And now for some serious fun

14 Comments

1. WVC says:

   3 December 2020 at 3:38 PM

   Whether it’s true or not, the story of St. Nicholas grabbing Arius by the beard and punching him in the face is may all-time favorite story of the Church Fathers, followed very closely by St. Athanasius mocking the Arians at his fake trial by asking if God had started giving people three hands or not. Brilliant!

   Man, I wish we had bishops like that again!
2. iamlucky13 says:

   3 December 2020 at 4:29 PM

   I’m not sure St. Nicholas would approve of the Assassin’s Creed video games, but the wordplay and the art for this parody are superb.

   WVC – there is also a really good story about St. Louis de Montefort preaching in a church in Roussay, France, right next door to a very rowdy bar, filled with patrons annoyed at being able to overhear his sermon, and determined to try to drown him out. He made certain they were more respectful during future sermons in the town.
3. Joe in Canada says:

   3 December 2020 at 4:55 PM

   Ho ho homoousion!
4. Mario Bird says:

   3 December 2020 at 5:08 PM

   This Christmas…
   (Labarum Pictures)

   In a world recovering from upheaval…
   (Roman troops marching, fighting at Milvian Bridge, Constantine surveying cheering throngs in Rome)

   A spiritual enemy will awaken…
   EUSEBIUS: We have the favor of the Emperor, no doubt. And that is all we need.

   A deacon will rise…
   ATHANASIUS: The words of our Blessed Lord are that the Father and I are one…
   (groans, jeers, and cheers)

   Emperors will fall…
   CONSTANTINE: By the Eternal, I will accept no rebellion in my Empire!

   Jots will be fired…
   ARIUS: No reasonable man can accept anything other than homoiousios!

   Heretics will be punched…
   NICHOLAS: Who is like unto God?

   Gumby, you better cast this blockbuster. I favor Mel Gibson as Nicholas of Myra. And Brad Dourif as Arius.
5. Fallibilissimo says:

   3 December 2020 at 5:21 PM

   @Mario Bird, I got goosebumps just reading that trailer.
6. William Tighe says:

   3 December 2020 at 6:32 PM

   @ Mario Bird, sorry to spoil the fun, but far from advocating homoiousios Arius would, had he lived to see it – he died before it was conceived – have disliked the term. The normal word preferred by most Arians to characterize the Sons “standing” vis-a-vis the Father was homoios or “like,” as in “The Son is like the Father,” which can mean almost anything, including the Son being a created being morally conformed to the will of the Father. In the 350s two things happened: the rise of a radically Arian group called the Anomoeans (from an(h)omios, meaning “unlike”) which asserted that the Son is in his nature “unlike the Father;” and, in reaction to the difficulties of “mainstream Arianism,” the rise of a group, sometimes termed the “Semi-Arians,” whose guide was Bishop Basil of Ancyra, whose watchword was homoiousios, or “like in essence,” as in “the Son is like in essence to the Father.” The Emperor Constantius, the great patron of Arianism and enemy of St. Athanasius the Great, was horrified by the Anomoeans, and gave his support to the Semi-Arians, but then turned against them, apparently in the belief that any and all use of “ousia terminology” was to be avoided, and so swung back to the term homoios. After Constantius’ death in 361 the Semi-Arians came in the course of the 360s to accept the Nicene homoousios. The Arianism that continued to exist among Germanic tribes such as the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, and perhaps the Lombards, for some three centuries longer as their “ethnic churches” was of the Homoean sort.
7. pannw says:

   3 December 2020 at 9:49 PM

   What a (much needed) fun thread! To add to the list of great and brave Bishops, and especially in light of the coming season, I add St. Boniface and the destruction of the Thunder Oak. Imagine the courage to walk into a pagan human sacrifice and hack down their tree!
8. Semper Gumby says:

   3 December 2020 at 10:29 PM

   Mario Bird: Will do, let’s add Jim Caviezel as Constantine. But I’m thinking we rewrite this as a Mel Brooks extravaganza with cowboys, chariots and Mt. Sinai emitting lightning bolts.

   Your Melodramatic Preview Announcer is gold: “In a whooorld recovering from upheeeeval…”

   Now, if there is an Apostle’s Creed computer game, then how about Angler’s Creed. No complicated rules.

   1. Seat yourself on a lawn chair in front of your computer, set your cooler on floor next to chair.

   2. Install game, click “Play.” Lake Wazzapamani appears on your screen.

   3. 8 minutes in: A fish swims by

   4. 17 minutes: A bird chirps

   5. 30 minutes: Game too fast? Tap “H” for half-speed

   6. 46 minutes: Say “Good fishing today.” Computer responds, “Yup.”

   7. 57 minutes: Reach into cooler for beer. Pop top. Computer says, “Yup.”

   I insist this is a winning idea.

   Angler’s Creed II: Sea of Galilee: Dawn of the Fish.

   
9. GrumpyYoungMan says:

   4 December 2020 at 4:46 AM

   C’mon, Gumby…almost an hour goes by before the first beer gets popped????
10. teomatteo says:

    4 December 2020 at 6:50 AM

    @MarioBird, fun that…

    Vana will be struck dumb….
    H _ M _ _ _ _ S _ _ S

    ARIUS: I’d like to buy a vowel Pat, “A” please.
11. JonPatrick says:

    4 December 2020 at 6:51 AM

    I was thinking of a more up to date game scenario called Election 2020. The evil king Soros I is about to take power using the magic voting machine called Dominion that the equally evil programmer ByteCrunch has infiltrated with routines that subtly change the results. Your job is to penetrate Dominion and find the routines. You only have 48 hours as the corrupt state judge has ordered that the machine be wiped so the clock is ticking. Be careful as King Soros’ agents are there defending Dominion and they are armed.

    Well maybe that is too close to reality and we need something more escapist.
12. TonyO says:

    4 December 2020 at 9:23 AM

    C’mon, Gumby…almost an hour goes by before the first beer gets popped????

    No, he got it right: you have to set the stage right. A good angler’s game lasts all day long, and you have to pace yourself. You can ramp up the rate of beers from noon to mid-afternoon, when the (video) sun is at its hottest.
13. GrumpyYoungMan says:

    4 December 2020 at 11:36 AM

    TonyO, that makes sense. Thank you!
14. Semper Gumby says:

    4 December 2020 at 2:45 PM

    GrumpyYoungMan and TonyO: Solid points, on this important matter TonyO’s Thomistic discourse appears triumphant.

    For sustenance prior to reaping an aquatic harvest:

    https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/campfire-beer-pancakes-10940

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