Atheist??
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Scott Bakula
betterlifenow — 17 years ago(February 28, 2009 08:56 PM)
I was watching Quantum Leap on Netflix and on one of the episodes, the character Sam plays the John Lennon song ""Imagine", stating that it was his favorite song. Of all the songs he could have sang and with creative choice he probably had, was he trying to make statement?
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Bodacious_Wench — 17 years ago(March 10, 2009 07:52 PM)
if you're calling the actor an atheist-I don't know or care.
if you're calling the character an atheist obviously you've never watched Quantum Leap.
"Imagine" is a lovely song and has a wonderful message. Wouldn't it be nice if the religions of the sons of Abraham could agree that "Daddy" loves all of them equally.
Dum Vivamas Vivamas -
katranna — 15 years ago(May 31, 2010 11:26 PM)
. then how do you explain the fact that they keep mentioning God all the time as the reason for the leaps, and that the character MEETS God in his last leap?
I'M an atheist, but to think that either the show or the character is atheist when its mythology is in large part BASED on God and Satan's struggle is just not even ridiculous so much as plain out silly. -
warriorpooflinger — 15 years ago(June 15, 2010 03:16 PM)
Well, they do say things like "God or the Universe or whatever" but I think in American Vernacular, "god" is just easier to say and if that WAS god in the final episode, who's to say it was the god from the Bible? Could have been a personification of the Tao, could have been Brahman, could have been anything.
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mtlion — 17 years ago(March 26, 2009 10:19 PM)
First define Atheist precisely.
Second the message was wouldn't it be great if everyone accepted everyone.
If everyone could practice their beliefs as they believe at all times, I wonder if there would be any organized religions.
and my brain makes such pretty pictures -
mgcrans — 17 years ago(March 31, 2009 11:50 AM)
If I had to guess, I would say it just probably made sense for his little sister to be a fan of the Beatles at that time.
She asked what happened to them and as he was explaining, rather then tell her the truth, he moved in the direction of singing one of his songs. The entire scene ties together with his sister putting 2 and 2 together and realizing that if Sam could sing a song like that on the spot, it means her other brother could possibly die as Sam is predicting.
It really could have been any band or entertainer. I find it pretty unlikely there was any hidden meaning there. -
The_highlander — 15 years ago(November 02, 2010 01:19 AM)
He said it was his favorite song, so it goes a bit beyond being mentioned because of a coincidence. The main reason they kept the "god" thing going was because of its familiarity to our culture, its an easy reference to make and will also help appease fanatical christians from griping about another godless sci-fi show. But there were many times, including that very same episode, when Sam would get upset at whatever was leaping him, and say things like "Hey you, god or who ever or whatever is you are."
So obviously he wasn't some died hard christian, or he wouldn't question the possibility. Him being open to possibilities is his nature on the show and fits for the most part. It was more about him wondering who was controlling his leaping and a "god" of whatever kind being the easiest to reference. When men begin to doubt or question their reality, they typically turn to some sort of higher power, most commonly a "god" figure -
The_highlander — 15 years ago(November 02, 2010 01:09 AM)
No, the song is strictly against religion, just as John Lennon was quoted as saying many times. He dislike religion, period. A lot of people try to justify it as a dislike of organized religion, but that is false, he was a strict non-believer and felt that religion was one of the biggest problems with our world. I know a lot of people that claim to like him or to be a fan of his music but can't accept this fact and try to twist his word to suit their beliefs. It's amazing, not only for their lack of respect, but also their willingness to delude themselves in the very same way he was against. Gotta love hypocrites.
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Alinos — 15 years ago(February 18, 2011 08:24 PM)
But there's a distinct difference between religion and Belief
There are few thing's that truely seperate people into groups these days. some people are die hard racists but you will see that drop off as we have more generations of people even more mixed race and less Pure race communitys
Religion is the biggy though
i mean thanks to the islamic extremists theres an entire section of the world now branded as full of terrorists.
We Also Had Religion's Gift of the Dark Ages and the crusades
Believing there is a higher power is your own choice.
following a belief set of rules(Religion) that the higher power somehow gives a crap if you eat pork. causes wars
Religion merely plays on the fears of people, those who want to live forever those who feel guilty oversomething they have done.
Religion is essentially law that says it doesn't matter if the cops catch you for that murder spree because in the end you can't escape the all seeing eye of justice(God) well unless you confess to some guy in a box -
The_highlander — 14 years ago(July 01, 2011 08:40 PM)
No, there is no difference between religion and belief. Technically religion is belief. Whether that belief involves a set of rules and/or practices or whether it is only an idea that you adhere to but do not dawdle your time on doesn't matter. People now are lazy and don't use the proper terminology, but that doesn't change the actual meanings. This wasn't true as much in Lennon's time.
Either you believe in something or not. The only real argument is whether believing in nothing constitutes a religion which I say yes, going by the definitions. The only way you can truly be without religion is to never develop an opinion on the subject or to stay ignorant of the possibility, period. Which is pretty much impossible in this day.
Calling something a higher power is a cop out for people that don't want to admit they are agnostic or atheist yet who also usually aren't willing to come out against religions. Higher power and God are basically the same thing. The only difference is what people feel are expected of themselves in relation to those different ideas.
Claiming a belief in a higher power eliminates the need to be subservient to an organized religious doctrine, but it is no less a religion in the same regard as believing in god but not the bible. The only difference is how people choose to react to their belief. The God believer may pray where as the person who claims a higher power may not. I know a lot of people who claim to believe in God but not the bible and live and believe everything just like people who claim a higher power. The difference is only in name.
I am not sure exactly what point you were trying to make, whether it was he believed in a higher power or what, but John Lennon never stated a single thing that I have ever heard about a "higher power". Pretty much every time he ever talked about anything to do with religion he was totally against it. If you are trying to claim he believed in a higher power (without proof he said this) you are doing exactly what I was speaking of in my original post. You can't say he believed in something when he never said or even insinuated that he did.
People always want their idols to be like them as much as possible, especially when it comes to beliefs. I know several people who love Paul Bettany but absolutely refuse to believe he is an atheist, because he has played many parts surrounded in religion (Legion, The Da Vinci Code, and now Priest). They come up with every excuse under the sun, but it makes the fact no less true