The Dinner Party Question

[TheOneAndOnly]

So you're having a dinner party and you can invite 5, yes 5, people from history to join you. You can assume that there are no language barriers between you and them, and them and each other, so you can all understand one another.

My guests:
1) Sun Tzu, just so I could discuss his thoughts on warfare throughout the ages. I might get my book on WW2 out after dessert for him to peruse and give me his views.
2) Jack the Ripper. I want to know who he was and what he did for a living. And why he killed those prostitutes. I would like to see the reaction on my other guests faces when I tell them they're in the presence of a serial killer.
3) George Lucas so I could sit down with him after dinner and make him watch Episodes I and II and show him why they are crap movies. I'm sure Sun Tzu would give him a slap after viewing the Gungan Battle in Episode I.
4) Bruce Lee. I would like to discuss his philosophy with him. I'm sure he and Sun Tzu would talk a lot about fighting tactics and such.
5) Sigmund Freud. I would like him to analyse Jack and the other guests.

I didn't pick obvious guests like Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha etc for the simple reason that they're to obvious and everyone picks them.

[DunnySaze]

So you're having a dinner party and you can invite 5, yes 5, people from history to join you. You can assume that there are no language barriers between you and them, and them and each other, so you can all understand one another.

My guests:
1) Sun Tzu, just so I could discuss his thoughts on warfare throughout the ages. I might get my book on WW2 out after dessert for him to peruse and give me his views.
2) Jack the Ripper. I want to know who he was and what he did for a living. And why he killed those prostitutes. I would like to see the reaction on my other guests faces when I tell them they're in the presence of a serial killer.
3) George Lucas so I could sit down with him after dinner and make him watch Episodes I and II and show him why they are crap movies. I'm sure Sun Tzu would give him a slap after viewing the Gungan Battle in Episode I.
4) Bruce Lee. I would like to discuss his philosophy with him. I'm sure he and Sun Tzu would talk a lot about fighting tactics and such.
5) Sigmund Freud. I would like him to analyse Jack and the other guests.

I didn't pick obvious guests like Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha etc for the simple reason that they're to obvious and everyone picks them.

But all your guests are men (presumably Jack is not really a Jackie). That doesn't make for a good dinner party. You need more balance. Here's my 5.

1) Dwight D. Eisenhauer (I'm a war buff and want to know what he was really thinking when D-Day was a go.)

2) Dean Martin (Stories from the Rat Pack and Martin and Lewis days would be a blast)

3) Billie Holliday (For the apres dinner sing-along and discussion of good music)

4) Cleopatra (I want to see what the fuss was all about)

5) Sophia Loren (She's my dinner date...hubba hubba!)

[TheOneAndOnly]

I considered Queen Victoria and Emmy Noether and Cleopatra.
But the above 5 were the top 5 favorite people I wanted to talk to.
Others on the maybe list- Shakespeare, William Blake (cus he was so wierd), Churchill, Peter the Great,One of the Bronte sisters.

I also considered Eric Clapton or Jimmy Hendrix so they could give us a guitar solo after dinner. I would say Kurt Cobain too, but he'd probably make the mood too sombre.

And if we're taking dates I'd take Marilyn Monroe or Raquel Welch

[bhukkadakota]

Cleopatra wasnt supposed to be pretty but just normal. Her qualities were her charm as plutarch says.

anyway i would pick
1. Genghis Khan - since he did conquer the biggest area, id be interested to see what kind of person he was like.
2. Pompey the great - the greatest general rome had ever known, defeated by julius caesar and killed by ptolomy, but seems a interesting character.
3. Lee Su Shin - I dont know if anyone here has heard of him, but the greatest general korea ever had, and the greatest naval commander the world has known.
4. Muhammud Ali - talks to much, but great boxer.
5. Pharoah Ahmose - expeller of the Hyksos from Egypt and its always nice to have a living god in your house.

Was thinking of inviting Hitler, but wasnt sure if he would accept a invitation from someone not of the superior aryan race.

[CatholicSage]

Great thread. 5 historical people I would invite that aren't too obvious, eh?

1. Patton: eccentric guy (to say the least), and I just saw the movie Patton today, so I've become more interested in the guy.
2. Confucius: a great wise man of history, I'd love to actually meet him and discuss high-falootin' stuff with him.
3. Homer: assuming he was actually a real person (as some people doubt), I would certainly need to invite a literary genius from history. If he really didn't exist, then replace him with Shakespeare. If HE didn't exist, replace with the author of the Where's Waldo books :smile:
4. Attila the Hun: to find out just what the pope told him to make him turn tail and flee. Oh, and I'd make him fight Patton...
5. Queen Elizabeth I: I would need to bring a royal and a lady to class up the dinner, and a famous political leader would be nice to talk to as well.

[TheOneAndOnly]

3. Lee Su Shin - I dont know if anyone here has heard of him, but the greatest general korea ever had, and the greatest naval commander the world has known.


*cough* Nelson *cough*

[nomad7674]

I find it interesting that each person is choosing someone a bit... off... for their dinner table: Jack the Ripper, Attilla the Hun, Genghis Khan, etc. I wonder if it is a great idea to have psychopaths over to dinner. :wink:

Then again, I suppose if Sigmund Freud was along, he could keep them all well medicated. :hehe:

[bhukkadakota]

maybe. but lee su shin was undefeated and he fought numerous sea battles, once wiping out a japanese fleet of 200 with just 20 boats, and was the inventor of the turtle boat. but then again i really dont know much about this subject so excuse my comment and thanks for correcting me.

[sidthesquish]

for dinner hmmmm?

1)Akira Kurosawa - the mans a genius and quite a pleasent person judging by his autobiography

2)Zhuangzi - a zen master is a must for dinner

3)Hitler - his winning good looks (just kidding), His charasmatic and powerful personality. (hopefully he wont goose step through the dessert.)

4)Piet Mondrian - hands down my favorite painter. (hes supposedly was the only man that has been able to draw a perfect circle, without any tools, in one stroke.

5)James Dean - gotta add some coolness to the party

[Solly]

1. Nietzsche, for sparkling and provocative conversation.

2. C S Lewis. ditto.

3. Mel Torme, for after dinner melodies.

4. A man with Down's Syndrome, to keep us all humble and down to earth.

5. Henri Nouwen, for uplifting thoughts.

All men I am afraid, but if one passed up the invite I might have my wife, to keep me humble!!

[Pilgrim]

Jimmy Carter - I've always said he was the one person I would most like to have dinner with.

Elenor Roosavelt - I'm curious. She was such a kind person and exhibited such compassion even in such wierd circumstances.

Mark Twain - Mark Twain could make any party fun and we're related. It's good to have family over.

Lucy Maud Montgomery - Author of Anne of Green Gables and wife to a presbyterian minister, she could be Twain's date and enlighten me to the plight of my wife.

Audrey Hepburn - She'd be my date.

[elysian]

Ok, mine would be a tad bit different than most, but interesting I think.

Ronald Reagan- He had amazing foresight, vision and optimism. I regret never being able to meet him when he was living.

Harry Truman- This is the man who had to make the decision to drop The Bomb, twice. Sometimes doing what's right is not what is popular or expedient.

Ann Coulter- (yes she's still living and I don't know if that would disqualify her) for her conservative viewpoint, tenacity, bald-faced honesty and pithy language.

Margaret Thatcher- Yes she's still living as well but she has a style and grace as well as a stability and resolve that I admire.

Benjamin Franklin- Because he was cool and eccentric with a sense of humor, centuries before his time. He even wrote a book about farting. (Fart Proudly) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/089804801X/104-0118823-6151164?v=glance)

[Radical1]

Lucille Ball- I think she would be a hoot at a dinner party.

Babe Ruth- I would like to whip him into shape and see what he could do if He really put some effort into hitting the baseball. I'm sure he has some great stories

Mark Twain--I want to hear the stories from a master story teller

Henry Ford- The man revolutionalized the modern world with mass production. I would like to know his thought process

JFK--I just have some questions to ask him.

5 is not enough..Can I have a bigger table and invite more?

[TheOneAndOnly]

Ronald Reagan- He had amazing foresight, vision and optimism. I regret never being able to meet him when he was living.

Harry Truman- This is the man who had to make the decision to drop The Bomb, twice. Sometimes doing what's right is not what is popular or expedient.

Ann Coulter- (yes she's still living and I don't know if that would disqualify her) for her conservative viewpoint, tenacity, bald-faced honesty and pithy language.

Margaret Thatcher- Yes she's still living as well but she has a style and grace as well as a stability and resolve that I admire.

Benjamin Franklin- Because he was cool and eccentric with a sense of humor, centuries before his time. He even wrote a book about farting. (Fart Proudly)


Wow. That must be a dull party. But hey, it's your dinner.

[bhukkadakota]

Harry Truman deciding to drop the nukes on japan sure was right even if it was unpopular. I mean the japanese had already lost the war by then and were basically starving to death and wouldve had to surrender anyway but the nuke was surely the only option left to truman and not just a show of power to the soviets.

[Aravis]

Margaret Thatcher - because she's an awesome lady

C.S. Lewis - because he can help spark interesting conversation about literature and because Margaret Thatcher would love to meet him

Thomas Jefferson - because he's my favorite president and a multitalented man

Albert Speer - because he's an absolutely intriguing historical figure and one of the few Nazis who showed (albeit incomplete) remorse

Jane Austen - because I want to round out the party with another brilliant and spirited lady. I think she would find Speer interesting as an example of "Mr. Darcy gone bad." Also, C.S. Lewis would love to meet her.

I expect the conversation to waver back and forth between political and literary topics, but I think most of the guests would be conversant in both.

Edit: On second thought, I might replace Thomas Jefferson with Martin Luther, because Luther was hilariously crude and should cause some sparks to fly, and because Speer didn't speak English entirely fluently and might want another German to speak to. (My original scenario presumes English speaking for everyone.)

[bar Jonah]

Right. That's why they still didn't surrender, even after the first bomb. Of course.

Let's leave the debating to other threads. This is obviously not a debate thread.



1) Buddha

2) Augustine

3) Martin Luther

4) Thomas Jefferson

5) Paul of Tarsus, the 13th Apostle, the Apostle to the Gentiles. So that he and I (mostly he!) can evangelize to 1 and 4, and preach the biblical principle of rightly dividing God's word of truth to 2 and 3. And then we'll send 'em all back to their respective times.

(Although I don't believe in time travel to begin with, as it contradicts my theology.) :rigreen:

[anthrogirl]

Confucius-- of course, no big suprise there :wink:

Mencius-- I would love to meet the wise man who spread Confucianism in China (and I love his work)

G.W. Bush-- despite all of our differences--I think this man knows how to party

Margaret Mead-- 'nuff said

Michiko Kon-- my favorite photographer

[mikeledo]

I would invite Jenna Jameson and tell her the other four may be late.

[C. D. Ward]

:lol: :no:

Aristotle - One of the first and still one of the greatest philosophers.

Friederich Hayek - One of the greatest economists of all time.

Iris Murdoch - A brilliant ethicist and author.

Maxfield Parrish - One of my favorite, if not my favorite, artists.

Robert Ingersoll - Just to keep things interesting. :smile:

And these are just five that occurred to me right now. Alternates include Simone Weil, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, the current Dalai Lama, Goedel, J.S. Bach, etc.... too many to name, really...

[TheOneAndOnly]

I would invite Jenna Jameson and tell her the other four may be late.

Interesting approach. :)

My alternative list: The best looking people in history at dinner.

1) Cleopatra - already been mentioned
2) Xena - Strong and intimidating, i like it
3) Pamela Anderson - oh yeah
4) Raquel Welch - she was hot
5) Beyonce Knowles - she is hot

That was fun.

[TheOneAndOnly]

Alternates include Simone Weil, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, the current Dalai Lama, Goedel, J.S. Bach, etc....

Would that be Kurt Goedel? You might want to rethink that since he spent the latter part of his life as a paranoid recluse, thinking he was being poisoned. He probably wouldn't be that fun at dinner.

[C. D. Ward]

Would that be Kurt Goedel? You might want to rethink that since he spent the latter part of his life as a paranoid recluse, thinking he was being poisoned. He probably wouldn't be that fun at dinner.:hehe: Yah, I should probably have specified the young Kurt Goedel*...

Oh, and those inviting Nietzsche had better specify the same; he spent his waning years quite insane...



*cue Jon Lovitz: ...and my wife, the young Elizabeth Taylor! Whom I've slept with. Yeah, that's what I remember... :wink:

[Da Lone-Warrior]

1. Jesus, I couldn't pass over an opportunity to talk with him and to introduce him to some of my other guests that have learned of him only through a tragic lense.

2. Thomas Aquinas. It'd be good to get his perspective on modern-day Christian problems.

3. Abraham Lincoln. I would love to have him as a mentor. I'd love to talk about contemporary politics with him and share my own party-platform with him. http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12664&highlight=Christian+Pragmatic+Progressive+Party I also would love to be able to go back in time and prevent him from getting assasinated, because I think that our nation really needed his more conciliatory leadership in the wake of the Civil War. My theory is that the virulent form of racism that emerged in the South was a vitiated anger of the North that stemmed from how the North denied the South input in our nat'l governance for quite some time after the war ended for private selfish-reasons that led to the solid south/north and a severe reduction in the level of competition between the two-parties.

4. Either Karl Marx or Charles Darwin. Both were thinkers that changed the world. Both of them would have benefitted from being able to meet my first guest and learn more about Christianity shorn from the historical baggage it had accumulated.

5. Warren Samuels. He was one of my professors from grad-school. He is a brilliant man, an historian of thought and methodologist. I'd especially love for him to meet with my first guest for the same reason mentioned before.

dlw

[themuzicman]

1. Steven Hawking
2. Albert Einstein
3. Madame Curie
4. Ingred Bergman
5. Neils Bohr

:teeth:

[BeHereNow]

Pablo Escobar - He can bring the party favors and was probably a good conversationalist.

Plato - It would be nice to argue with him about literacy and orality.

Andre Breton - Father of the surrealist movement; can you imagine the conversation between him and Plato while they're both nose-deep in Escobar snowflakes?

Emily Dickinson - Because I have to know.

Joseph Campbell - Great attitude, fun party guest, tons to talk about.

[Duder]

Niels Bohr
Possibly the most engaging of the 20th century minds who ushered in the quantum era. If he can't come, I'll invite Issac Newton

Alan Watts
Few would know of him. Not the greatest scholar who ever lived, but one of the best orators on a wide variety of topics - psychology, philosophy, science, religion. Specialized in Eastern religion. Able to make difficult ideas accessible, clear and interesting. Sure to produce laughs from the assembly, too. I'd need Alan there for clarification of whatever the heck Dr. Bohr is talking about. If alan can't make it, let's have his friend Joseph Campbell.

Socrates
Be a great moderator when one is needed. Expert at pointing out nonsense when he hears it, without being rude. Keeps the other speakers honest. Besides, he holds his drink really well. If Socrates is busy with other engagements, we'll go with the alternate (#6 below)

Garibaldi
A wild-eyed radical revolutionary of 19th century Italy, sure to make things lively with an occasional Molitov cocktail. I would have picked Ernesto "Che" Guavara, but we already have two represntatives from the 20th century. Briefly considered Karl Marx to be the subversive guest, but, let's face it, however great his ideas may have been, the guy was duller than dishwater. If Garibaldi declines, go with the alternate.

Bertrand Russel - (in old age)
Looks like I need to go with three from the 20th century after all. A pure atheist and materialist with whom I love to disagree, but a kindly grandfather type who puts his ideas in very easygoing and homey language. We'll need his perspective on things. If he's too busy, I'll ask Carl Sagan

CS Lewis - alternate
Best Christian apologist ever.

Note: No disrespect intended in making Dr. Lewis the alternate. Someone won't show up, so we're sure to enjoy his conversation.

[DanN1]

since when are Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan psychopaths? There is not anything necessarily wrong with someone psychologically who happens to be a ruthless conquerer.

[NeilUnreal]

OK, even though Jesus and Buddha would be among my top five, in keeping with the trend of this thread I’ll exclude them from the roster. My five picks for this week’s party are:

Christopher Alexander – One of the smartest people alive. Possibly the only living candidate for a “Renaissance Man.”

Alexander Stepanov – Another one of the smartest people alive. Only geeks will know why this is so.

Peter Cook – One of the funniest comedians of all time.

Scarlett Johansson – Proof that a talented actor can be intelligent, thoughtful, and good-looking.

Jane Austen – I bet she could tell a story or two…

-Neil

[Ben Franklin]

Kropotkin - Can anyone say "Anarchism"...? The guy who shut-down state-sponsored socialism (Marx) for the real thing. A true libertarians' libertarian.

Cleopatra - A remarkable women who almost steered her empire through the tumultuous Roman Civil War. Her beauty was surpassed only by her chutzpah.

Paul of Tarsus - A guy who turned on his race, jumping from persecutor to dictator of the Christian church. A political animal who never missed a beat.

Ambrose Bierce - A bitter man with way too much time on his hands. Edgar Allen Poe mixed with Oscar Wilde. He's a guy that nobody can't tell nothing.

Ayn Rand - A bitter woman with way too much time on her hands. Dogmatic and sexually-frustrated authoress: she's the perfect foil for Ambrose Bierce.

I expect there'll be a food fight in under a minute, Ayn and Paul teaming up against Ambrose and Cleopatra, with Kropotkin running for the door. :lol:

[Kenny]

1.) Jesus – well, duh, I know he's someone everyone picks but could any Christian really pass up that opportunity?

2.) Paul – I admire his passion; it would be fun to ask him theological questions and to have conclusive proof that the X9ers have him completely wrong.

3.) Gandhi – just to see if he'll eat anything.

4.) Martin Luther – a personal hero of mine (in spite of his numerous flaws) and one of the most fascinating characters in church history imho (wouldn't invite Calvin, even though I'm a "Calvinist" – I think he'd be a little too staunchly to make a good dinner guest).

5.) Socrates (the ancient Greek philosopher, not the YEC!) – so I could observe all of the above navigate through his lines of questioning.

[themuzicman]

Oh! Oh!

Plato, Socretes, DesCarte, Hume, and Alvin Plantinga (OK, he's not dead, yet, but...)

I'd love to see the first four marvel at where philosophy has gone since they died... :yes::yes1:

Michael