An Old mystery ...

John Watkins · 04 Dec 2008, 19:59 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: john.watkins04 at gmail.com (John Watkins)
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 14:59:15 -0500
Subject: (urth) An Old mystery ...
In-Reply-To: <273409710812041155t7d29069apf12a1b7ba3a5f759 at mail.gmail.com>
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Message-ID: <93d4039f0812041159t6fefd7b7i12e53c41bcc45047 at mail.gmail.com>

On 12/4/08, Jordon Flato <jordonflato at gmail.com> wrote:
> So, is Christ's Mass Genocide at the second coming not 'Christlike?'
>

Not exactly sure that's a fair way to describe the Second Coming...the
End of the Universe is naturally a "mass genocide" in a sense, but a
very limited one...

> I suppose you can argue that there is also the salvation of souls with that
> Apocolypse as opposed to Urth's.  However, I don't think you can write that
> out of New Sun.  We don't know what happens to everyone's soul on Urth when
> it's destroyed, but, presumably, if this a world in which God exists, then
> SOMETHING happens to those souls.  They are not all extinguished forever.
> Some may go to DIS or hell or whatever

Well, yes, but neither Severian nor, it seems, Tzadkiel is the master
of life and death.  They have no sure knowledge of life "on the other
side," nor any authority over creation the way a divine being does.

>(unless DIS is just pluto, in which
> case, I guess those billions of souls don't go there really).  Just because
> Wolfe doesn't specifically mention what happens to peoples souls when Urth
> is destroyed doesn't mean there isn't some sort of redemmption for them.
>

It'd be nice to have some textual evidence, though, wouldn't it?

> Just as the souls at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, go one place
> or another.  Setting fire to the fields and seperating the wheat from the
> chaff and all that.
>
> I don't think Witz is saying Sev IS Christ, but certainly, I don't think
> he's meant as a foil to show how un Christlike he is.  Wait, that sentence
> didn't make sense.
>
> All I'm sayin', as Witz seems to be too, there are a whole hell of a lot of
> Christ 'like' elements to Sev's story.  And the wholesale Destruction of
> Urth is something that seems to be coming with the Second Coming of Jesus
> too.
>
> On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 11:47 AM, John Watkins <john.watkins04 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Also not what I said.
> >
> > But I guess I have to put it all in one place.  Severian's Planetary
> > Reset/Genocide is not a way in which he resembles Christ, except maybe
> > as a parody or travesty.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 12/4/08, Son of Witz <sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > >Fine, Severian hits a reset button.
> > > >
> > > >But that has nothing to do with Christianity.
> > >
> > >
> > > yeah, there are certainly no Christological symbols in the Book of the
> New Sun and Christ is NOT a Solar diety.
> > >
> > >
> http://www.spraypaintstencils.com/a-zlistings/3-wise-monkeys-image.gif
> > >
> > >
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