption and insanity.”[7]
Christian Munch’s military pay was very low, and his attempts to develop a private side practice failed, keeping his family in genteel but perennial poverty.[3] They moved frequently from one cheap flat to another. Munch’s early drawings and watercolors depicted these interiors, and the individual objects, such as medicine bottles and drawing implements, plus some landscapes. By his teens, art dominated Munch’s interests.[8] At thirteen, Munch had his first exposure to other artists at the newly formed Art Association, where he admired the work of the Norwegian landscape school. He returned to copy the paintings, and soon he began to paint in oils.[9]
In 1879, Munch enrolled in a technical college to study engineering, where he excelled in physics, chemistry and math. He learned scaled and perspective drawing, but frequent illnesses interrupted his studies.[10] The following year, much to his father’s disappointment, Munch left the college determined to become a painter. His father viewed art as an “unholy trade”, and his neighbors reacted bitterly and sent him anonymous letters.[11] In contrast to his father’s rabid pietism, Munch adopted an undogmatic stance toward art. He wrote his goal in his diary: “in my art I attempt to explain life and its meaning to myself.”[10]
In 1881, Munch enrolled at the Royal School of Art and Design of Kristiania, one of whose founders was his distant relative Jacob Munch. His teachers were sculptor Julius Middelthun and the naturalistic painter Christian Krohg.[12]That year, Munch demonstrated his quick absorption of his figure training at the Academy in his first portraits, including one of his father and his first self-portrait. In 1883, Munch took part in his first public exhibition and shared a studio with other students.[13] His full-length portrait of Karl Jensen-Hjell, a notorious bohemian-about-town, earned a critic’s dismissive response: “It is impressionism carried to the extreme. It is a travesty of art.”[14] Munch’s nude paintings from this period survive only in sketches, except for Standing Nude (1887). They may have been confiscated by his father.[15]
During these early years, Munch experimented with many styles, including Naturalism and Impressionism. Some early works are reminiscent of Manet. Many of these attempts brought him unfavorable criticism from the press and garnered him constant rebukes by his father, who nonetheless provided him with small sums for living expenses.[14] At one point, however, Munch’s father, perhaps swayed by the negative opinion of Munch’s cousin Edvard Diriks (an established, traditional painter), destroyed at least one painting (likely a nude) and refused to advance any more money for art supplies.[16]
Munch also received his father’s ire for his relationship with Hans Jæger, the local nihilist who lived by the code “a passion to destroy is also a creative passion” and who advocated suicide as the ultimate way to freedom.[17] Munch came under his malevolent, anti-establishment spell. “My ideas developed under the influence of the bohemians or rather under Hans Jæger. Many people have mistakenly claimed that my ideas were formed under the influence of Strindberg and the Germans…but that is wrong. They had already been formed by then.”[18] At that time, contrary to many of the other bohemians, Munch was still respectful of women, as well as reserved and well-mannered, but he began to give in to the binge drinking and brawling of his circle. He was unsettled by the sexual revolution going on at the time and by the independent women around him. He later turned cynical concerning sexual matters, expressed not only in his behavior and his art, but in his writings as well, an example being a long poem called The City of Free Love.[19] Still dependent on his family for many of his meals, Munch’s relationship with his father remained tense over concerns about his bohemian life.
After numerous experiments, Munch concluded that the Impressionist idiom did not allow sufficient expression. He found it superficial and too akin to scientific experimentation. He felt a need to go deeper and explore situations brimming with emotional content and expressive energy. Under Jæger’s commandment that Munch should “write his life”, meaning that Munch should explore his own emotional and psychological state, the young artist began a period of reflection and self-examination, recording his thoughts in his “soul’s diary”.[20] This deeper perspective helped move him to a new view of his art. He wrote that his painting The Sick Child (1886), based on his sister’s death, was his first “soul painting”, his first break from Impressionism. The painting received a negative response from critics and from his family, and caused another “violent outburst of moral indignation” from the community.[21]
Only his friend Christian Krohg defended him:
He paints, or rather regards, things in a way that is different from that of other artists. He sees only the essential, and that, naturally, is all he paints. For this reason Munch’s pictures are as a rule “not complete”, as people are so delighted to discover for themselves. Oh, yes, they are complete. His complete handiwork. Art is complete once the artist has really said everything that was on his mind, and this is precisely the advantage Munch has over painters of the other generation, that he really knows how to show us what he has felt, and what has gripped him, and to this he subordinates everything else.[22]
Munch continued to employ a variety of brushstroke techniques and color palettes throughout the 1880s and early 1890s, as he struggled to define his style.[23] His idiom continued to veer between naturalistic, as seen in Portrait of Hans Jæger, and impressionistic, as in Rue Lafayette. His Inger On the Beach (1889), which caused another storm of confusion and controversy, hints at the simplified forms, heavy outlines, sharp contrasts, and emotional content of his mature style to come.[24] He began to carefully calculate his compositions to create tension and emotion. While stylistically influenced by the Post-Impressionists, what evolved was a subject matter which was symbolist in content, depicting a state of mind rather than an external reality. In 1889, Munch presented his first one-man show of nearly all his works to date. The recognition it received led to a two-year state scholarship to study in Paris under French painter Léon Bonnat.[25]
Munch seems to have been an early critic of photography as an art form, and remarked that it “will never compete with the brush and the palette, until such time as photographs can be taken in Heaven or Hell!”[26]
Munch’s younger sister Laura was the subject of his 1899 interior Melancholy: Laura. Amanda O’Neill says of the work, “In this heated claustrophobic scene Munch not only portrays Laura’s tragedy, but his own dread of the madness he might have inherited.”[27]
Munch arrived in Paris during the festivities of the Exposition Universelle (1889) and roomed with two fellow Norwegian artists. His picture Morning (1884) was displayed at the Norwegian pavilion.[28] He spent his mornings at Bonnat’s busy studio (which included live female models) and afternoons at the exhibition, galleries, and museums (where students were expected to make copies as a way of learning technique and observation).[29] Munch recorded little enthusiasm for Bonnat’s drawing lessons—”It tires and bores me—it’s numbing”—but enjoyed the master’s commentary during museum trips.[30][31]
Munch was enthralled by the vast display of modern European art, including the works of three artists who would prove influential: Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec—all notable for how they used color to convey emotion.[31] Munch was particularly inspired by Gauguin’s “reaction against realism” and his credo that “art was human work and not an imitation of Nature”, a belief earlier stated by Whistler.[32] As one of his Berlin friends said later of Munch, “he need not make his way to Tahiti to see and experience the primitive in human nature. He carries his own Tahiti within him.”[33] Influenced by Gauguin, as well as the etchings of German artist Max Klinger, Munch experimented with prints as a medium to create graphic versions of his works. In 1896 he created his first woodcuts—a medium that proved ideal to Munch’s symbolic imagery.[34] Together with his contemporary Nikolai Astrup, Munch is considered an innovator of the woodcut medium in Norway.[35]
In December 1889 his father died, leaving Munch’s family destitute. He returned home and arranged a large loan from a wealthy Norwegian collector when wealthy relatives failed to help, and assumed financial responsibility for his family from then on.[36] Christian’s death depressed him and he was plagued by suicidal thoughts: “I live with the dead—my mother, my sister, my grandfather, my father…Kill yourself and then it’s over. Why live?”[37] Munch’s paintings of the following year included sketchy tavern scenes and a series of bright cityscapes in which he experimented with the pointillist style of Georges Seurat.[38]
Melancholy, 1891, oil, pencil and crayon on canvas, 73 × 101 cm, Munch Museum, Oslo
Munch in 1902, in the garden of his patron Dr. Max Linde in Lübeck; in the background is a cast of Auguste Rodin‘s sculpture Iron Era.
By 1892, Munch formulated his characteristic, and original, Synthetistaesthetic, as seen in Melancholy (1891), in which color is the symbol-laden element. Considered by the artist and journalist Christian Krohg as the first Symbolistpainting by a Norwegian artist, Melancholy was exhibited in 1891 at the Autumn Exhibition in Oslo.[39] In 1892, Adelsteen Normann, on behalf of the Union of Berlin Artists, invited Munch to exhibit at its November exhibition,[40] the society’s first one-man exhibition. However, his paintings evoked bitter controversy (dubbed “The Munch Affair”), and after one week the exhibition closed.[40] Munch was pleased with the “great commotion”, and wrote in a letter: “Never have I had such an amusing time—it’s incredible that something as innocent as painting should have created such a stir.”[41]
In Berlin, Munch became involved in an international circle of writers, artists and critics, including the Swedish dramatist and leading intellectual August Strindberg, whom he painted in 1892. He also met Danish writer and painter Holger Drachmann, whom he painted in 1898. Drachmann was 17 years Munch’s senior and a drinking companion at Zum schwarzen Ferkel in 1893–94.[42] In 1894 Drachmann wrote of Munch: “He struggles hard. Good luck with your struggles, lonely Norwegian.” [43]
During his four years in Berlin, Munch sketched out most of the ideas that would comprise his major work, The Frieze of Life, first designed for book illustration but later expressed in paintings.[44] He sold little, but made some income from charging entrance fees to view his controversial paintings.[45] Already, Munch was showing a reluctance to part with his paintings, which he termed his “children”.
His other paintings, including casino scenes, show a simplification of form and detail which marked his early mature style.[46] Munch also began to favor a shallow pictorial space and a minimal backdrop for his frontal figures. Since poses were chosen to produce the most convincing images of states of mind and psychological conditions, as in Ashes, the figures impart a monumental, static quality. Munch’s figures appear to play roles on a theatre stage (Death in the Sick-Room), whose pantomime of fixed postures signify various emotions; since each character embodies a single psychological dimension, as in The Scream, Munch’s men and women began to appear more symbolic than realistic. He wrote, “No longer should interiors be painted, people reading and women knitting: there would be living people, breathing and feeling, suffering and loving.”[47]
The Scream exists in four versions: two pastels (1893 and 1895) and two paintings (1893 and 1910). There are also several lithographs of The Scream (1895 and later).
The 1895 pastel sold at auction on 2 May 2012 for US$119,922,500, including commission.[48] It is the most colorful of the versions[49] and is distinctive for the downward-looking stance of one of its background figures. It is also the only version not held by a Norwegian museum.
The 1893 version was stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo in 1994 and recovered. The 1910 painting was stolen in 2004 from The Munch Museum in Oslo, but recovered in 2006 with limited damage.
The Scream is Munch’s most famous work, and one of the most recognizable paintings in all art. It has been widely interpreted as representing the universal anxiety of modern man.[47] Painted with broad bands of garish color and highly simplified forms, and employing a high viewpoint, it reduces the agonized figure to a garbed skull in the throes of an emotional crisis.
With this painting, Munch met his stated goal of “the study of the soul, that is to say the study of my own self”.[50] Munch wrote of how the painting came to be: “I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature.”[51] He later described the personal anguish behind the painting, “for several years I was almost mad… You know my picture, ‘The Scream?’ I was stretched to the limit—nature was screaming in my blood… After that I gave up hope ever of being able to love again.”[52]
In summing up the painting’s effects, author Martha Tedeschi has stated:
Whistler’s Mother, Wood’s American Gothic, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Edvard Munch’s The Scream have all achieved something that most paintings—regardless of their art historical importance, beauty, or monetary value—have not: they communicate a specific meaning almost immediately to almost every viewer. These few works have successfully made the transition from the elite realm of the museum visitor to the enormous venue of popular culture.[53]
Frieze of Life—A Poem about Life, Love and Death[edit]
In December 1893, Unter den Linden in Berlin was the location of an exhibition of Munch’s work, showing, among other pieces, six paintings entitled Study for a Series: Love. This began a cycle he later called the Frieze of Life—A Poem about Life, Love and Death. Frieze of Life motifs, such as The Storm and Moonlight, are steeped in atmosphere. Other motifs illuminate the nocturnal side of love, such as Rose and Amelie and Vampire. In Death in the Sickroom, the subject is the death of his sister Sophie, which he re-worked in many future variations. The dramatic focus of the painting, portraying his entire family, is dispersed in the separate and disconnected figures of sorrow. In 1894, he enlarged the spectrum of motifs by adding Anxiety, Ashes, Madonna and Women in Three Stages (from innocence to old age).[54]
Around the start of the 20th century, Munch worked to finish the “Frieze”. He painted a number of pictures, several of them in bigger format and to some extent featuring the Art Nouveau aesthetics of the time. He made a wooden frame with carved reliefs for the large painting Metabolism (1898), initially called Adam and Eve. This work reveals Munch’s preoccupation with the “fall of man” and his pessimistic philosophy of love. Motifs such as The Empty Cross and Golgotha (both c. 1900) reflect a metaphysical orientation, and also reflect Munch’s pietistic upbringing. The entire Frieze was shown for the first time at the secessionist exhibition in Berlin in 1902.[55]
“The Frieze of Life” themes recur throughout Munch’s work but he especially focused on them in the mid-1890s. In sketches, paintings, pastels and prints, he tapped the depths of his feelings to examine his major motifs: the stages of life, the femme fatale, the hopelessness of love, anxiety, infidelity, jealousy, sexual humiliation, and separation in life and death.[56] These themes are expressed in paintings such as The Sick Child (1885), Love and Pain (retitled Vampire; 1893–94), Ashes (1894), and The Bridge. The latter shows limp figures with featureless or hidden faces, over which loom the threatening shapes of heavy trees and brooding houses. Munch portrayed women either as frail, innocent sufferers (see Puberty and Love and Pain) or as the cause of great longing, jealousy and despair (see Separation, Jealousy, and Ashes).
Munch often uses shadows and rings of color around his figures to emphasize an aura of fear, menace, anxiety, or sexual intensity.[57] These paintings have been interpreted as reflections of the artist’s sexual anxieties, though it could also be argued that they represent his turbulent relationship with love itself and his general pessimism regarding human existence.[58] Many of these sketches and paintings were done in several versions, such as Madonna, Hands and Puberty, and also transcribed as wood-block prints and lithographs. Munch hated to part with his paintings because he thought of his work as a single body of expression. So to capitalize on his production and make some income, he turned to graphic arts to reproduce many of his most famous paintings, including those in this series.[59]Munch admitted to the personal goals of his work but he also offered his art to a wider purpose, “My art is really a voluntary confession and an attempt to explain to myself my relationship with life—it is, therefore, actually a sort of egoism, but I am constantly hoping that through this I can help others achieve clarity.”[60]
While attracting strongly negative reactions, in the 1890s Munch began to receive some understanding of his artistic goals, as one critic wrote, “With ruthless contempt for form, clarity, elegance, wholeness, and realism, he paints with intuitive strength of talent the most subtle visions of the soul.”[61] One of his great supporters in Berlin was Walther Rathenau, later the German foreign minister, who strongly contributed to his success.
In 1896, Munch moved to Paris, where he focused on graphic representations of his Frieze of Life themes. He further developed his woodcut and lithographic technique. Munch’s Self-Portrait with Skeleton Arm (1895) is done with an etching needle-and-ink method also used by Paul Klee.[62] Munch also produced multi-colored versions of The Sick Child, concerning tuberculosis, which sold well, as well as several nudes and multiple versions of Kiss(1892).[62] Many of the Parisian critics still considered Munch’s work “violent and brutal” but his exhibitions received serious attention and good attendance.[63] His financial situation improved considerably and in 1897, Munch bought himself a summer house facing the fjords of Kristiania, a small fisherman’s cabin built in the late 18th century, in the small town of Åsgårdstrand in Norway. He dubbed this home the “Happy House” and returned here almost every summer for the next 20 years.[64] It was this place he missed when he was abroad and when he felt depressed and exhausted. “To walk in Åsgårdstrand is like walking among my paintings—I get so inspired to paint when I am here”.
In 1897 Munch returned to Kristiania, where he also received grudging acceptance—one critic wrote, “A fair number of these pictures have been exhibited before. In my opinion these improve on acquaintance.”[64] In 1899, Munch began an intimate relationship with Tulla Larsen, a “liberated” upper-class woman. They traveled to Italy together and upon returning, Munch began another fertile period in his art, which included landscapes and his final painting in “The Frieze of Life” series, The Dance of Life (1899).[66] Larsen was eager for marriage, and Munch begged off. His drinking and poor health reinforced his fears, as he wrote in the third person: “Ever since he was a child he had hated marriage. His sick and nervous home had given him the feeling that he had no right to get married.”[67] Munch almost gave in to Tulla, but fled from her in 1900, also turning away from her considerable fortune, and moved to Berlin.[67] His Girls on the Jetty, created in eighteen different versions, demonstrated the theme of feminine youth without negative connotations.[59] In 1902, he displayed his works thematically at the hall of the Berlin Secession, producing “a symphonic effect—it made a great stir—a lot of antagonism—and a lot of approval.”[68] The Berlin critics were beginning to appreciate Munch’s work even though the public still found his work alien and strange.
The good press coverage gained Munch the attention of influential patrons Albert Kollman and Max Linde. He described the turn of events in his diary, “After twenty years of struggle and misery forces of good finally come to my aid in Germany—and a bright door opens up for me.”[69] However, despite this positive change, Munch’s self-destructive and erratic behavior involved him first with a violent quarrel with another artist, then with an accidental shooting in the presence of Tulla Larsen, who had returned for a brief reconciliation, which injured two of his fingers. Munch later sawed a self-portrait depicting him and Larsen in half as a consequence of the shooting and subsequent events.[70] She finally left him and married a younger colleague of Munch. Munch took this as a betrayal, and he dwelled on the humiliation for some time to come, channeling some of the bitterness into new paintings.[71] His paintings Still Life (The Murderess) and The Death of Marat I, done in 1906–07, clearly reference the shooting incident and the emotional after effects.[72]
In 1903–04, Munch exhibited in Paris where the coming Fauvists, famous for their boldly false colors, likely saw his works and might have found inspiration in them. When the Fauves held their own exhibit in 1906, Munch was invited and displayed his works with theirs.[73] After studying the sculpture of Rodin, Munch may have experimented with plasticine as an aid to design, but he produced little sculpture.[74] During this time, Munch received many commissions for portraits and prints which improved his usually precarious financial condition.[75] In 1906, he painted the screen for an Ibsen play in the small Kammerspiele Theatre located in Berlin’s Deutsches Theater, in which the Frieze of Life was hung. The theatre’s director Max Reinhardt later sold it; it is now in the Berlin Nationalgalerie.[76] After an earlier period of landscapes, in 1907 he turned his attention again to human figures and situations.[77]
In the autumn of 1908, Munch’s anxiety, compounded by excessive drinking and brawling, had become acute. As he later wrote, “My condition was verging on madness—it was touch and go.”[78] Subject to hallucinations and feelings of persecution, he entered the clinic of Daniel Jacobson. The therapy Munch received for the next eight months included diet and “electrification” (a treatment then fashionable for nervous conditions, not to be confused with electroconvulsive therapy).[79] Munch’s stay in hospital stabilized his personality, and after returning to Norway in 1909, his work became more colorful and less pessimistic. Further brightening his mood, the general public of Kristiania finally warmed to his work, and museums began to purchase his paintings. He was made a Knight of the Royal Order of St. Olav “for services in art”.[80] His first American exhibit was in 1912 in New York.[81]
As part of his recovery, Dr. Jacobson advised Munch to only socialize with good friends and avoid drinking in public. Munch followed this advice and in the process produced several full-length portraits of high quality of friends and patrons—honest portrayals devoid of flattery.[82] He also created landscapes and scenes of people at work and play, using a new optimistic style—broad, loose brushstrokes of vibrant color with frequent use of white space and rare use of black—with only occasional references to his morbid themes. With more income, Munch was able to buy several properties giving him new vistas for his art and he was finally able to provide for his family.[83]
The outbreak of World War I found Munch with divided loyalties, as he stated, “All my friends are German but it is France that I love.”[84] In the 1930s, his German patrons, many Jewish, lost their fortunes and some their lives during the rise of the Nazi movement.[85] Munch found Norwegian printers to substitute for the Germans who had been printing his graphic work.[86] Given his poor health history, during 1918 Munch felt himself lucky to have survived a bout of the Spanish flu, the worldwide pandemic of that year.[87]
Munch spent most of his last two decades in solitude at his nearly self-sufficient estate in Ekely, at Skøyen, Oslo.[88] Many of his late paintings celebrate farm life, including several in which he used his work horse “Rousseau” as a model.[89] Without any effort, Munch attracted a steady stream of female models, whom he painted as the subjects of numerous nude paintings. He likely had sexual relationships with some of them.[90] Munch occasionally left his home to paint murals on commission, including those done for the Freia chocolate factory.[91]
To the end of his life, Munch continued to paint unsparing self-portraits, adding to his self-searching cycle of his life and his unflinching series of takes on his emotional and physical states. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Nazis labeled Munch’s work “degenerate art” (along with that of Picasso, Klee, Matisse, Gauguin and many other modern artists) and removed his 82 works from German museums.[92]Adolf Hitler announced in 1937, “For all we care, those prehistoric Stone Age culture barbarians and art-stutterers can return to the caves of their ancestors and there can apply their primitive international scratching.”[93]
In 1940, the Germans invaded Norway and the Nazi party took over the government. Munch was 76 years old. With nearly an entire collection of his art in the second floor of his house, Munch lived in fear of a Nazi confiscation. Seventy-one of the paintings previously taken by the Nazis had been returned to Norway through purchase by collectors (the other eleven were never recovered), including The Scream and The Sick Child, and they too were hidden from the Nazis.[94]
Munch died in his house at Ekely near Oslo on 23 January 1944, about a month after his 80th birthday. His Nazi-orchestrated funeral suggested to Norwegians that he was a Nazi sympathizer, a kind of appropriation of the independent artist.[95] The city of Oslo bought the Ekely estate from Munch’s heirs in 1946; his house was demolished in May 1960.[96]
When Munch died, his remaining works were bequeathed to the city of Oslo, which built the Munch Museum at Tøyen (it opened in 1963). The museum holds a collection of approximately 1,100 paintings, 4,500 drawings, and 18,000 prints, the broadest collection of his works in the world.[98] The Munch Museum serves as Munch’s official estate,[98] and has been active in responding to copyright infringements, as well as clearing copyright for the work, such as the appearance of Munch’s The Scream in a 2006 M&M’s advertising campaign.[99] The U.S. copyright representative for the Munch Museum and the Estate of Edvard Munch is the Artists Rights Society.[100]
Munch’s art was highly personalized and he did little teaching. His “private” symbolism was far more personal than that of other Symbolist painters such as Gustave Moreau and James Ensor. Munch was still highly influential, particularly with the German Expressionists, who followed his philosophy, “I do not believe in the art which is not the compulsive result of Man’s urge to open his heart.”[47] Many of his paintings, including The Scream, have universal appeal in addition to their highly personal meaning.
Munch’s works are now represented in numerous major museums and galleries in Norway and abroad. His cabin, “the Happy House”, was given to the municipality of Åsgårdstrand in 1944; it serves as a small Munch Museum. The inventory has been maintained exactly as he left it.
One version of The Scream was stolen from the National Gallery in 1994. In 2004, another version of The Scream, along with one of Madonna, was stolen from the Munch Museum in a daring daylight robbery. All were eventually recovered, but the paintings stolen in the 2004 robbery were extensively damaged. They have been meticulously restored and are on display again. Three Munch works were stolen from the Hotel Refsnes Gods in 2005; they were shortly recovered, although one of the works was damaged during the robbery.[101]
In October 2006, the color woodcutTwo people. The lonely (To mennesker. De ensomme) set a new record for his prints when it was sold at an auction in Oslo for 8.1 million kroner (US$1.27 million). It also set a record for the highest price paid in auction in Norway.[102] On 3 November 2008, the painting Vampire set a new record for his paintings when it was sold for US$38,162,000 at Sotheby’s New York.
Munch’s image appears on the Norwegian 1,000-kroner note, along with pictures inspired by his artwork.[103]
In 2013, four of Munch’s paintings were depicted in a series of stamps by the Norwegian postal service, to commemorate in 2014 the 150th anniversary of his birth.[107]
On 14 November 2016 a version of Munch’s The Girls on the Bridge sold for US$54.5 million at Sotheby’s, New York, making it the second highest price achieved for one of his paintings.[108]
In April 2019, the British Museum is hosting a new exhibition, Edvard Munch: Love and Angst, which will comprise 83 artworks and include a rare original print of The Scream.[109]
The Aula featuring History (left), The Sun (front), Alma Mater (right), smaller paintings on corners
In 1911 the final competition for the decoration of the large walls of the University of Oslo Aula (assembly hall) was held between Munch and Emanuel Vigeland. The episode is known as the “Aula controversy”. In 1914 Munch was finally commissioned to decorate the Aula and the work was completed in 1916. This major work in Norwegian monumental painting includes 11 paintings covering 223 m2 (2,400 sq ft). The Sun, History and Alma Mater are the key works in this sequence. Munch declared: “I wanted the decorations to form a complete and independent world of ideas, and I wanted their visual expression to be both distinctively Norwegian and universally human.” In 2014 it was suggested that the Aula paintings have a value of at least 500 million kroner.[110][111]
On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto _________________ Below you have picture of 1996 Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner […]
The Beatles were “inspired by the musique concrète of German composer and early electronic music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen…” as SCOTT THILL has asserted. Francis Schaeffer noted that ideas of “Non-resolution” and “Fragmentation” came down German and French streams with the influence of Beethoven’s last Quartets and then the influence of Debussy and later Schoenberg’s non-resolution which is in total contrast […]
_______ On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto _________________ Below you have picture of 1996 Chemistry Nobel Prize […]
On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto ____________________ Below you have picture of 1996 Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner Dr. […]
9 Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns. 2 She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. 3 She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. 4 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, 5 “Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. 6 Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”
7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. 8 So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
11 Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. 12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
Folly Calls for a Hearing
13 The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it. 14 She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. 15 She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business. 16 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, 17 “Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!” 18 But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.[a]
Why do some children adore their fathers and others hate them? What makes the difference? Sometimes children are caught up in the mistakes and mindset of fathers who won’t do what they should to guide them into a safe, secure haven. The fathers’ own pride and arrogance make shipwreck both of their own lives and their children’s. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The Proverbs instruct us in wisdom, judgment, and equity. A wise person will listen, and learn. Wisdom cries out in the streets (See Proverbs 1:20-22.), asking how long the simple (immature) will remain gullible, scorners mock, and fools hate knowledge?
A child isn’t born a scoffer or a fool. A long road leads to the evolution of a fool.
Children need your guidance and protection.
They’re easily molded.
Children’s minds and hearts are naïve, innocent, easily shaped.
They lack understanding.
A child must be guided from innocence into wisdom and maturity.
They can be quickly led into error.
Because of their innocence, they’ll believe anything. They can be tricked and misled; they’re living in constant danger. (See Proverbs 13:15; 22:3.)
Older children need godly correction.
Little children aren’t scorners yet. But heads up, dads: if you don’t guide them, they’ll take the next step, becoming the scoffers, the smart-alecky kids, the teenage cynics, the mockers at the university.
They’ll defy instruction. (See Proverbs 1:22.)
Scorners will fire back. (See Proverbs 9:8.) They won’t listen. It’s like talking to a brick wall—they’ll tune you out.
They’ll despise what’s good and godly. (See Proverbs 15:12.)
Scoffers never ask you for help. When you try to correct them, they’ll look at you with scorn and hatred.
They’re on a track for destruction. (See Proverbs 13:13.)
If they laugh at the Word of God, they might laugh their way right into Hell.
But there’s hope; they can still be reclaimed.
Catch them before they self-destruct.
If not restrained by parents, a scorner becomes what the Bible designates “a fool”—immovable, rebellious, arrogant, and wicked.
A fool rejects wisdom. (See Proverbs 1:22,15:14.)
He ridicules righteousness. (See Proverbs 14:9.)
He rejects reproof. (See Proverbs 17:10.)
Don’t even try. He won’t hear you.
He rejoices in iniquity. (See Proverbs 15:21.)
His perverted moral sense calls good evil and evil good. His heart is hardened, his conscience is seared, and his mind is defiled.
Little children begin life innocent and open. But Dad, if they’re not rescued when they become scorners or smart alecks, they’ll become fools on a fast track to Hell.
America is in serious trouble. Secular humanists captured our public schools, making them their “Sunday School” for humanism, purging any vestige of Christianity. In light of this, how can you father a wise child, not a fool? With modern culture fighting you, you must gear up for this battle.
Seven ways to father wise children:
1. Expound truth.
Saturate them in Proverbs, the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes—basic truths. It’s your responsibility (See Deuteronomy 6:6-9.) to teach these to your children and grandchildren. Help them memorize. Get the Word into their hearts early.
The battle is for the mind. As the child thinks, so is he.
2.Expose sin.
Children need to see sin is exposed and consequences fall on the scorner. (See Proverbs 21:11.) Your child must see the repercussions of sin. (See Proverbs 19:25.)
3. Expel scorners.
Don’t let them hang around with scorners and fools. Children succumb to peer pressure. Help them select their friends. Open your house to good friends. Make your home the headquarters for fun. But if there’s a scorner, smart aleck, or fool, be firm. Say, “Son, there’s the sidewalk.” (See Proverbs 22:10.)
A verse for early memorization:
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20).
4. Express love.
Delight in your children! Don’t be negative. (See Proverbs 3:12.) Words can hurt. Learn to listen. Try to see life from their point of view. They’re facing things you never faced.
5. Be gentle.
The one characteristic I’ve seen in all dads whose children love and follow them is gentleness. They want a strong dad, but they want him to be gentle! Touch, hug, give them non-verbal affection.
6. Be transparent.
Let them know your fears, failures, joys and goals. They know you’re not perfect; they don’t want you to be a phony.
7. Be available.
Make it a priority: be available to your child.
If you feel inadequate—so do I. None of us has what it takes to be this kind of dad. That’s why we need Jesus.
We must have Christ in our hearts! The Christian life isn’t difficult, it’s impossible. Only one can do it, and that’s Jesus.
But He will do it, inus and through us, if we’ll let Him. The best thing you can do for your children is to love God will all your heart.
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Tagged Gene Bartow, John Wooden | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. It is tough to guard your […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. What does it mean to fear […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events, Uncategorized | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 6-8 | Solomon Turns Over a New Leaf Published on Oct 2, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 30, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 6-8 | Solomon Turns Over a New Leaf Published on Oct 2, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 30, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 4-6 | Solomon’s Dissatisfaction Published on Sep 24, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 23, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider ___________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. _______________________ Tom Brady ESPN Interview Tom Brady has famous wife earned over 76 million dollars last year. However, has Brady found lasting satifaction in his life? It does not […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers: How to Be a Child of a Happy Mother Published on Nov 13, 2012 Series: Fortifying Your Family (To read along turn on the annotations.) Adrian Rogers looks at the 5th commandment and the relationship of motherhood in the commandment to honor your father and mother, because the faith that doesn’t begin at home, […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers – How to Cultivate a Marriage Another great article from Adrian Rogers. Are fathers necessary? “Artificial insemination is the ideal method of producing a pregnancy, and a lesbian partner should have the same parenting rights accorded historically to biological fathers.” Quoted from the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, summer of 1995. […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net ________________ Obviously from the video clip above, Tom Brady has realized that even though he has won many Super Bowls […]
Episode 5 of After Life Season 3 begins with Tony and Lenny reflecting on how unfair life is. Specifically, how an old lady has been conned by a man posing as a salesman. Despite the “Made In Britain” tattoo across his forehead, this poor lady is none the wiser, admitting she had £500 saved up in her biscuit tin… which he’s stolen.
On the way back to the office from her house, Tony stops by a charity shop and picks up a chess set, intending to play with his “dad” at the care home. The thing is, it’s also Emma’s birthday, which surprises Tony when he finds out. Having not actually bought her anything, he decides to do the next best thing – and take her out for drinks.
Meanwhile, the meeting for the Tambury Fair continues. Things immediately take a turn for the worst when Ken admits he’s got James a gig on The Undateables. The thing is, he needs to pretend to be disabled to get it.
James obviously isn’t happy and makes his feelings felt, while Colleen quietly writes everything down. When Brian volunteers himself to be on the show, laughs ensue.
At the Tambury Gazette, Tony is encouraged to take out the life insurance money he’s been sitting on. Even if he doesn’t spend it, as long as he’s got it then the greedy insurance companies won’t have it, which is infinitely better.
June and Anne both give him some sound advice about this, encouraging him to find something that will help make him genuinely happy.
Tony heads out playing squash with Matt but things take a nasty turn when the latter clutches his chest in pain. Suspecting a heart attack, he’s rushed to hospital.
When he regains consciousness, Matt bemoans his bad luck and how he could have a weaker heart than Tony. The thing is, it all comes down to mindset and Tony can sense that Matt is keeping everything pent-up inside, which is doing him no favours.
Tony encourages him to stop worrying though. He also takes a dig at Matt’s sporting prowess. He even calls him a woman too, continuing the hilarious rapport between the two.
Tony eventually heads out for a drink with Emma. She breaks everything down, knowing that Tony is still in love with Lisa and things between them may not work out the way she wants. Tony admits he wants her to be happy, which only makes things easier for Emma to admit she bumped into an old flame earlier in the episode, Jack.
Tony encourages the pair to hook up; he wants her to be happy, which the pair toast to inside this quiet, depressing pub as the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
After Life returns with another chapter that echoes a more reflective state for all of our characters. James starts to question his life, and whether he’ll ever become an actor, while Tony tries to find his purpose post-Lisa. Of course, that’s easier said than done and it certainly leaves him in a difficult spot, unsure what to do with his life.
The subplots involving Brian and Pat has fallen flat this season though, while Coleen has disappeared into the shadows for much of this season, despite what looked to be a bright opening.
Kath however, has had a nice arc, while Tony’s closer bond with Matthew allows for a much more intimate and touching one to ones between the pair to ensue. This has arguably been one of the better parts of this third season so far.
Either way though, everything is set up nicely for a conclusive third season to bow things out on a high.
February 7, 2022 Ricky Gervais
London, W1F 0LE UK
Dear Ricky,
Ken: Now, we need a volunteer to stand in the stocks, and you get pelted with tomatoes and rotten eggs and stuff like that.
James. No. I’m not doing it.
Ken: It’s for charity.
James: Yeah, but anyone can do that. I’m a skilled performer.
Ken:Oh bless. Right, skilled performer, what are you gonna be, then? It’s gotta be something classic from hundreds of years ago. Uh… What about a hillock? Perfect.
James: What’s a hillock? It’s like an old-fashioned thing, isn’t it? I don’t know.
Ken: Like a little hill.
James: How can I be a hill?
Ken: Well, we lay you down, we cover you in mud and turf… Put some little flowers on. Put some little lovely flowers around you. It’ll look lovely. And then people will go by and go, “Oh, look, it’s a hillock!”
James: I’m not gonna be a [crappy] hillock!
Ken: Language!
James: No. No, no, I can’t believe that’s your idea for me! You’re supposed to be my agent. I know you can’t get me real work. I mean, that’s obviously out of the question. But to suggest that you cover me in mud in public? Unbelievable.
Ken: Sorry you had to hear that, everyone. He’s like a wild bull at the minute.
June: He’s… He’s constipated.
—
These ideas Ken has for James reminds me of Samuel Beckett’s plays!!! Especially the play BREATH!! The review of that play below notes:
Beckett wrote a play on the back of a postcard. Breathopens with a baby’s first cry and an inhaled breath. The lights come up on a stage littered with random junk. The breath and the light pause for five seconds, then the lights go down again, the breath exhales, and the play ends with another baby cry. The whole thing takes around 35 to 40 seconds.
Samuel Beckett wrote one of the shortest performed plays in the world on the back of a postcard. The first staging still managed to mess it up.
–
Oh! Calcutta! was an off-Broadway (and then on-Broadway) revue that saw huge popularity for at least two reasons: 1. it was playfully experimental and avant-garde, and 2. there was a lot of nudity and every sketch was about sex. The creator of the revue, Kenneth Tynan, asked Beckett to write a play for it, promising that his contribution would be anonymous.
Beckett wrote a play on the back of a postcard. Breathopens with a baby’s first cry and an inhaled breath. The lights come up on a stage littered with random junk. The breath and the light pause for five seconds, then the lights go down again, the breath exhales, and the play ends with another baby cry. The whole thing takes around 35 to 40 seconds.
Tynan was the first to put this play on the stage, as part of Oh! Calcutta! But in keeping with the titillating nature of the revue he included some nude figures amongst the random junk on the stage. Beckett, severely pissed off at this betrayal of his artistic vision, called Tynan a liar. I imagine that Beckett was also unhappy about the fact that when the script was published it wasn’t anonymous at all.
Anyway, Beckett withdrew his permission to use Breath in the revue, and it went on to get its own staging and also a filmed version by Damien Hirst. You can watch it below if you really want – at least it won’t take long.
Read Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. During this entire play two men carry on trivial conversation while waiting for a third man to arrive, who never does. Our lives are like that, Beckett is saying; we just kill time waiting—for what, we don’t know. In a tragic portrayal of man, Beckett wrote another play in which the curtain opens revealing a stage littered with junk. For thirty long seconds, the audience sits and stares in silence at that junk. Then the curtain closes. That’s all.
French existentialists Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus understood this, too. Sartre portrayed life in his play No Exit as hell—the final line of the play are the words of resignation, “Well, let’s get on with it.” Hence, Sartre writes elsewhere of the “nausea” of existence. Camus, too, saw life as absurd. At the end of his brief novel The Stranger, Camus’s hero discovers in a flash of insight that the universe has no meaning and there is no God to give it one.
Thus, if there is no God, then life itself becomes meaningless. Man and the universe are without ultimate significance.
No Ultimate Value Without Immortality and God
If life ends at the grave, then it makes no difference whether one has lived as a Stalin or as a saint. Since one’s destiny is ultimately unrelated to one’s behavior, you may as well just live as you please. As Dostoyevsky put it: “If there is no immortality then all things are permitted.” On this basis, a writer like Ayn Rand is absolutely correct to praise the virtues of selfishness. Live totally for self; no one holds you accountable! Indeed, it would be foolish to do anything else, for life is too short to jeopardize it by acting out of anything but pure self-interest. Sacrifice for another person would be stupid. Kai Nielsen, an atheist philosopher who attempts to defend the viability of ethics without God, in the end admits,
We have not been able to show that reason requires the moral point of view, or that all really rational persons, unhoodwinked by myth or ideology, need not be individual egoists or classical amoralists. Reason doesn’t decide here. The picture I have painted for you is not a pleasant one. Reflection on it depresses me . . . . Pure practical reason, even with a good knowledge of the facts, will not take you to morality. [1]
But the problem becomes even worse. For, regardless of immortality, if there is no God, then there can be no objective standards of right and wrong. All we are confronted with is, in Jean-Paul Sartre’s words, the bare, valueless fact of existence. Moral values are either just expressions of personal taste or the by-products of socio-biological evolution and conditioning. In a world without God, who is to say which values are right and which are wrong? Who is to judge that the values of Adolf Hitler are inferior to those of a saint? The concept of morality loses all meaning in a universe without God. As one contemporary atheistic ethicist points out, “to say that something is wrong because . . . it is forbidden by God, is . . . perfectly understandable to anyone who believes in a law-giving God. But to say that something is wrong . . . even though no God exists to forbid it, is not understandable. . . .” “The concept of moral obligation [is] unintelligible apart from the idea of God. The words remain but their meaning is gone.” [2] In a world without God, there can be no objective right and wrong, only our culturally and personally relative, subjective judgments. This means that it is impossible to condemn war, oppression, or crime as evil. Nor can one praise brotherhood, equality, and love as good. For in a universe without God, good and evil do not exist—there is only the bare valueless fact of existence, and there is no one to say you are right and I am wrong.
No Ultimate Purpose Without Immortality and God
If death stands with open arms at the end of life’s trail, then what is the goal of life? Is it all for nothing? Is there no reason for life? And what of the universe? Is it utterly pointless? If its destiny is a cold grave in the recesses of outer space the answer must be, yes—it is pointless. There is no goal no purpose for the universe. The litter of a dead universe will just go on expanding and expanding—forever.
And what of man? Is there no purpose at all for the human race? Or will it simply peter out someday lost in the oblivion of an indifferent universe? The English writer H. G. Wells foresaw such a prospect. In his novel The Time Machine Wells’s time traveler journeys far into the future to discover the destiny of man. All he finds is a dead earth, save for a few lichens and moss, orbiting a gigantic red sun. The only sounds are the rush of the wind and the gentle ripple of the sea. “Beyond these lifeless sounds,” writes Wells, “the world was silent. Silent? It would be hard to convey the stillness of it. All the sounds of man, the bleating of sheep, the cries of birds, the hum of insects, the stir that makes the background of our lives—all that was over.” [3] And so Wells’s time traveler returned. But to what?—to merely an earlier point on the purposeless rush toward oblivion. When as a non-Christian I first read Wells’s book, I thought, “No, no! It can’t end that way!” But if there is no God, it will end that way, like it or not. This is reality in a universe without God: there is no hope; there is no purpose.
What is true of mankind as a whole is true of each of us individually: we are here to no purpose. If there is no God, then our life is not qualitatively different from that of a dog. As the ancient writer of Ecclesiastes put it: “The fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All come from the dust and all return to the dust” (Eccles 3:19-20). In this book, which reads more like a piece of modern existentialist literature than a book of the Bible, the writer shows the futility of pleasure, wealth, education, political fame, and honor in a life doomed to end in death. His verdict? “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (1:2). If life ends at the grave, then we have no ultimate purpose for living.
But more than that: even if it did not end in death, without God life would still be without purpose. For man and the universe would then be simple accidents of chance, thrust into existence for no reason. Without God the universe is the result of a cosmic accident, a chance explosion. There is no reason for which it exists. As for man, he is a freak of nature— a blind product of matter plus time plus chance. Man is just a lump of slime that evolved rationality. As one philosopher has put it: “Human life is mounted upon a subhuman pedestal and must shift for itself alone in the heart of a silent and mindless universe.” [4]
What is true of the universe and of the human race is also true of us as individuals. If God does not exist, then you are just a miscarriage of nature, thrust into a purposeless universe to live a purposeless life.
So if God does not exist, that means that man and the universe exist to no purpose—since the end of everything is death—and that they came to be for no purpose, since they are only blind products of chance. In short, life is utterly without reason.
Do you understand the gravity of the alternatives before us? For if God exists, then there is hope for man. But if God does not exist, then all we are left with is despair. Do you understand why the question of God’s existence is so vital to man? As one writer has aptly put it, “If God is dead, then man is dead, too.”
Unfortunately, the mass of mankind do not realize this fact. They continue on as though nothing has changed. I’m reminded of Nietzsche’s story of the madman who in the early morning hours burst into the marketplace, lantern in hand, crying, “I seek God! I seek God!” Since many of those standing about did not believe in God, he provoked much laughter. “Did God get lost?” they taunted him. “Or is he hiding? Or maybe he has gone on a voyage or emigrated!” Thus they yelled and laughed. Then, writes Nietzsche, the madman turned in their midst and pierced them with his eyes
‘Whither is God?’ he cried, ‘I shall tell you. We have killed him—you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night and more night coming on all the while? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? . . . God is dead. . . . And we have killed him. How shall we, the murderers of all murderers, comfort ourselves? [5]
The crowd stared at the madman in silence and astonishment. At last he dashed his lantern to the ground. “I have come too early,” he said. “This tremendous event is still on its way—it has not yet reached the ears of man.” Men did not yet truly comprehend the consequences of what they had done in killing God. But Nietzsche predicted that someday people would realize the implications of their atheism; and this realization would usher in an age of nihilism—the destruction of all meaning and value in life.
Most people still do not reflect on the consequences of atheism and so, like the crowd in the marketplace, go unknowingly on their way. But when we realize, as did Nietzsche, what atheism implies, then his question presses hard upon us: how shall we, the murderers of all murderers, comfort ourselves?
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events |Tagged Bible Prophecy, john macarthur | Edit|Comments (0)
Prophecy–The Biblical Prophesy About Tyre.mp4 Uploaded by TruthIsLife7 on Dec 5, 2010 A short summary of the prophecy about Tyre and it’s precise fulfillment. Go to this link and watch the whole series for the amazing fulfillment from secular sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvt4mDZUefo________________ John MacArthur on the amazing fulfilled prophecy on Tyre and how it was fulfilled […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (1)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 2) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 1) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers – How you can be certain the Bible is the word of God Great article by Adrian Rogers. What evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God’s Word? I want to give you five reasons to affirm the Bible is the Word of God. First, I believe the Bible is the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (0)
Is there any evidence the Bible is true? Articles By PleaseConvinceMe Apologetics Radio The Old Testament is Filled with Fulfilled Prophecy Jim Wallace A Simple Litmus Test There are many ways to verify the reliability of scripture from both internal evidences of transmission and agreement, to external confirmation through archeology and science. But perhaps the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
Here is some very convincing evidence that points to the view that the Bible is historically accurate. Archaeological and External Evidence for the Bible Archeology consistently confirms the Bible! Archaeology and the Old Testament Ebla tablets—discovered in 1970s in Northern Syria. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | E
On Saturday April 18, 2020 at 6pm in London and noon in Arkansas, I had a chance to ask Ricky Gervais a question on his Twitter Live broadcast which was “Is Tony a Nihilist?” At the 20:51 mark Ricky answers my question. Below is the video:
—
—
Ricky Gervais 25/07/2021 Facebook Live at 28:29 mark Ricky answers my question about Sam Harris
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. John Raymond Smythies on January 28, 2019 in La Jolla, CA, and I wanted to spend time on several posts concentrating on him. I have several tributes, but the best I read can be found at this link.
______
CRAIG VENTER, JOHN SULSTON, FRANCIS COLLINS, HAMILTON SMITH AND JEAN WEISSENBACH
XXXXXXXXXXX
Francis Schaeffer above
Charles Darwin
Adrian Rogers
Hamilton Smith above, and Craig Venter with Smith below
__
July 6, 2017
John Raymond Smythies, Center for Brain and Cognition,
La Jolla, CA 92093-0109
Dear Dr. Smythies,
I recently enjoyed reading about several of your friends in the book A LIFE DECODED BY J. Craig Venter. Venter talks about those who were involved with the Wellcome Trust, the Sanger Centre, Celera Genomics and the National Institutes of Health because they all were involved in the Human Genome Project. Venter started off the book with a quote from someone you hold in high esteem.
We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with
all his noble qualities . . . still bears in his bodily frame the indelible
stamp of his lowly origin. —Charles Darwin
Did you know that Charles Darwin struggled his whole life attempting to get to a place where he was at peace with the idea that all this was a result of just time and chance, but he never was satisfied on that point.
Another person mentioned in that book is Ham Smith and I actually had the opportunity to correspond with him back in 1994 when I sent him a recorded message, and I have enclosed the letter Smith wrote back to me in 1994. Did you know that Ham Smith’s son is an evangelical? On the tenth anniversary of Francis Schaeffer’s passing, May 15, 1994, I sent out to several hundred prominent skeptics an evangelistic letter that told about Schaeffer’s life. This same letter included the audio recording entitled “Dust, Darwin, and Disbelief,” by Adrian Rogers and Bill Elliff. That recording started off with the song DUST IN THE WIND by the group KANSAS for the simple reason that if we accept that we are the result of chance then all we are is DUST IN THE WIND.
Let start off by quoting Francis Schaeffer from his talk In the spring of 1968 which centered on the Autobiography of Charles Darwin:
Darwin in his autobiography Darwin, Francis ed. 1892. Charles Darwin: his life told in an autobiographical chapter, and in a selected series of his published letters [abridged edition]. London: John Murray, and in his letters showed that all through his life he NEVER really came to a QUIETNESS concerning the possibility that chance really explained the situation of the biological world. You will find there is much material on this [from Darwin] extended over many many years that constantly he was wrestling with this problem. Darwin never came to a place of satisfaction. You have philosophically ONLY TWO possible beginnings. The first would be a PERSONAL beginning and the other would be an IMPERSONEL beginning plus time plus CHANCE. There is no other possible alternative except the alternative that everything comes out of nothing and that has to be a total nothing and that has to be a total nothing without mass, energy or motion existing. No one holds this last view because it is unthinkable. Darwin understood this and therefore until his death he was uncomfortable with the idea of CHANCE producing the biological variation.
Nevertheless you have EXPRESSED MY INWARD CONVICTION, though far more vividly and clearly than I could have done, that the Universe is NOT THE RESULT OF CHANCE.* But THEN with me the HORRID DOUBT ALWAYS ARISES whether the convictions of man’s mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy. Would any one trust in the convictions of a monkey’s mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind?
Francis Schaeffer comments:
Can you feel this man? He is in real agony. You can feel the whole of modern man in this tension with Darwin. My mind can’t accept that ultimate of chance, that the universe is a result of chance. He has said 3 or 4 times now that he can’t accept that it all happened by chance and then he will write someone else and say something different. How does he say this (about the mind of a monkey) and then put forth this grand theory? Wrong theory I feel but great just the same. Grand in the same way as when I look at many of the paintings today and I differ with their message but you must say the mark of the mannishness of man are one those paintings titanic-ally even though the message is wrong and this is the same with Darwin. But how can he say you can’t think, you come from a monkey’s mind, and you can’t trust a monkey’s mind, and you can’t trust a monkey’s conviction, so how can you trust me? Trust me here, but not there is what Darwin is saying. In other words it is very selective.
Evidently Darwin was telling his friends that he was an agnostic and that he did not think that God had anything to do with it but it was all left to the hands of chance. Is that the way you are reading this?
The answer to find meaning in life is found in putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible is true from cover to cover and can be trusted. The world is not a result of blind chance, but we all were put here for a purpose by God. If you want to investigate the evidence concerning the accuracy of the Bible then I suggest you read Psalms 22 which was written about a thousand years before the crucifixion events it described. Furthermore, when King David wrote those words the practice of stoning was the primary way of executing someone in Israel.
and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them.
Harry Kroto
Nick Gathergood, David-Birkett, Harry-Kroto
I have attempted to respond to all of Dr. Kroto’s friends arguments and I have posted my responses one per week for over a year now. Here are some of my earlier posts:
In the second video below in the 95th clip in this series are his words but today I just wanted to pause and look at this life.
Quote from Dr. John Raymond Smythies
I would like to describe how mescaline works. These hallucination drugs have a very specific action in two ways. Number 1 they produce fantastic visual hallucinations. These are described by the people who have them (most of them are down to earth scientists such as MacDonald Critchley) as being more beautiful than anything they have ever seen in normal art. Some of these people have the sort of experience as union with God, mystical experiences and so on.
50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God (Part 1)
Another 50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God (Part 2)
A Further 50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God (Part 3)
The John Lennon and the Beatles really were on a long search for meaning and fulfillment in their lives just like King Solomon did in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon looked into learning (1:12-18, 2:12-17), laughter, ladies, luxuries, and liquor (2:1-2, 8, 10, 11), and labor (2:4-6, 18-20). He fount that without God in the picture all […]
______________ George Harrison Swears & Insults Paul and Yoko Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds- The Beatles The Beatles: I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis Schaeffer spent a lot of time listening to the Beatles and talking […]
The Beatles in a press conference after their Return from the USA Uploaded on Nov 29, 2010 The Beatles in a press conference after their Return from the USA. The Beatles: I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis […]
__________________ Beatles 1966 Last interview I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis Schaeffer spent a lot of time listening to the Beatles and talking and writing about them and their impact on the culture of the 1960’s. In this […]
_______________ The Beatles documentary || A Long and Winding Road || Episode 5 (This video discusses Stg. Pepper’s creation I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis Schaeffer spent a lot of time listening to the Beatles and talking and writing about […]
_______________ Francis Schaeffer pictured below: _____________________ I have included the 27 minute episode THE AGE OF NONREASON by Francis Schaeffer. In that video Schaeffer noted, ” Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band…for a time it became the rallying cry for young people throughout the world. It expressed the essence of their lives, thoughts and their feelings.” How Should […]
Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1 ___________________________________ Today I will answer the simple question: IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE AN OPTIMISTIC SECULAR HUMANIST THAT DOES NOT BELIEVE IN GOD OR AN AFTERLIFE? This question has been around for a long time and you can go back to the 19th century and read this same […]
____________________________________ Francis Schaeffer pictured below: __________ Francis Schaeffer has written extensively on art and culture spanning the last 2000years and here are some posts I have done on this subject before : Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” , episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence”, episode 8 […]
Love and Death [Woody Allen] – What if there is no God? [PL] ___________ _______________ How Should We then Live Episode 7 small (Age of Nonreason) #02 How Should We Then Live? (Promo Clip) Dr. Francis Schaeffer 10 Worldview and Truth Two Minute Warning: How Then Should We Live?: Francis Schaeffer at 100 Francis Schaeffer […]
___________________________________ Francis Schaeffer pictured below: ____________________________ Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR Dr. Francis schaeffer – The flow of Materialism(from Part 4 of Whatever happened to human race?) Dr. Francis Schaeffer – The Biblical flow of Truth & History (intro) Francis Schaeffer – The Biblical Flow of History & Truth (1) Dr. Francis Schaeffer […]
World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes
After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix
—
episodes will be released on January 14th.
Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows
February 6, 2022
Ricky Gervais
London, W1F 0LE UK
Dear Ricky,
Tony: “Dr. Barnaby leaned back on his leather office chair, thoughtful. He was worried about a patient who had the worst brain tumor he had ever seen. There was a knock at the door. ‘Come in,’ said Dr. Barnaby. The door opened to reveal Nurse Cindy, the most attractive nurse in the hospital.” Obviously. “‘Oh sorry,’ she said. ‘The ladies changing rooms are out of order, so I wondered if I could change here, as you’re a doctor.’ ‘Of course,’ said Dr. Barnaby. ‘I’m a surgeon, so a naked female body isn’t the same as it would be to the average red-blooded male.’” I can’t read any more.
Valerie: Read it.
Tony: No, you read it.
Valerie: Oh God. “Nurse Cindy starts to slowly undress. She was sexy as hell, and she notices Dr. Barnaby looking at her differently than he would if he was operating on her.” ( laughs ) Valerie: “‘Do I look well, Doctor?’ ‘I’ll say,’ said Dr. Barnaby. ‘Think you’d better check my pulse, Nurse.’”
Francis Schaefer indicated Ecclesiastes is truly the book of modern man because modern humanist man’s philosophy has brought him to the nihilistic conclusion that all is vanity and meaninglessness. This appears to be the place that the atheist Tony Johnson has landed and many of the characters around Tony have come to pessimistic conclusions about life too, though they have searched for satisfaction and meaning in life by pursuing ladies, luxuries, learning, labor, liquor, and laughter.
In episode 2 of season 2 we learn that Lenny is a ladies man:
Sandy: You seem happy having a family. Lenny: Yeah with one woman.
Sandy: Were you a bit of a ladies man?
Lenny: Big time. Oh yeah. I was a late starter so I had a lot of catching up to do. I didn’t really start playing the field till my twenties.
Sandy: Oh, Okay. Lenny: I was quite shy in my teens. Wasn’t always this cool I guess.
Sandy: No?
Lenny: I used to be sort of odd looking. Tony: [Shoot] me!
Lenny: I don’t know but I remember the ugly duckling being quite inspirational. Tony: That is the one who is a weird little duckling and all the other ducks are taking a piss out of it and when it grows up it is not a duck at all, but a big 200 lb human slug that works in a local free newspaper?
Lenny: Yeah that is the one. Tony: Play the field $&@$ hell!
3,000 years King Solomon like Lenny thought the meaning of life was to be found in the pursuit of bedding the most ladies possible.
Ecclesiastes 2:8-10The Message (MSG)
I piled up silver and gold, loot from kings and kingdoms. I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song, and—most exquisite of all pleasures— voluptuous maidens for my bed.
9-10 Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What’s more, I kept a clear head through it all. Everything I wanted I took—I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task—my reward to myself for a hard day’s work!
1 Kings 11:1-3 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
Francis Schaeffer noted:
An expert but also the reason for his bitterness. Certainly there have been many men over the centuries who have daydreamed of Solomon’s wealth in this area [of women], but at the end it was sorrow, not only sorrow, but nothing and less than nothing. The simple fact is that one can not know woman in the real sense by pursuing 1000 women. It is not possible. Woman is not found this way. All that is left in this setting if one were to pursue the meaning of life in this direction is this most bitter word found in Ecclesiastes 7:28, “I have looked for other answers but have found none. I found one man in a thousand that I could respect, but not one woman.” (Good News Translation on verse 28) He was searching in the wrong way. He was searching for the answer to life in the limited circle of that which is beautiful in itself but not an answer finally in sexual life. More than that he finally tried to find it in variety and he didn’t even touch one woman at the end.
King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 2:11 sums up his search for meaning in the area of the Sexual Revolution with these words, “…behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
Francis Schaeffer observed concerning Solomon, “You can not know woman but knowing 1000 women.”
How about America’s most well known playboy the late Hugh Hefner? Schaeffer said that Hefner’s goal with the “playboy mentality is just to smash the puritanical ethnic.” About 30 years ago my pastor, Adrian Rogers of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee noticed an article where Hugh Hefner said he would be willing to trade all of his riches for the experience of just falling in love with one girl of his dreams and getting married. Rogers went on to say that the playboy lifestyle was bankrupt of lasting satisfaction and that God’s plan of marriage was best. In fact, the Book of Ecclesiastes shows that Solomon came to the conclusion that nothing in life gives true satisfaction without God including knowledge (1:16-18), ladies and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and great building projects (2:4-6, 18-20). You can only find a lasting meaning to your life by looking above the sun and bring God back into the picture. I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man can not hope to find a lasting meaning to his life in a closed system without bringing God back into the picture. This is the same exact case with Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Solomon’s experiment was a search for meaning to life “under the sun.” Then in last few words in the Book of Ecclesiastes he looks above the sun and brings God back into the picture: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Did Solomon really write the Book of Ecclesiastes and for that matter did anything in the Bible actually happen in history? Take a look at some evidence from Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop below.
TRUTH AND HISTORY (chapter 5 of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?, under footnote #94)
So the story goes on. We have stopped at only a few incidents in the sweep back to the year 1000 B.C. What we hope has emerged from this is a sense of the historical reliability of the Bible’s text. When the Bible refers to historical incidents, it is speaking about the same sort of “history” that historians examine elsewhere in other cultures and periods. This borne out by the fact that some of the incidents, some of the individuals, and some of the places have been confirmed by archaeological discoveries in the past hundred years has swept away the possibility of a naive skepticism about the Bible’s history. And what is particularly striking is that the tide has built up concerning the time before the year 1000 B.C. Our knowledge about the years 2500 B.C. to 1000 B.C. has vastly increased through discoveries sometimes of whole libraries and even of hitherto unknown people and languages.
There was a time, for example, when the Hittite people, referred to in the early parts of the Bible, were treated as fictitious by critical scholars. Then came the discoveries after 1906 at Boghaz Koi (Boghaz-koy) which not only gave us the certainty of their existence but stacks of details from their own archives!
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events |Tagged Bible Prophecy, john macarthur | Edit|Comments (0)
Prophecy–The Biblical Prophesy About Tyre.mp4 Uploaded by TruthIsLife7 on Dec 5, 2010 A short summary of the prophecy about Tyre and it’s precise fulfillment. Go to this link and watch the whole series for the amazing fulfillment from secular sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvt4mDZUefo________________ John MacArthur on the amazing fulfilled prophecy on Tyre and how it was fulfilled […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (1)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 2) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 1) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers – How you can be certain the Bible is the word of God Great article by Adrian Rogers. What evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God’s Word? I want to give you five reasons to affirm the Bible is the Word of God. First, I believe the Bible is the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (0)
Is there any evidence the Bible is true? Articles By PleaseConvinceMe Apologetics Radio The Old Testament is Filled with Fulfilled Prophecy Jim Wallace A Simple Litmus Test There are many ways to verify the reliability of scripture from both internal evidences of transmission and agreement, to external confirmation through archeology and science. But perhaps the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
Here is some very convincing evidence that points to the view that the Bible is historically accurate. Archaeological and External Evidence for the Bible Archeology consistently confirms the Bible! Archaeology and the Old Testament Ebla tablets—discovered in 1970s in Northern Syria. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | E
On Saturday April 18, 2020 at 6pm in London and noon in Arkansas, I had a chance to ask Ricky Gervais a question on his Twitter Live broadcast which was “Is Tony a Nihilist?” At the 20:51 mark Ricky answers my question. Below is the video:
—
—
Ricky Gervais 25/07/2021 Facebook Live at 28:29 mark Ricky answers my question about Sam Harris
World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes
After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix
—
episodes will be released on January 14th.
Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows
January 5, 2022 Ricky Gervais
London, W1F 0LE UK
Dear Ricky,
Lisa and Tony enjoyed their time together and had lots of laughs!
Lisa: Thoughts?
Tony: Best snowman ever!
Lisa: Snowperson!
Tony: Oh. Yeah.
Lisa: Yeah.
Tony: My bad. Could be either gender.
Lisa: Mm-hmm.
I wrote you a series of letters back in 2017 looking at the 6 areas that Solomon probed while trying to find the meaning to life and one of was LAUGHTER!!!
In the third episode in season 2 of AFTERLIFE Matt takes Tony to a comedy club with front row seats and this is what happens:
The comedian is getting huge laughs but Tony never laughs.
Comedian: You are a wonderful crowd. I am glad you are a wonderful crowd. I have had some bad news this week. Friend of mine actually committed suicide last week. He went upstairs and swallowed everything in the bathroom cabinet and choked on a tampon. (Crowd laughs heartily.) This guy in front row absolutely hated that joke. Cheer up mate! What is your name and what is your story?
Tony: My name is Tony. My wife died early this year with breast cancer and it broke me. Not a day goes by that I didn’t think of killing myself. I just don’t see any point in living.
Comedian: (Long pause of silence.) Umbrellas are weird aren’t they?…
Probing the area of LAUGHTER was one of Solomon’s first places to start. In Ecclesiastes 2:2 he starts this quest but he concludes it is not productive to be laughing the whole time and not considering the serious issues of life. “I said of laughter, “It is foolishness;” and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” (2:2). Then Solomon asserted the nihilistic statement in Ecclesiastes 2:17: “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
Ecclesiastes would appeal to because of the science in it!!! Did you know that EcclesiastesChapter 1 has some highly advanced scientific knowledge in it concerning hydrology? Take a look at a quote from John MacArthur’s sermon that can be seen on You Tube under the following title, “Biblical Inspiration Validated By Science, Part 2 (Selected Scriptures):”QUOTE FROM JOHN MACARTHUR:Christians believe that God is there and as Francis Schaeffer says…and He is not silent. He has spoken throughout His creation…Let us take some simple categories and look at them. First of all, hydrology…hydrology. This deals with the subject of water…of water, the waters of the earth. You can get all the way in to the seventeenth century, the sixteen hundreds, and you will find scientists puzzled about the source of water, talking about subterranean reservoirs where water is held down in the belly of the earth and comes up from there. But in the seventeenth century, scientists such as Edmé Mariotte, Pierre Perrault, and Edmond Halley, all three in the seventeenth century, opened up the modern understanding of hydrological motion, or the hydrological cycle, how there is only an original mass of water. It is always the same, it always has been the same, it always will be the same. This is the first law of thermodynamics. This same mass of water, this same cycle of the combination of H2O moves continually through a process of evaporation, transportation, precipitation and irrigation, and then run off back to start the process all over again. The Bible is absolutely accurate in the way it presents the hydrological cycle. Listen to the language of Isaiah 55 and verse 10. “For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout and furnish seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be which goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I said it.” Now the point of that statement by the prophet is to show that the Word of God always accomplishes its purposes as God sends it forth. But the analogy, and the Bible isn’t a book trying to teach you science, but when it uses a scientific analogy it is an accurate one. It’s as the rain comes down from heaven and returns there but only after its watered the earth that you see the hydrological cycle.Ifyou turn with me for a moment to Ecclesiastes chapter 1, you find again a reference to this. In verse 6 it talks about how the sun rises, the sun sets, hastening to its place. It rises there again, blowing toward the south and turning toward the north. The wind continues swirling along. Talks about wind currents as well. And on its circular courses the wind returns, the wind runs in circles. This is before they knew the earth was a circle. But the wind is running the circle of the earth. You have in verse 7 hydrology, all the rivers flow into the sea yet the sea is not full, or the sea does not overflow. Why? Because when all the water flows into the sea, it evaporates back out of the sea up to the heavens where it is retained in the clouds and then deposited again on the earth and runs the same cycle again and again.In Job, perhaps the first book ever written, talking about the same time as the Pentateuch would be written, you have this in Job 36 verses 27 and 28, “For He draws up the drops of water, He draws them up, they distill rain from the midst which the clouds pour down. They drip upon man abundantly.” Now it’s starting to put together the rain and the snow come out of the sky, they come down, they irrigate the earth, they go into the rivers and the streams, they flow into the sea, the sea never overflows because the water is drawn up and distilled in the clouds. The clouds move over the land and they drip upon man abundantly and the cycle goes on. Psalm 135:7, “He causes the vapors to ascend to the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain.” There you have all of those elements of evaporation, transportation, precipitation, irrigation and run off and the cycle goes on again.And Scripture speaks about this not infrequently, but quite frequently. Just a couple of other passages that show this. The twenty-sixth chapter of Job verse 8, “He wraps up the waters in His clouds and the cloud does not burst under them.” God collects the evaporated water in the clouds and the clouds as…as thin as they are, as seemingly weak as they are…hold the water. They hold massive, massive amounts of water as we well know who have lived through severe storms when those clouds bring that water, collecting it off the sea as they go and bursting upon the land even to the degree of hurricanes and their horrific deluges.There is in Psalm 33:7, and I don’t want to go to every passage, I’ll skip a few. Psalm 33:7, “He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap.” This pictures the great ocean reservoir. “He lays up the deeps in storehouses.” God’s storehouse for the water is the deep, is the ocean. In Job 38:22 it says, “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow? Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?” That is to say, have you ever ascended into heaven and gone into a cloud?Water is an amazing thing. I was reading this week about a mole…m-o-l-e…. It is a collection of molecules and in one mole of water which is 18 grams of water, you have six-hundred-billion-trillion molecules. It is a staggering amount of material in one mole of water. And this massive amount of water moves in this continual cycle that God has designed and simply explained in Scripture not as a scientific explanation but almost in each case either to show the ignorance of man and the inability of man to ascend into the place where God dwells, or to use as an illustration of some spiritual truth.You can see that we evangelicals do actually have evidence to back up the claim that the Bible is both historically and scientifically accurate. Let me quote from Adrian Rogers who was my pastor when I was growing up at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1970’s and you can hear the whole
Adrian Rogers is pictured below and Francis Schaeffer above.
message on You Tube under the title, “Adrian Rogers: How You Can Be Certain the Bible Is the Word of God [#1725] (Audio).”QUOTE FROM ADRIAN ROGERS:Skeptics seem to think that the Bible is full of scientific errors. However, before an individual can make that assertion, they had better make sure they know both science and Scripture. You see, I have heard unbelievers state that the Bible is not a book of science, but a book of religion, which is basically true. It is not written to teach us about science, but to teach us about God. But the God of salvation and the God of creation are the same. Science doesn’t take God by surprise. A close look at Scripture reveals that it is scientifically accurate.Every now and then science may disagree with the Bible, but usually science just needs time to catch up. For example, in 1861 a French scientific academy printed a brochure offering 51 incontrovertible facts that proved the Bible in error. Today there is not a single reputable scientist who would support those supposed “facts,” because modern science has disproved them all!The ancients believed the earth was held up by Atlas, or resting on pillars, or even seated on the backs of elephants. But today we know the earth is suspended in space, a fact the Word of God records in Job 26:7: “He . . . hangeth the earth upon nothing.” God revealed the facts of cosmology long before man had any idea of the truth.For centuries man believed the earth was flat, but now we know the earth is a globe. The prophet Isaiah, writing 750 years before the birth of Christ, revealed that “God sitteth upon the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). The word translated here as “circle” was more commonly translated “sphere.” In other words, Isaiah explained that the earth was a globe centuries before science discovered it.WhenPtolemy charted the heavens, he counted 1026 stars in the sky. But with the invention of the telescope man discovered millions and millions of stars, something that Jeremiah 33:22 revealed nearly three thousand years ago: “The host of heaven cannot be numbered.” How did these men of God know the truth of science long before the rest of the world discovered it? They were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the truth. God’s Word is not filled with errors. It is filled with facts, even scientific facts.When the black plague was killing one quarter of Europe’s population in the fourteenth century, it was the church, not science, that helped overcome the dread disease. The leaders in the church noticed the instructions given by the Lord to Moses in Leviticus 13:46: “All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.” These early believers did not know microbiology or understand what germs were, but they could understand a clear teaching to quarantine someone who was sick. So they followed the Biblical dictum, quarantined those sick with the plague, and stopped it from spreading. The Bible had its science correct even before man discovered the truth! Don’t accept the charge that the Bible is filled with scientific errors. Modern science seems determined to explain God away, and refuses to acknowledge any evidence of the supernatural. But the science of Scripture is one reason to accept the Bible as God’s word.
— After Life Season 3 Ending Explained & Review —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows January 5, 2022Ricky Gervais London, W1F […]
— After Life season 3 review: Its greatest strength is also its biggest weakness “Let’s just carry on, and nothing changes.” Netflix By Abby Robinson 3 weeks ago 3.0 out of 5 star rating To say a fair bit has happened since the arrival of After Life’s second season back in April 2020 would be a […]
— Ricky Gervais & Tony Way Talk After Life Season 3, Male Friendship And Shooting Outrageous Scenes BY BOYD HILTON | POSTED ON21 01 2022 Ricky Gervais is one of the creative minds behind some of Britain’s most classic comedies – Extras, The Office, Derek, to name a few. With Netflix series After Life, he took on a topic altogether more vulnerable, […]
— In episode three, Ewen plays a fells who gets chucked out of an all-you-can-eat buffet for eating too much AfterLife Season 3 – All You Can Eat Scene {Keith from office} Ricky Gervais: “The people in ‘After Life’ aren’t freaks. Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp – they’re freaks!” As his melancholic Netflix drama draws to […]
— Kaths best moment from After Life season 3 ‘After Life’ season three review: Ricky Gervais’ humanist hit goes out on a high The final scene, moving and poignant, is among its creator’s greatest works ByJames McMahon14th January 2022 Facebook Twitter They don’t make television like After Life anymore. They don’t make them much like Ricky Gervais either. This, the third […]
— —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows January 28, 2022 Ricky Gervais London, W1F 0LEUK Dear Ricky, “JUST SOUNDS?” OR DO […]
— Tony and Kath care for each other but they love to argue too! NETFLIX Most Powerful Moment In After Life and great Review — — —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just […]
— — After Life season 3 review: Ricky Gervais’ show is a terrific closure to a story of grief and acceptance After Life season 3 review: The third iteration in this Ricky Gervais series about grief and loss serves as an emotion-laden, poignant closure to the story. – Written By Kshitij Rawat | New Delhi | January […]
— After Life 2 – Brian’s stand up performance David Earl plays Brian — —- —- —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy […]
— Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark (Official Music Vi… Why Is After Life So Popular? Afterlife Season 3 – “I wish I had a brick” —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes […]
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events |Tagged Bible Prophecy, john macarthur | Edit|Comments (0)
Prophecy–The Biblical Prophesy About Tyre.mp4 Uploaded by TruthIsLife7 on Dec 5, 2010 A short summary of the prophecy about Tyre and it’s precise fulfillment. Go to this link and watch the whole series for the amazing fulfillment from secular sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvt4mDZUefo________________ John MacArthur on the amazing fulfilled prophecy on Tyre and how it was fulfilled […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (1)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 2) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 1) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers – How you can be certain the Bible is the word of God Great article by Adrian Rogers. What evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God’s Word? I want to give you five reasons to affirm the Bible is the Word of God. First, I believe the Bible is the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (0)
Is there any evidence the Bible is true? Articles By PleaseConvinceMe Apologetics Radio The Old Testament is Filled with Fulfilled Prophecy Jim Wallace A Simple Litmus Test There are many ways to verify the reliability of scripture from both internal evidences of transmission and agreement, to external confirmation through archeology and science. But perhaps the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
Here is some very convincing evidence that points to the view that the Bible is historically accurate. Archaeological and External Evidence for the Bible Archeology consistently confirms the Bible! Archaeology and the Old Testament Ebla tablets—discovered in 1970s in Northern Syria. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | E
On Saturday April 18, 2020 at 6pm in London and noon in Arkansas, I had a chance to ask Ricky Gervais a question on his Twitter Live broadcast which was “Is Tony a Nihilist?” At the 20:51 mark Ricky answers my question. Below is the video:
—
—
Ricky Gervais 25/07/2021 Facebook Live at 28:29 mark Ricky answers my question about Sam Harris
To say a fair bit has happened since the arrival of After Life’s second season back in April 2020 would be a gross understatement, but in the third and final instalment of Ricky Gervais’ black comedy, time has largely stood still.
With the exception of a few mostly minor developments – we’ll spare you specifics to preserve your enjoyment and surprise – both Tony Johnson and the sleepy town of Tambury remain unchanged. There is a mention of coronavirus, but it has no impact on the story whatsoever, which left us wondering why Gervais felt the need to mention the pandemic at all. The less said about that, the better.
For many, that lack of substantial development, particularly between seasons 2 and 3, will be a comfort rather than a disappointment; in an age where uncertainty rules, knowing what to expect, with no threat of the rug being pulled out from under you, certainly has its merits. But we were left wanting more, and those who previously argued that After Life should have been a limited series will likely double down on that assertion.
The narrative’s fixed status stems from Tony who, unsurprisingly, remains utterly bereft following the death of his wife. As in the first two seasons, he continues to spend much of his time sinking bottles of wine while watching old videos of Lisa (Kerry Godliman) during her illness and in happier times, before the gloom descended.
It’s an authentic depiction of grief and is undoubtedly the show’s most laudable trait, with Gervais delivering a solid performance as a man who is existing, but not living. Godliman’s performance feeds into that yet again, conveying Lisa’s vibrant, warm and generous spirit in the scattering of moments in which she appears. You only have to spend a second in her company to understand why Tony cannot envisage a world without her.
But that central component of the show, which is so well executed, is also where it stumbles.
Netflix
Grief adopts many different forms. Some seek out fresh distractions, tearing down their home in a bid to begin anew, aesthetically at least, or head out on a thousand-mile solo hike to cleanse the mind and gain some perspective. Tony, by contrast, sinks into a state of inertia.
If it wasn’t for his friends and colleagues’ pleas for him to honour Lisa’s life by living his own – and the imploring gaze of his German Shepherd Brandy – he would remain glued to his sofa permanently, with videos of Lisa on a never-ending loop. But having sat through two seasons of that previously, this latest chapter feels intensely familiar to the point of tedium.
Even with the shift in Tony’s worldview that occurs in the finale, that acute sadness and gargantuan sense of loss remains ever present, and further emphasises why TV shows about grief are few and far between. It’s a tricky theme to navigate in a single season, let alone three, and while Gervais succeeded in making it bearable, even entertaining, in After Life’s premiere, it has stalled here.
“I don’t know why we can’t just carry on like this?” Tony says to Emma (Ashley Jensen) in season 2. “Let’s just carry on, you know, and nothing changes. Groundhog Day.”
After Life doesn’t quite adhere to that, but it’s not far off.
Netflix
And yet, what Gervais has served up tracks because it mirrors the reality of adjusting to a life that has had the heart ripped out of it. His world, once technicolour, has dimmed as he is unable to comprehend a future without the person he loves most in the world.
The very act of mourning is heavy and monotonous, and Gervais refuses to sugarcoat that, instead leaning into its permanence. As a result, After Life has become something of an endurance test, and even Penelope Wilton (Anne) isn’t able to lift us with her character’s more hopeful dialogue
But, that being said, it’s a given that the swathes of people who have followed the series from the very beginning (100 million households, according to Netflix) will relish the show’s final chapter. They are simply happy to spend time in that bubble, enjoying the many faces and their respective idiosyncrasies.
Looking ahead, Gervais is working on a new project for Netflix, although he told RadioTimes.com that if he had wanted to make a fourth season, the streamer would have left him to it. But he’s chosen to move on, which is undoubtedly the right move. It is unclear where this story could possibly go next without retreading the same ground.
But while we’re ready to wave goodbye to Tony, there will be millions who will mourn his departure from their lives. Gervais has his critics, but that’s an unarguably impressive legacy.
—-
—-
—
World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes
After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix
—
episodes will be released on January 14th.
Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows
February 4, 2022
Ricky Gervais
London, W1F 0LE UK
Dear Ricky,
Emma: It’s nice out there again today, isn’t it? Maybe get you outside for a wee walk.
Tony: Sorry about last night. Obviously nothing to do with you. I just… I can’t stand people interfering. Sure. It was all so forced and in public and…
Emma: Do you fancy a drink tonight, then?
Tony: Just… Just us? No.
Emma: Really?
Tony: Joking. Of course I fancy a drink.
Emma: Where do you wanna go?
Tony: Nowhere. I drink on the couch.
Emma: Okay. Maybe I can come and sit on a couch nearby. Yep. Got any gin?
Tony: Got everything.
Emma: Tonic?
Tony: I meant everything alcoholic
In episode 2 of the second season of AFTER LIFE is the following discussion:
Tony: Sorrow about the thing with the meditation. He knows it was not your fault because he was being an annoying prick. Matt: Listen Tony had you been drinking before that? Tony: No. I had little one after to calm down. Matt: I imagine that was his fault to?
Tony: Not just his fault because most things are a good excuse for a drink. I have always got drunk, but I used to drink because I was happy and that was alright but now I drink when I am sad and that is not so good is it? It happens more often and a little earlier. Matt: Just stop then. Tony: Brilliant. Matt: I am serious. If you have a problem you should go to AA or rehab. Tony: Why?
Matt: To get better. Tony: Drinking is not my illness. Matt: It is bad for you. Tony: Everything is bad for you. We are all dying. Being healthy is just dying more slowly. Matt: Okay so you will live longer. Tony: Yeah but why? Matt: What do you mean “Why?” So you can do more of the things you enjoy. Tony: I enjoy a drink.All drunks hurt themselves but the trick is to be a good drunk and not hurt other people.
Matt: Look at that Tony you calling yourself a drunk.
Tony: Only half the time. Whatever you want to label it. I drink in times of trouble. I can’t help it the world is filled with trouble. It is a horrible place. Everyone is screwed up in someway. Everyone has worries like money or health or famine, war. We are chimps with brains the size of planets. No wonder we get drunk and try to kill each other. It is mental.
Matt: Always good to talk.
Tony: I was just explaining my new plan is to drink myself to death till I eventually implode in on my own evolution.
In season 1 as Julian Kane and Tony drink alcohol and do heroine together the song INTO MY ARMS by Nick Cave plays in the background with these words:
I don’t believe in an interventionist God But I know, darling, that you do But if I did, I would kneel down and ask Him Not to intervene when it came to you Oh, not to touch a hair on your head Leave you as you are If he felt he had to direct you Then direct you into my armsInto my arms, oh Lord
Nick Cave makes his theological views very clear at the beginning of this song and it is why I think it describes well Tony’s humanist outlook on life. Solomon is seeking in Ecclesiastes answers between birth and death in life UNDER THE SUN without God in the picture.
Again Ricky Gervais has done a great job of placing the great songs at the perfect places in the episodes. Both Tony and Julian have lost their soulmates and they want to numb their pain with wine and drugs. Solomon in Ecclesiastes looks for love UNDER THE SUN (without God) in the picture and he never finds his soulmate after bedding 1,000 women. Solomon at this point also turns to stimulate his body with wine.
Francis Schaeffer discusses the views of Solomon on drinking:
In Ecclesiastes 1:8 he drives this home when he states, “All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. THE EYE IS NOT SATISFIED WITH SEEING. NOR IS THE EAR FILLED WITH HEARING.” Solomon is stating here the fact that there is no final satisfaction because you don’t get to the end of the thing.
What do you do and the answer is to get drunk and this was not thought of in the RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KAHAYYAM:
Ecclesiastes 2:1-3
I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with winewhile my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaventhe few years of their lives.
Earlier in this post I asserted:
Ecclesiastes is truly the book of modern man because modern man’s philosophy has brought him to the nihilistic conclusion that all is vanity and meaninglessness. This appears to be the place that the atheist Tony Johnson has landed and many of the characters around him.
This is the reason so many of them have tried to drown themselves in the bottle or kill themselves with drugs and that is because they haven’t found a lasting meaning for their lives. It sounded crazy when Ricky wrote the lines for Tony “Everything is bad for you. We are all dying. Being healthy is just dying more slowly.” However, from a secular point of view without an afterlife, these words are totally logical. Check out I Corinthians chapter 15 and see where the apostle Paul says this very thing!!
I did read something that Ricky said on a taboo subject that troubled me:
By Cole Moreton For Event Magazine22:01 16 Feb 2019, updated 00:30 18 Feb 2019
He won’t mind being challenged about his desire to shock, but then how could he? His character Tony also gives money to his drug supplier in After Life, knowing it will be used for his suicide.
‘I think that’s the much more contentious bit,’ says Gervais. ‘I am in favour of assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.’
Episode #4 Tony meets up with his acquaintance from work Julian who is a heroine addict and while doing drugs together this conversation happens:
Tony: This must be a habit. You know I know how you feel.
Julian: Every minute of every day that I have my wits all I can think about is getting some [drugs] before I become too conscious…I am already dead inside. I am still in the worst kind of pain.
Tony: I still can not believe we have so much in common.
Julian: We don’t have anything in common!
Tony: Why do you say that?
Julian: The big difference is you haven’t given up yet, have you? Me I would quite happily die right now. If I had enough money I would take as much drugs as I possibly could.
Tony gives Julian lots of money and says “Don’t waste it on food.”
The last scene of episode 5 is Julian injecting an overdose of heroine into his arm and then dying as the song “Youth” by the musical group DAUGHTER sings the words:
Shadows settle on the place, that you left Our minds are troubled by the emptiness Destroy the middle, it’s a waste of time From the perfect start to the finish lineAnd if you’re still breathing, you’re the lucky ones ‘Cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs Setting fire to our insides for fun
Then in episode 5 there is discussion between Tony and brother-in-law Matt when Tony admits at first that he helped Julian get the overdose on purpose but then he backtracks when Matt threatens to keep Tony’s ten year old nephew from seeing him again:
Tony: Julian was a heroine addict. That is what he did and it was what he wanted.
Matt: Tell me that you didn’t know that he was gonna kill himself or I am not gonna let you see George again.
Tony: I didn’t know. Obviously not.
Matt: Okay you didn’t know.
Tim Plester was born on September 10, 1970 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. He is an actor and director, known for After Life (2019), Game of Thrones (2011) and Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).
—
Ricky may say ‘I am in favour of assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.’ but I don’t think he really means it is okay to help someone commit suicide when in the case of Julian he could have been helped to overcome his addiction and live a long life! In fact, Tony’s conscience causes him to lie to Matt because he knows Matt was right!!!
— After Life Season 3 Ending Explained & Review —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows January 5, 2022Ricky Gervais London, W1F […]
— After Life season 3 review: Its greatest strength is also its biggest weakness “Let’s just carry on, and nothing changes.” Netflix By Abby Robinson 3 weeks ago 3.0 out of 5 star rating To say a fair bit has happened since the arrival of After Life’s second season back in April 2020 would be a […]
— Ricky Gervais & Tony Way Talk After Life Season 3, Male Friendship And Shooting Outrageous Scenes BY BOYD HILTON | POSTED ON21 01 2022 Ricky Gervais is one of the creative minds behind some of Britain’s most classic comedies – Extras, The Office, Derek, to name a few. With Netflix series After Life, he took on a topic altogether more vulnerable, […]
— In episode three, Ewen plays a fells who gets chucked out of an all-you-can-eat buffet for eating too much AfterLife Season 3 – All You Can Eat Scene {Keith from office} Ricky Gervais: “The people in ‘After Life’ aren’t freaks. Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp – they’re freaks!” As his melancholic Netflix drama draws to […]
— Kaths best moment from After Life season 3 ‘After Life’ season three review: Ricky Gervais’ humanist hit goes out on a high The final scene, moving and poignant, is among its creator’s greatest works ByJames McMahon14th January 2022 Facebook Twitter They don’t make television like After Life anymore. They don’t make them much like Ricky Gervais either. This, the third […]
— —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows January 28, 2022 Ricky Gervais London, W1F 0LEUK Dear Ricky, “JUST SOUNDS?” OR DO […]
— Tony and Kath care for each other but they love to argue too! NETFLIX Most Powerful Moment In After Life and great Review — — —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just […]
— — After Life season 3 review: Ricky Gervais’ show is a terrific closure to a story of grief and acceptance After Life season 3 review: The third iteration in this Ricky Gervais series about grief and loss serves as an emotion-laden, poignant closure to the story. – Written By Kshitij Rawat | New Delhi | January […]
— After Life 2 – Brian’s stand up performance David Earl plays Brian — —- —- —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes will be released on January 14th. Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy […]
— Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark (Official Music Vi… Why Is After Life So Popular? Afterlife Season 3 – “I wish I had a brick” —- — World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix — episodes […]
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events |Tagged Bible Prophecy, john macarthur | Edit|Comments (0)
Prophecy–The Biblical Prophesy About Tyre.mp4 Uploaded by TruthIsLife7 on Dec 5, 2010 A short summary of the prophecy about Tyre and it’s precise fulfillment. Go to this link and watch the whole series for the amazing fulfillment from secular sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvt4mDZUefo________________ John MacArthur on the amazing fulfilled prophecy on Tyre and how it was fulfilled […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (1)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 2) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 1) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers – How you can be certain the Bible is the word of God Great article by Adrian Rogers. What evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God’s Word? I want to give you five reasons to affirm the Bible is the Word of God. First, I believe the Bible is the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (0)
Is there any evidence the Bible is true? Articles By PleaseConvinceMe Apologetics Radio The Old Testament is Filled with Fulfilled Prophecy Jim Wallace A Simple Litmus Test There are many ways to verify the reliability of scripture from both internal evidences of transmission and agreement, to external confirmation through archeology and science. But perhaps the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
Here is some very convincing evidence that points to the view that the Bible is historically accurate. Archaeological and External Evidence for the Bible Archeology consistently confirms the Bible! Archaeology and the Old Testament Ebla tablets—discovered in 1970s in Northern Syria. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | E
On Saturday April 18, 2020 at 6pm in London and noon in Arkansas, I had a chance to ask Ricky Gervais a question on his Twitter Live broadcast which was “Is Tony a Nihilist?” At the 20:51 mark Ricky answers my question. Below is the video:
—
—
Ricky Gervais 25/07/2021 Facebook Live at 28:29 mark Ricky answers my question about Sam Harris
BY BEN MCQUAID JANUARY 20, 2022JANUARY 23, 2022 5 MINS READ
The third and final season of Ricky Gervais’ drama-comedy series After Life has been released on Netflix.
The show follows Tony (played by Gervais), who has suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts after the death of his wife Lisa. Although Tony is no longer suicidal, and is trying to be nice to others, he still struggles to care about life in a small town in England, where he works for a local newspaper.
These themes of grief and perseverance have touched fans all over the world, which has led to Netflix renewing the show for this third season, despite some controversies in recent years about Gervais.
I have been watching After Life since it first launched in 2019 and thought season one was a masterpiece. It had a real emotional compelling arc and great comedy. Tony’s outbursts in public were hilarious, especially when he gets annoyed at mundane things like someone eating crisps too loudly in a pub.
Whilst I enjoyed season two and it had many emotional moments, I felt it did not live up to the first series and lacked purpose – unlike the second season of Gervais’ show Extras and The Office, which I loved.
Season three, though still not as good as one, was far better than the second and a rewarding end for the show.
The main plot about Tony struggling to move on was done really well and I appreciate that it didn’t go the easy route and have him move on happily. Most of the sub-plots were also funny and did a good job of developing the characters; my favourite was probably Kath’s (played by Diane Morgan), which had many humorous and sad scenes.
Gervais continues to give an emotional performance and has many funny moments throughout. I was worried that they were going to take his character down a predictable route, but they avoided it and his arc seems appropriate. Ashley Jensen also does a really good job as the potential love-interest for Tony, and it was nice that she got more to do in this season. Kerry Godliman played Tony’s departed wife Lisa – I think she should get more credit for because if her profound performance didn’t work I don’t think the show would’ve been as effective.
Credit: Netflix
The supporting cast also gave good and often funny performances, such as Diane Morgan, Tony Way and Penelope Wilton, who were all standouts in an overall fantastic cast of actors.
Unfortunately, not all of the cast has returned for this season, including Mandeep Dhillon (who could not make it due to scheduling conflicts) and Roisin Conaty, whose character was not included. This was disappointing as their characters added more humanity to the show and their screen time seems to have been given to some characters that were not quite as engaging.
As for complaints, not all of the comedy lands and some jokes go on for a bit longer than they should. I think a reason why no season has been as funny as the first is because Tony is trying to be nice, which makes sense for his character development, but this means less awkward public outbursts, which made the first season very entertaining.
Thankfully, the final episode did a good job at wrapping every thread up in a satisfying way. The last scene has caused debate on Twitter, however Gervais has said that it shows simply that life goes on, which I think made for a powerful ending to the show.
Overall, I really enjoyed the final season of After Life. There are only 18 episodes of the whole show and they are fairly short, so if you’re looking for something funny, yet heartfelt, I would suggest giving this a go.
—-
—
World Exclusive: After Life Season 3: The First few Minutes
After Life | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix
—
episodes will be released on January 14th.
Just Three Things. Written for #Afterlife by Ricky Gervais and Andy Burrows
February 3, 2022
Ricky Gervais
London, W1F 0LE UK
Dear Ricky,
Penny: I thought it would be nice to document my 50th novel.
Tony: Fifty? Wow. How long have you been writing?
Penny: Oh, been writing all my life, dear. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Wrote my first published novel when I was 15 and I’ve written at least one a year ever since.
Tony: Wow. Who is your publisher?
Penny: Self-published, dear. I designed the cover and everything. It’s very professional. Not in a… Not in a money-making sense. I’ve actually lost money, but, you know, it’s a passion, isn’t it? Yep. I’ve got to leave something behind. I never married or had children or anything, so, you know…
Tony: How do you make your money though?
Penny: I’m a medium.
Tony: Right.
Penny: I read people’s auras or palms or crystal balls, tea leaves, anything. But this is my passion. Novels.
Tony: And they’re all about one person, are they?
Penny: Yes. Dr. Barnaby Love, MD. I combine medical drama with erotic fiction. “Dr. Barnaby Love, MD, in Two in a Deathbed.”
Tony: Why is it “Dr. Barnaby Love, MD, in Two in a Deathbed”?
Penny: Well, I always hoped it’d be picked up as a long-running series, like Columbo. But sadly not. Mm, my first choice, back in the day, was Roger Moore, but nowadays it would probably be someone like George Clooney. I mean, he’s played a doctor, hasn’t he? He’d know what he was doing. Probably knows more than me.
Tony: You haven’t had any medical training?
Penny: No.
Tony: How do you get the technical stuff right?
Penny: Eh, just pick things up. Sure. Would you like me to read a bit from my latest one?
Tony: Yeah.
Penny: Open Wide. Not that bit. That’s filth. Let’s have a look. Here’s a good bit. So Dr. Barnaby is, um, operating on someone that all the top surgeons in the world said could not be saved. But Dr. Barnaby disagrees. Okay. “Nurse Stacey mopped his brow.” “‘Is that better, Doctor?’” “Their eyes meet over the masks you have to wear in operating theaters.” “‘Please, call me Barnaby.’” “She blushes. ‘Okay, we’re going in!’” “He injects the medicine into the patient’s main artery.” “‘That should do the trick, ‘ said Barnaby. ‘Okay, stitch him up, Nurse.’” “‘Dinner later?’ ‘Ooh, yes, please, ‘ she said. ‘See you at 8.’” There.
Lenny: Does he live?
Penny: Who, dear?
Lenny: The patient.
Penny: Oh, I didn’t say. Didn’t bother with that.
Tony: I’m sure he’s fine if they got the medicine into the main artery.
Penny: Exactly.
Tony: I wonder why all the top surgeons around the world didn’t think of that.
Penny: Eh, Dr. Barnaby’s special, isn’t he? He’s best in the world. A randy bugger, too, which never hurts.
Tony: Good. Take a picture. Yep. Smile. Ooh. Great.
Penny: Will this be in next week’s paper, dear?
Tony: Yep.
Penny: Could you mention that I’m doing a live reading and book signing at the Tambury Fair?
Tony: Sure.
Penny: Oh, good. And do bring your wife along. It’s mostly for women.
Tony: I, uh… I don’t have a wife.
Penny: Oh, gay? Even better
Tony: . I’m not gay. Just… I, uh… I lost my wife. Oh, I’m sorry.
Penny: Would you like to contact her?
Tony: With all my heart.
Penny: Okay. Well…
Tony: No, I mean… I… I don’t… I don’t believe in all that. But… But thank you.
Penny: This is for you. —-
Today I want to start off talking about your life’s work and your accomplishments. Penny wanted to leave a legacy behind and so have you Ricky!!!
You have been tremendously blessed in your talents and your life work has brought you much in financial rewards and notoriety in your field. With that in mind in today’s letter I want to compare you to King Solomon and look at what both you and Solomon have accomplished in the area of LABOR (or his life’s work).
“You don’t need whatever religion gives you. Just be kind.”
Ricky Gervais is best known for his television comedies The Office and Extras, and for stand-up comedy, but he has also been a musician and worked in radio.
He is a philosophy graduate (London University), and after graduation worked at the University as entertainment manager for the Students Union, where he began developing the character of “Seedy Boss”, later to become David Brent in The Office.
His comedy is often controversial, and he has managed to offend a wide range of people, including the disabled, religious believers, and celebrities and film stars in his hosting of the Golden Globe Awards – but he has also managed to coax self-deprecating and very funny performances from stars who can take a joke against themselves such as Kate Winslet (in Extras) and Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter (in Small People).
He told Kirsty Young that he is an atheist during his 2007 interview for BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs (you can listen to his interview here), and later said that he had lost his faith at the age of eight. He has also said that he and his long-term partner chose not to marry because “there’s no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God”, and has defended his atheism in the Wall Street Journal. Interviewed by Elizabeth Day in The Observer in February 2013, he said:
“…I don’t believe there is a God but there’s nothing wrong with spirituality if that makes you a happier, nicer person. But religion is something else, it’s a way of controlling people. It’s no coincidence that the people in charge of religion aren’t the kindest or most forgiving. My point is that… you don’t need whatever religion gives you. Just be kind.”
As you know in these series of letters I am looking at the 6 L words that Solomon pursued in the Book of Ecclesiastes and today I am looking at LABOR (Solomon’s life work). Now that we have looked at some of your accomplishments, let us take a look at SOLOMON. I consider you a very successful man in your field and in that sense you are similar to SOLOMON, and by comparing you two I am in no way trying to belittle your accomplishments. However, I do want to point out some of SOLOMON’s own words of analysis concerning his legacy from Ecclesiastes (which is Richard Dawkins favorite book in the Bible).
SOLOMON was remembered for his WISDOM and his success with the LADIES, but he was also remembered for his LABOR (his life work). For Solomon that basically came down to the labor he commissioned in his building campaigns through out his kingdom plus the effort he put forth building his own palace and the temple in Jerusalem.
Below are the comments of Francis Schaeffer on SOLOMON and the Book of Ecclesiastes:
Leonardo da Vinci and Solomon both were universal men searching for the meaning in life. Solomon was searching for a meaning in the midst of the details of life.
Francis Schaeffer noted:
The classic work Leonardo da Vinci, published in Italy and translated in English in 1963, contained a section by Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944) on Leonardo’s thought-forms. He spells out the fact that Leonardo really grasped the problem of modern man. Leonardo anticipated where humanism would end:
(Giovanni Gentile pictured below)
GENTILE, Giovanni
From Galileo’s day on rigorous scientific method has limited itself consciously to what are called appearances or phenomenon as they later were to be termed of nature that is to the surface but Leonardo while looking to such an ideal of scientific knowledge can not be satisfied with the surface his keen unsleeping eye penetrates deeper and on observation the experience that is so greatly praised and exalted no longer serves him he intuits or invokes the inner life the secret soul setting in motion the great machine that he has taken apart and studied piece by piece, watching, and spying and scrutinizing by means of mathematics, mechanics, anatomy and every instrument that might enable him to follow the operations of nature step by step.
Hence the anguish and the innermost tragedy of this universal man divided between two irreconcilable worlds, hence the desperate life long labor of this implacable self torture whose marvelous work of gleaming of art spread from full hands day by day on paper, on canvas and on storied walls and of precise concepts and inspired researches which in many fields of scientific knowledge are pretentious anticipations of the future leaves in mind an infinite longing made up as it were of regret and sadness. It is the longing for a different Leonardo from the Leonardo that he was, one that could gathered himself up at each phase and remained closed himself off either altogether in his fantasy or altogether in his intelligence in order to taste the pure joy of divine creation (that’s not God’s creation but his own). It is anguished longing such as always welled up in Leonardo’s heart each time he put down his brush, his charcoal or his rod where he had to break off setting down his secret thoughts.
(Painting of Leonardo below)
What Gentille is putting forth here is that Leonardo was not satisfied with living in two worlds at once. He was not satisfied with being the modern man who would put his aspirations and his longing for unity and meaning in one compartment to be taken out and looked at when he can’t stand the pressure of the details. And Leonardo realized that these two things based on the beginning of man from himself would absolutely lead in this direction…Leonardo was looking for a meaning amidst the details of life.
His struggle was to find the MEANING OF LIFE. Not just plans in life. Anybody can find plans in life. A child can fill up his time with plans of building tomorrow’s sand castle when today’s has been washed away. There is a difference between finding plans in life and purpose in life. Humanism since the Renaissance and onward has never found it. Modern man has not found it and it has always got worse and darker in a very real way.
We have here the declaration of Solomon’s universality:
1 Kings 4:30-34
English Standard Version (ESV)
30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all other men…and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
_________________________
Here is the universal man and his genius. Solomon is the universal man with a empire at his disposal. Solomon had it all.
Ecclesiastes 1:3
English Standard Version (ESV)
3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
Solomon took a look at the meaning of life on the basis of human life standing alone between birth and death “under the sun.” After wisdom Solomon comes to the great WORKS of men. Ecclesiastes 1:14, “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is [p]vanity and striving after wind.” Solomon is the man with an empire at this disposal that speaks. This is the man who has the copper refineries in Ezion-geber. This is the man who made the stables across his empire. This is the man who built the temple in Jerusalem. This is the man who stands on the world trade routes. He is not a provincial. He knew what was happening on the Phonetician coast and he knew what was happening in Egypt. There is no doubt he already knew something of building. This is Solomon and he pursues the greatness of his own construction and his conclusion is VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT.
Ecclesiastes 2:18-20
18 Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. 20 Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.
He looked at the works of his hands, great and multiplied by his wealth and his position and he shrugged his shoulders.
Ecclesiastes 2:22-23
22 For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity.
Man can not rest and yet he is never done and yet the things which he builds will out live him. If one wants an ironical three phrases these are they. There is a Dutch saying, “The tailor makes many suits but one day he will make a suit that will outlast the tailor.”
———
Many have tried sexual exploits just like Solomon did, and many have thrown their efforts into business too. Sadly Solomon also found the pursuit of great works in his LABOR just as empty. In Ecclesiastes 2:11 he asserted, “THEN I CONSIDERED ALL THAT MY HANDS HAD DONE AND THE TOLL I HAD EXPENDED IN DOING IT, AND BEHOLD, ALL WAS VANITY AND A STRIVING AFTER WIND, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
Many people through history have reminded me of Solomon because they are looking for lasting meaning in their life and they are looking in the same 6 areas that King Solomon did in what I call the 6 big L words. He looked into learning (1:16-18), laughter, ladies, luxuries, and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and LABOR (2:4-6, 18-20).
Then in last few words in the Book of Ecclesiastes he looks above the sun and brings God back into the picture: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry King’s Show. One of two most popular posts I […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Current Events |Tagged Bible Prophecy, john macarthur | Edit|Comments (0)
Prophecy–The Biblical Prophesy About Tyre.mp4 Uploaded by TruthIsLife7 on Dec 5, 2010 A short summary of the prophecy about Tyre and it’s precise fulfillment. Go to this link and watch the whole series for the amazing fulfillment from secular sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvt4mDZUefo________________ John MacArthur on the amazing fulfilled prophecy on Tyre and how it was fulfilled […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (1)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 2) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
John MacArthur on the Bible and Science (Part 1) I have posted many of the sermons by John MacArthur. He is a great bible teacher and this sermon below is another great message. His series on the Book of Proverbs was outstanding too. I also have posted several of the visits MacArthur made to Larry […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
Adrian Rogers – How you can be certain the Bible is the word of God Great article by Adrian Rogers. What evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God’s Word? I want to give you five reasons to affirm the Bible is the Word of God. First, I believe the Bible is the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Biblical Archaeology | Edit|Comments (0)
Is there any evidence the Bible is true? Articles By PleaseConvinceMe Apologetics Radio The Old Testament is Filled with Fulfilled Prophecy Jim Wallace A Simple Litmus Test There are many ways to verify the reliability of scripture from both internal evidences of transmission and agreement, to external confirmation through archeology and science. But perhaps the […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology, Current Events | Edit|Comments (0)
I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Edit|Comments (0)
Here is some very convincing evidence that points to the view that the Bible is historically accurate. Archaeological and External Evidence for the Bible Archeology consistently confirms the Bible! Archaeology and the Old Testament Ebla tablets—discovered in 1970s in Northern Syria. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place […]By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | E
On Saturday April 18, 2020 at 6pm in London and noon in Arkansas, I had a chance to ask Ricky Gervais a question on his Twitter Live broadcast which was “Is Tony a Nihilist?” At the 20:51 mark Ricky answers my question. Below is the video:
—
—
Ricky Gervais 25/07/2021 Facebook Live at 28:29 mark Ricky answers my question about Sam Harris
_G0192-59_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
.jpg)
_-_Tate_Modern.jpg)
_(4857491003).jpg)
_(4858110206).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
The Daily Hatch 
.jpg){kind=link}