Nonbeliever wants an explanation of a movie theme.

[Dinosaur]

I have a lot of knowledge of theology and religious concepts, but think that believers and I have very different thought processes. I hope that this post will result in some explanations rather than attempts to indoctrinate or convert me to some religion. .

I recently saw a movie about a top notch professional football player who died before his time was up due to some clerical or other error by the powers that be in heaven. It was decided that he should be allowed to live out the remainder of his life using the body and identity of somebody destined to die.

This movie was a remake of a movie involving a professional boxer in the same situation.

In both movies there is somebody whose destiny is to die at about the same age as the protagonist, thus providing a suitable body and identity. The protagonist is allowed to live out the rest of his destined time using the body and identity of that other person.

During most of the movie, the protagonist has a mentor from heaven and is aware of his situation. At the end of the movie, the protagonist is told that he will remember nothing of his former existence. He will not remember his mentor, his untimely demise, or any of the people he interacted with in his former existence. It is implied that he will have the memories as well as the body and identity of the other person.

When I saw the first movie as well as when I saw the remake on TV, I wondered who really survived death in his youth. To me the protagonist is dead. The new entity has no memory of that existence, while he has all the memories of a different life history. It seems to me that the second person has survived.

There is an implication that the soul of the protagonist inhabits the new body. This suggests to me that the soul is not associated with the memories or consciousness of an individual.

Is it possible to explain the above to me in less than thousands of words?

Perhaps the best explanation is that the story is merely fiction and there were no technical advisors who attempted to make the concept consistent with the theology of any religion. I have seen science fiction which was entertaining but absurd unless I suspended my knowledge of science.

Would the above movie be absurd to a person with religious beliefs?

BTW: I enjoyed both movies, and have often enjoyed movies with religious and/or occult themes even though I did not consider them believable.

 

[Adstar]

Yes what you saw was fiction. Good fiction is entertaining but often has nothing to do with God. The scenario sounds like it is closer to the hindu concept of re-incarnation. It has no relation to my faith.

I hope this helps

All praise The Ancient of Days

 

[Silas]

The movies are Heaven Can Wait (with Warren Beatty) a remake of Here Comes Mr Jordan.

Everybody who was brought up with religion has a basic belief that after they die they go to "heaven", some place where the souls of the dead meet and mingle and continue to live as if they are alive. This gives rise to fantasies* such as the Heaven Can Wait one, or it's British equivalent A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway to Heaven), that death is pre-ordained and that occasionally someone makes a mistake and brings someone back too soon.

Creators of such fantasies* never have any pretensions to actual theology, neither should they. They are based totally upon popular conceptions of life after death, which actually have no scriptural basis (in Judao-Christianity at least; Islam does have such descriptions in the Qu'ran, I believe).

*I use the word "fantasy" and "fantasies" solely with the literary meaning.

 

[water]

Interesting. In all my life, I have seen plenty of such films, but it never occured to me to ever think about them more seriously. But as representatives of modern culture, they certainly deserve some attention.

I wonder what the purpose of making such films is, and also what audience they are aiming at.
Obviously, it is fiction with a specific religious slant -- but why? A popcorn version of "Religion for dummies"?

And what is the message of these films?
"Even God/the powers that be can make mistakes"?
"There are things that are beyond your control, and you must accept them and make the best of your life"?

 

[Silas]

My feeling has always been that they are the ultimate in "feelgood" movies. The best possible outcome is built in right from the start - everybody's perfect idea of life after death - no consideration of sin, nor of any form of purgatory. The heroes of the stories want to stay alive but there is no particular downside to death - these films are the ultimate in ultimate reassurance.