started my second read of New Sun

brunians at brunians.org · 18 May 2010, 12:57 · from 2010-May.txt.gz

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From: brunians at brunians.org (brunians at brunians.org)
Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 08:57:42 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: (urth) started my second read of New Sun
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTik2dFo90bBhn0V0Mrmv9zPKJroMiI8H30tT4YZz at mail.gmail.com>
References: <SNT123-W8B0F26407B3B44D111DC0CFE10 at phx.gbl>
	<2804.75.31.54.193.1274186742.squirrel at brunians.org>
	<AANLkTik2dFo90bBhn0V0Mrmv9zPKJroMiI8H30tT4YZz at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <2834.75.31.54.193.1274187462.squirrel at brunians.org>

That's right.

.


> I think the clear meaning of his statement in the Larry McCaffery
> interview
> is that there's a bit more room for intellectual play within the confines
> of
> orthodox Catholicism than stereotypes would suggest.  I'm fairly sure he
> can
> say all three Creeds without lying.
>
> On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 8:45 AM, <brunians at brunians.org> wrote:
>
>> He's orthodox.
>>
>> .
>>
>>
>> >
>> >
>> > In regard to Gene Wolfe as heretic, I'm not sure he'd reject that
>> label.
>> > Perhaps he'd embrace it.  From the Larry McCaffery interview:
>> >
>> >>GW- "I am a practicing Catholic, although I don't think that
>> >>designation would give people much of an idea about what my beliefs
>> >>are. People tend to have a very limited, stereotyped view of what it
>> >>means to be a Catholic....I certainly don't dismiss religious or other
>> >>mystical forms of speculation out of hand. I read it and try to make
>> my
>> >>own judgments about it. And in The Book of the New Sun I tried to work
>> >>out some of the implications of my beliefs.
>> >
>> > Moving beyond established religious dogma seems to be an important
>> part
>> > of both Severian's and Silk's journeys.
>> >
>> > I too liked Lane Haygood's post and perhaps Wolfe does view spiritual
>> > evolution
>> > as an assymptotic spiral, approaching but never reaching ultimate
>> > divinity. I
>> > certainly didn't mean to suggest the Sun series implies Man would
>> replace
>> > God.
>> >
>> > Still, I'm willing to consider circularity as a possibility. I think
>> the
>> > section which describes the attachment to the person of the monarch as
>> > both
>> > the lowest and highest basis for governance is a partial inspiration.
>> It
>> > reminds
>> > me of God declaring he is Alpha and Omega. This always struck me as a
>> > circular
>> > rather than linear alphabetic statement. The most elegant way to be
>> both
>> > the
>> > beginning and the end is to be a circle. So Man is God, just at an
>> earlier
>> > point
>> > in spiritual evolution.
>> >
>> > Part of Tzadkiel's semi-divine nature is the ability to traverse a
>> > universe and
>> > perceive multiple points in time simultaneously. I think the natural
>> > progression
>> > from that would be the ability to traverse multiple universes and
>> perceive
>> > all
>> > points in time simultaneously. As Lane posits, a way to accomplish
>> this
>> > would be to exist outside all time and space.
>> >
>> > But perhaps what David Stockhoff hints at is another path to ultimate
>> > divinity.
>> > Instead of being outside the whole shebang, a being could gain
>> > multi-universal
>> > presence and perception by becoming one with all the substance of all
>> > universes.
>> > Thus God would not be outside creation and evolution but the very
>> essence
>> > of it,
>> > simultaneously the beginning and end and everything in between. To me,
>> > that
>> > feels more like Wolfe's Increate than a remote, external entity does.
>> >
>> > But I qualified as being out on a limb from the beginning on this and
>> I
>> > freely
>> > admit it could be a projection of my own spiritual leanings rather
>> than
>> > those of Gene Wolfe's.
>> >
>> > _________________________________________________________________
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