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| Columbo |
Preface
BARCLAY, WILLIAM (1976) The Letters of James and Peter, Philadelphia, The Westminster Press.Slight revisions of this July 20, 2017 article for an entry on academia.edu on July 8, 2023
Non-exhaustive. I have not seen all Columbo episodes, but I have viewed a significant amount. I am not an expert on Columbo or any television program.
A non-typical, but yet philosophical, article from me...
Mistakes Columbo Villains Make: A man's got to know his limitations
Columbo Wikipedia
'Columbo is an unassuming police detective of Italian descent whose clothes are disheveled and whose trademarks include wearing a rumpled, beige raincoat over his suit, and smoking a cigar. He is consistently underestimated by his suspects who, while initially reassured and distracted by his circumstantial speech, become increasingly annoyed by his pestering behavior. Despite his unassuming appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he is extremely intelligent and shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for a conviction. His formidable eye for detail and relentlessly dedicated approach, often become clear to the killer (and even the viewer) only late in the story line.'
The Columbo formula:
'In almost every episode the audience sees the crime unfold at the beginning and knows the identity of the culprit, typically an affluent member of society.'
Columbo Wikipedia
'Columbo is an unassuming police detective of Italian descent whose clothes are disheveled and whose trademarks include wearing a rumpled, beige raincoat over his suit, and smoking a cigar. He is consistently underestimated by his suspects who, while initially reassured and distracted by his circumstantial speech, become increasingly annoyed by his pestering behavior. Despite his unassuming appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he is extremely intelligent and shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for a conviction. His formidable eye for detail and relentlessly dedicated approach, often become clear to the killer (and even the viewer) only late in the story line.'
The Columbo formula:
'In almost every episode the audience sees the crime unfold at the beginning and knows the identity of the culprit, typically an affluent member of society.'
End citations
This 'typically an affluent member of society' is successful within the world system, and might often be considered an intellectual of sorts. A mistake typically made by the villains is to assume that his/her affluence, success and intellect, is at an extremely high level and therefore he/she can deceive the police and not be charged with murder.
Another related typical mistake made by these villains is to underestimate the intellectual ability of an expert detective, Lieutenant Columbo, to find enough evidence to legally charge him/her with the crime of murder, due to his greater knowledge and experience in crime solving. Because of how Columbo presents himself, as many times, not that smart, he in a sense catches the villain off guard, in most of the episodes I have viewed, it seems to me. Therefore, a lesson from Columbo is that intellectual superiority in the villain's area of expertise does not equate with intellectual superiority in an area where the villain is less familiar; crime solving.
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For the context of this website, this article serves as a reminder to those critics of biblical studies, theology, religious studies and philosophy of religion that have no significant training in these academic disciplines and yet assume these are pseudo-academic disciplines. The lesson is useful in many other instances as well. But, if I was transported into a fictional Columbo universe, I would not expect to get away with murder because I have a PhD.
This 'typically an affluent member of society' is successful within the world system, and might often be considered an intellectual of sorts. A mistake typically made by the villains is to assume that his/her affluence, success and intellect, is at an extremely high level and therefore he/she can deceive the police and not be charged with murder.
Another related typical mistake made by these villains is to underestimate the intellectual ability of an expert detective, Lieutenant Columbo, to find enough evidence to legally charge him/her with the crime of murder, due to his greater knowledge and experience in crime solving. Because of how Columbo presents himself, as many times, not that smart, he in a sense catches the villain off guard, in most of the episodes I have viewed, it seems to me. Therefore, a lesson from Columbo is that intellectual superiority in the villain's area of expertise does not equate with intellectual superiority in an area where the villain is less familiar; crime solving.
---
For the context of this website, this article serves as a reminder to those critics of biblical studies, theology, religious studies and philosophy of religion that have no significant training in these academic disciplines and yet assume these are pseudo-academic disciplines. The lesson is useful in many other instances as well. But, if I was transported into a fictional Columbo universe, I would not expect to get away with murder because I have a PhD.
I state that I am finite and sinful...
Romans 6: 23 is appropriate here.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are the Super Bowl Champions, but would not be the favourites against a very good American high school, baseball team, playing in a baseball game.
Dirty Harry: Magnum Force (1973)
'A man's got to know his limitations.'
Dirty Harry: Magnum Force (1973)
'A man's got to know his limitations.'
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BRUCE, F.F. (1987) Romans, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
CRANFIELD, C.E.B. (1992) Romans: A Shorter Commentary, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
DUNN, JAMES D.G. (1988) Romans, Dallas, Word Books.
MOUNCE, ROBERT H. (1995) The New American Commentary: Romans, Nashville, Broadman & Holman Publishers.
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