Standard Wolfean Riddle

Gerry Quinn · 16 Aug 2010, 14:42 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: gerryq at indigo.ie (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:42:58 +0100
Subject: (urth) Standard Wolfean Riddle
References: <SNT123-W5497A07FE8CCA10102DCD2CF9B0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <DF7F91952E774F05AD3450A2E7CD6BF1@jill>

From: "Lee Berman" <severiansola at hotmail.com>
>>James Wynn: "What happened to Christianity in on Urth?" Answer: There
>>was a Catholic Church and there were saints, but there was no Jesus.
>>Urth is in a gnostic iteration of Briah and Severian is its Christ.
>
> This is essentially my view also. I'm not sure if I would have included
> the Catholic Church on Urth, but Dorcas does mention a "rood".
>
> I think it is an interesting thought experiment to consider what the
> Catholic Church would be like without any Jesus. Perhaps Wolfe also.
>
> From a Christian perspective I find it pretty depressing to think that
> after tens of thousands of years of Christ influence Earth would
> turn out as bleak as Urth.

By the standards of SF dystopias it - or the Commonwealth at least - might 
be regarded as almost pleasant!

But in any case, surely Catholicism has never promised an urthly paradise? 
Times are hard at the moment, largely because there is a black hole at the 
centre of the Sun.  And in the past there have been tyrants.  But hard times 
have often come to Earth or parts of it over the last 2000 years, and 
probably will again.

- Gerry Quinn

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