Severian / Christ / Logos / Apocatastasis

Son of Witz · 24 Nov 2008, 23:25 · from 2008-November.txt.gz

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From: sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org (Son of Witz)
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:25:43 +0000
Subject: (urth) Severian / Christ / Logos / Apocatastasis
Message-ID: <W6892515715278931227569143@webmail10>


>Yes, it would--at any rate, it seems to evoke the idea of an evil
>power (a dragon or wolf) that tries to devour the sun.  That is a very
>old idea.  But who is the "demonic power" in the New Sun books?  The
>"worm in the heart of the old sun" was placed there by Hierogrammates,
>the putative angels, and the "demonic" force, Abaia in his ilk, seem
>to (which does not necessarily mean "do") celebrate the coming of the
>New Sun.

Doesn't it also say the NewSun will defeat Abaia and Erebus.
that Juturna 'celebrates' has been discussed as her possible conversion.


>
>This concept, while interesting, does not correspond to a general judgment.

why not? All humanity is "generalized" (in a sense) in Severian's person.


>> >And instead of serving as a genuine Last Day, it's just a hit of the reset
>> >button.
>>
>>
>> "just"
>>
>
>Yes, "just."  Even in its internal cosmology, it's very clear that
>Severian's actions are in no way the last word about the humans of
>Urth--they're a hit of the reset button so that, in time, the humans
>might evolve into Hieros and escape into a higher plane of existence.
>That moment, if/when it comes, would be a transcendent moment akin to
>a Last Day.  This is a wiping away of the bulk of humanity to leave
>behind a virtuous remnant, exactly like the Biblical flood.  It would
>be a pretty dramatic error to read the Flood in Genesis and the Second
>Coming of Christ as equally important pieces of Christian mythology.

*sigh*
I'm not claiming a one to one correspondence.
I'm looking at this in poetic and metaphorical terms.
and it's TOTALLY there in the text.  this is not much of a stretch of the imagination.

~sonofwitz

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