Standard Wolfean Riddle

David Stockhoff · 16 Aug 2010, 11:49 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:49:13 -0400
Subject: (urth) Standard Wolfean Riddle
In-Reply-To: <4C6741B7.70908 at gmail.com>
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	<4C6741B7.70908 at gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4C6925B9.50009 at verizon.net>

This shift in focus to the universes might be a way out from a sticky 
problem, but you seem to propose that each Jesus is identically 
Jesus-like but not necessarily identically effective. Why are some 
Jesuses less effective? Why do some fail utterly? Do some die before the 
age of 5? Are some run over by a chariot while chasing a ball into the 
street?

Also, if each universe gets one Jesus, and the Conciliator is not one of 
them (but rather an attempt to fill a void where there should be one), 
this brings back the question of whether there was one in Severian's 
Briah, does it not?

Ant?nio Pedro Marques wrote:
> James Wynn wrote:
>
>> Presumably, the Briahs (n -/+) remain in sync because they are compelled
>> to by their approximation to each other. So there will be similarities
>> between Briah (n -/+) that make no internal sense. There might well have
>> been a Catholic Church with nearly the same rituals (and an American
>> moon landing as well) even though there was no Jesus to influence the
>> next 2000 years of history.
>
> I'll just repeat what I said earlier: I think there's a Jesus in any 
> universe, and I think it's as good a Jesus no matter where. The 
> Jesuses will differ in their accidentals because the universes are 
> different, but there will be good enough Jesuses for all. In this 
> view, of ourse, the Conciliator is no Jesus, rather a red herring 
> (combined with the stated fact that some universes are better than 
> others) to make believe some universes' Jesuses are better than other 
> universes' Jesuses. They aren't. The Jesuses are all good. It's the 
> universes that may not always live up to their Jesuses.
>
> And each Jesus said something equivalent to 'Thou art Peter, and upon 
> this rock I will build by church, and the gates of hell shall not 
> prevail against it'. But in some universes the original church may 
> have disappeared from sight. And any other attempt at building a 
> church won't be endowed with the same grace.
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