God and the Devil Played Chess
April 15th, 2015 by G.
This is a dream.I dreamt that God and the Devil were playing chess. They were on a vast flat plain obscured by a mist. Only the chessboard, and God, and the Devil, were visible. The Devil was mad. His face was red with anger and concentration. He was playing with intensity. God was relaxed back in his chair.
The Devil checkmated God. God waved his hand and the mist pulled back, revealing that the chessboard actually went on and on. There were many pieces surrounding what had been the field of play. There were queens and queens and kings and kings. God laughed so hard he almost lost it.
seriouslypleasedropit
April 15, 2015
Yes. Above all things, the devil is Right.
seriouslypleasedropit
April 15, 2015
Let me rephrase that: unbeatable in debate.
Dr. Elwin Ransom
April 15, 2015
Only unbeatable if you restrict yourself to the conventional range of argument.
The Seventh Seal
April 15, 2015
Ork ork ork.
Bruce Charlton
April 15, 2015
@G – I’d love to see this dream realized in a visual form, as a very short movie/ sketch; it’s a really good twist.
G.
April 16, 2015
It was a very visual dream. For me, the most striking part was where God cracked up laughing. You mostly accept dreams as they happen. But afterwards, that part struck me.
Andrew
April 16, 2015
I don’t get it. I kind of assumed God would cry over the loss of any pawn than laugh at being checkmated (even if the game goes on forever)?
Ugly Mahana
April 17, 2015
“cry over the loss of any pawn?” I think it depends on what you interpret the pieces to be. If it is *just* a game, that is, if the metaphor does not extend so far as to make each piece a son or a daughter, then laughter makes sense.
Of course, it is hard to see the death of the Son of God as anything other than a checkmate.
As the movie Shrek teaches, onions have layers. In Harry Potter, Hermione reveals a complex and contradictory inner life to Ron Weasley. I do not doubt that God is more complicated than they all.
I just read where God refused to show His face to Moses, but did let Moses see His back. We do not see all, all at once. If we are to learn line upon line, then we should not contend against contradictory truths. God undoubtedly mourns the loss of each child, and undoubtedly rejoices in every victory over the devil. And, undoubtedly, God sees more of reality than the devil ever could.
Ugly Mahana
April 17, 2015
And he will use this knowledge to bring to pass victory.
More be with us than are against us.
Andrew
April 17, 2015
Thanks for the explanation!
Zen
April 20, 2015
I recently read a short story by Brandon Sanderson, called Perfect State, about a man who had mastered the arcane arts, discovered immortality, slain dragons and conquered the world… only to learn he was really just a brain in a jar, being given the best simulation computers could manage. Think of it as a happier, more benign version of The Matrix.
Sure, he had conquered the world… but it didn’t mean quite as much as it might have. And once he stepped outside of that world, what he had done was considered a bit laughable. Those achievements counted for almost nothing.
When we climb a ladder, it is essential that we determine what wall it is leaning against. If we have been lead to climb the wrong ladder, it is only fitting that the Father of Lies should fall into the same pit he dug for others.
Bruce Charlton
April 20, 2015
@Zen –
This sounds like a kind of ultimate version of Philip K Dick’s usual plot of the hero living in some kind of fake or virtual world, and gradually suspecting, then becoming aware of, it.
Aside – My fifteen year old son read Brandon Sanderson’s Rithmatist last week, and was absolutely riveted by it – at one point he didn’t get up from his chair for three hours solid (I was coming and going nearby).
And this is a boy who always has been a huge and extraordinarily rapid reader (and re-reader) ?four novels a week, or more (plus loads of comics) since he was six. Even in this context the Rithmatist stood-out.
Seems like Mr Sanderson has a special talent.