You have the wrong creation you ninny - eschatology and genesis

Gerry Quinn · 09 Sep 2014, 16:06 · from 2014-September.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 17:06:59 +0100
Subject: (urth) You have the wrong creation you ninny - eschatology and
 genesis
In-Reply-To: <BLU175-W218CCDDC3E7F000F34AAAECFC10 at phx.gbl>
References: <BLU175-W218CCDDC3E7F000F34AAAECFC10 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <540F25A3.2040607 at bindweed.com>

On 08/09/2014 19:08, Lee wrote:

> Wolfe is careful to put such Earthian references only in the hands of 
> certain key Urth individuals who are likely to be privy to them, e.g. 
> Jonah as mentioned, Father Inire/Rudesind, for the Apollo moon 
> painting, Dr. Talos for Frankenstein, etc. Please remind me if I have 
> overlooked any Earth reference from a non-spacefaring, general 
> populace sort from Urth (i.e. with a Saint name).

Thecla's sister Thea is an exultant, so perhaps not of the common 
populace, but she is aware of the fact that 'present' meant 'now' and 
'gift' in English.  I assume she learned it in history class.

And of course, 'The Wonders of Urth and Sky' contains certain stories 
clearly deriving in part from Earthly myths.

If we are to consider the Long Sun cosmology - though I don't think 
that's the strongest of sources in terms of what Wolfe had in mind when 
writing New Sun), clearly the Outsider is a fairly Christian version of 
the Aramaic god (we may infer that the name Outsider has resonance in 
the enclosed world of the Whorl).  Jesus throwing the moneylenders of of 
the temple is mentioned, as is a distorted version of the Eden myth - 
and there is also a reference to Allah.

- Gerry Quinn

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