Topics of dinner discussion

[sabotabby]

While making/eating dinner, zingerella and I discussed several perplexing problems. We felt that the internets might be able to help us answer them.

1. Would Dollhouse have been better (or, more to the point, able to grapple with the questions Whedon wanted to ask) if all of the characters except Adele were genderswapped?

2. What would happen if Angel had a calling to the priesthood?

And the most troublesome, and thus important, of all:

3. Can a cyborg perform baptisms or last rites in an emergency?

Help us, internets. You're our only hope.

ETA: zingerella adds, "Okay, but what about a replicant?"

Comments

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

I don't know enough about Angel to know about what might have affected his ordination.

The last rites as such may only be performed by a priest; I don't know whether there's any reason a cyborg couldn't be a priest, though. Any baptised person can validly (but not necessarily licitly) administer baptism, but perhaps baptism is not the best idea if you have electronics in your head.

edit: you know, kadath is right, you don't have to be baptised to administer baptism and I am talking nonsense there. Sorry.

[kadath.livejournal.com]

You can be a murderer-sodomite-pagan and as long as 1) you genuinely intend for the baptism to do what baptisms are supposed to do and 2) the recipient's life is in danger, the baptism is legit, if conditional and requiring confirmation should the person survive. As far as Catholics are concerned, baptism is a big one, 'cause it gets you out of Original Sin.

I was always fascinated by this shit in CCD 'cause it's so Hermetic.

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

Indeed so. I don't quite follow why you're telling me this, though (unless you didn't see my edit). Even if I was absolutely convinced that only the baptised could baptise, I can't imagine that there are no murderer-sodomite-pagans out there who have received baptism.

By legit, do you mean (the same thing as) licit? (I know what "legit" means, but in my head it could encompass both "valid" and "licit".)

[kadath.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was writing when you edited, sorry. That happens to me a lot.

My point is that as long as they go through the proper motions with the proper intent, in the eyes of the Church the baptismal/moral/whatever state of the person administering the emergency baptism is irrelevant.

I meant both senses, but I was using the word pretty casually.