Vampires

While Jonathan was here, we went to see "I Am Legend" with the debater people. I actually didn't like the movie very much; zombie-vampire flicks aren't really my thing; and furthermore, in discussion, we decided that the movie's premise looked inconsistent. If zombies are essentially brain-dead, how come one Voldemort/Mummy-lookalike was able to mastermind a plot to do in the main character and then mobilized all the rest of the zombies to carry out said plot? Tim was able to explain the short story it had been taken from, which included the zombies evolving, and then the movie made more sense, but the movie alone had not convinced us.

Much more congenial was the metaphysical discussion that came after the movie, all about whether zombies have souls, and if so, what happens to them when their bodies are zombified. Since the body and soul are closely connected, it seems improbable that the body can do such nasty things and not harm its soul. But if getting infected with the virus isn't something the victims have a choice about, then it can't be a sin; and nothing but our own sin can take us from God. So our options are either a most un-Thomistic split between body and soul, or some horrible judgment-worthy sin. Neither is terribly encouraging.

So I was amused to find this discussion of the non-existence of vampires as a necessary prerequisite to human life. The author considered it a negative form of the anthropic principle: instead of factors that must exist for human life, it's a factor that must not exist. And the anthropic principle states that our universe is so precisely set up for human life, it must have an intelligent Designer.

So that's two ways vampires led me to think consider God this week. Life is good. :-)

Hat tip: Wittingshire.