The end: introduction

I suppose some sort of explanation is due here.
Anyone familiar with Plato will see a similarity between his metaphysics and the metaphysics of Christianity, popularly interpreted. For instance, we live in a place of darkness, but there is also a place of light. There is an individual who is able to bring the news of the light into the darkness, but he is killed for his efforts. The allegory of the cave is fine as long as you keep in mind that Plato is talking about Socrates, and not Jesus (or Neo). But I like allegories.
The line is another matter. For Plato, "reality" become more real as we ascend the line. Among other things, that means that mathematical formulas are more real than the computer you're reading this on. (There's also the question of whether the Realm of Forms contains an Idea of the Computer, or Cell Phone, etc., but I'll save that for another day.)
Transposed into Christianity, that spells trouble: our bodies and anything having to do with them are evil. Ditto "creation." This is particularly trouble since it's not a Christian idea at all: it's a Gentile idea that wouldn't have occurred to a Jewish carpenter. At least in my copy of the Bible, God sees what has been spoken into being and calls it... hm, it's here somewhere near the front... yes, here it is: "Good."
In terms of understanding the history of Christianity, it's important to have at least some notion of Platonic metaphysics. In terms of understanding Christianity itself... well, that's where the cartoon came from.