Raf

Yoda was not in Star Wars at all. And I don't know how much screen time he had, but I suspect it was even less than the one I'm thinking of.

Ok, I double checked. It's 34 minutes. 12 in the second movie. I'm having a hard time believing that, but you know, quality over quantity. We have seen this character since then. In fact, we've seen him more SINCE then than we saw him then.

Nice. No. I tell you, when you realize who it is you are going to say REALLY? In fact, I need to double check it to make sure...

No. Maybe the first movie. Not sure. But certainly not the second or third.

I mean, I could see people saying: "I'm still a Christian because I believe the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the best explanation for what we know happened in and near Jerusalem nearly 2000 years ago. Historians agree that Jesus of Nazareth was a real person. Even if we were to accept the premise that the gospels were not written by the men to whom they are attributed, I believe they are based on actual accounts of people in a position to know the truth or falsehood of what they were writing. There is no better explanation for the rise of Christianity than the truth of the resurrection. I may not be able to explain everything, but I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. People in a position to know that for a fact went to their deaths rather than recant that belief. No testimony could be more persuasive to me. I could see people dying for a belief that they did not know was a lie, but to die for a belief KNOWING it's a lie? That's just not credible." I could see that. And I would challenge it, but at least I would have to admit it's a sound argument. Again, neither of these women owes me an explanation for anything. But IF they were looking to persuade me, they did not.

Nope. Pretty sure Kermit had more screen time than that.

Finally listened to this video and read up on Ms. Ali. Neither impressed me much from a religious standpoint. They didn't make or defend an argument for Christianity, but they expressed strong feelings about being Christian, with which I cannot really argue. Neither of them owes me an explanation, for that matter, but I guess I expected more. That's on me.

Lots of good stuff on this thread. Thank you all. Rocky, I watched the Sagan video and I was glad to see it. I've often had similar thoughts when confronted with the idea of how the universe appeared out of "nothing." I see no evidence that the universe was ever in a state of "nothing" by any philosophical definition, and the definition in physics is something I fail to grasp. I trust that physicists know physics better than I do, so when someone like Lawrence Krauss (sp?) discusses the subject, I feel compelled to yield to his expertise even though it sounds ad hoc to me. All of which is to say, I do not believe the universe was ever in a state of "nothing" to begin with, and I am just as justified and making that presumption as a theist is in saying "well God exists outside of time and space and matter." You have to establish that there is such a thing as "outside of time and space and matter" to make such an assertion, and you can't. It's beyond our capability as human beings with brains. I do see, however, that part of this discussion has looked at the issue of morality, being and doing good. I had a rather clumsy thread about the subject a few years ago called "Are you more moral than Yahweh?" The thread became problematic, as is sometimes the case (especially with my hothead). But it was a good dive into a complicated question that, at least to me, has a simple resolution once you realize the "trick" that is being attempted. And this goes directly to teaching children about morality. We teach children that they are always being watched. By their parents, by their teachers, by Santa Claus, by God. This is our way of modifying their behavior by suggesting that there will be some accountability for their actions. With children, well, they really ARE being watched almost all the time. So at some point, a mature person must wrestle with the realization that there are times when they are NOT being watched. Morality is our capacity to do the right thing when we are NOT being watched. Religion, in my view, robs us of this avenue of growth by insisting there is never a time we are not being watched and that all of our actions will either be penalized or rewarded. And those of us who do not believe in a deity are chastised because we do not believe in (what they call) "objective morality." That's the trick. To get people to subscribe to "objective morality" and then to assert that such a thing is impossible without a God. I agree: Objective morality is impossible without a God. I also do not believe there is a God (certainly not a relevant one to this discussion: a deist God might as well not exist so I don't spend much time thinking about his preferences). So I believe objective morality is impossible. Of COURSE it's impossible. Objective morality is as pointless as "objective beauty." There is no such thing. Finding something "beautiful" is an opinion. You and I may both recognize that Jennifer Love Hewitt is more beautiful than, say, Kathy Griffin, but that does not make our assertion objectively true, no matter how much we may think it is. The fact that something is subjectively true does not make it any less true! And that's what religion fails to understand about the nature of morality. The fact that morality is subjective does not make it less binding or less true, especially when you BASE your morality on a value that other humans share. [The opposite is also true: The fact that masses of people subjectively think something is moral does not make it so, even if their holy book says it is]. For the atheist, morality is a system of value judgments, and value judgments are inherently subjective. For the humanist, the best moral system of value judgments confers the greatest good to the greatest number of people without causing any or much corresponding, avoidable harm. We would never sacrifice a virgin to a volcano to please a god and guarantee a bumper crop of corn or tobacco. For the theist, the idea that morality is objective and prescribed by a God absolves the individual of the responsibility of making the value judgment by which we decide something is moral. Homosexuality is wrong because God said so end of discussion and if you don't agree then you are immoral. Divorce is wrong because God said so end of discussion. Picking up sticks after sunset on Friday night is an offense worthy of death. I didn't write the book! I think theists are just as moral as atheists. But I think they are wrong to credit God with their morality. I think most people here are moral DESPITE scripture, not because of it. And YES, there are scriptures that cause one to aspire to be good. But would you still be good if He were not watching, with His ledger, keeping track, ready to reward you as surely as he's ready to punish those who defy Him? I submit that you would. Just as I submit you would dismiss scriptures that conflict with your personal morality. You would (and do) find some way to explain "well it was another time" and "that was necessary then because of their culture," ignoring the fact that He had no problem prohibiting inconsequential things like cheeseburgers. My wife is Catholic and we are raising our children Catholic. But my younger son knows I am not a believer and we talk often about doing right because it is right, regardless of who is watching, rewarding or punishing.

So here we go. This should be easy-ish. We got to know a particular movie character in the 1970s and 80s. He was kind of a big deal. So it might surprise you to learn that in his first movie, he had a grand total of eight minutes of screen time. In his second, 14 minutes. And in his third, another 14. This makes for a grand total of 36 minutes across three movies. But that was enough to make him kind of a big deal, culturally. Who am I talking about?

Where were we...

Sorry for the Typo

I believe I was explicit that it was not a cop film.

Correct

The BJ line is from Hood Morning Vietnam. Not sure it meets "remembered from one line" standard of easiness for most people.

The Great Muppet Caper

Now wrong train.

Right track. Right train. Wrong car.

I've only heard of 4 other cast members, one of whom is the top billed star and a dead giveaway. The other three are John Heard, Mary McCormack and Lesley Ann Warren. This was NOT a comedy.

Law enforcement, yes. Cops, no.

Couldn't name the artist to save my life.

I know we did this one recently. Was it in another category?

correct

A Thanksgiving tradition movie. You are up

Will you cater to every fantasy I've got Will you hose me down with holy water if I get too hot?

I was thinking Lethal Weapon, but I won't argue.