UotNS and how it screws with your head

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 13 Jul 2010, 17:19 · from 2010-July.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:19:41 -0700
Subject: (urth) UotNS and how it screws with your head
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W3648570337046E2ADD28E1CFB90 at phx.gbl>
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Message-ID: <AANLkTinqC-5pL3aTitEALTSi4IEaqhBPBX5jhLIMSzSt at mail.gmail.com>

On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 10:11 AM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Wolfe is usually portrayed as a devout Catholic but, given his writing, I have serious
> doubts whether he has the same view of grace and the "God Is Love" stuff that most
> Christians have or are supposed to have. He really seems to have a dark and pessimistic
> side which comes out in pretty much all his work. Where, in his work, is the shining,
> uncompromised ?redemption we must (as christians) eventually, somehow achieve? Is he
> saving that for his last novel maybe?

I think this deeply misunderstands Wolfe and Christianity.
Christianity is pretty much a "dark and pessimistic" religion when it
comes to the nature of this world. Christians believe that the
Universe is _broken_, beyond repair; God's only option for redemption
is Apocalypse, end the whole thing and start again. The only optimism
comes in the belief that some of us will get to participate in the
rebooted, unbroken Universe. C.S. Lewis put it very nicely:
Christianity is an underground movement in an occupied territory.

Nor is redemption something we must "achieve." It is given to us,
undeservedly; that's what "grace" is all about.

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes

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