Gnostic Wolfe

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 29 Oct 2002, 17:36 · from urth-v0210.mbox · original

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From: "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes" <ddanehy at siebel.com>
Subject: RE: (urth) Gnostic Wolfe
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 09:36:04 -0800
Message-ID: <urth-v0210-1982 at digest.urth.net>
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Adam and Tom exchanging ...

> >> I don't see any particular connection between the Long Sun=20
> >> books and Gnosticism, either positive and negative.
> >=20
> > Silk holds the "primary" Gnostic belief - that the god(s) of this=20
> > world/Whorl are false,
>=20
> But this is not specific to Gnosticism, but true for any=20
> monotheist in a polytheistic world--like Silk.

For clarity:

The "Gnostic model" of the Long Sun books is this:

In Wolfe's "major" works, he presents settings in an orthodox
Catholic universe in which "other" religious traditions can be
literalized.

tBotNS portrays a world in which Kabbala is literally true;=20
the "Soldier" books portray a world in which paganism -- sc.
Greek myth -- is literally true. And in the Long Sun books,
he is portraying a world, set against a larger, orthodox
Catholic universe, in which Gnosticism (or at least one form
of it) is literally true.

To summarize how a form of Gnosticism is literalized in the
Long Sun books:

All things (the whole larger universe in which the "Sun"=20
books are, overall, set) emanate from the one True God=20
(Silk's Outsider). From those "emanations," a Demiurge=20
(Pas), with the help of other "Archons" (Pas' family and=20
the lesser gods) have made a false, material world (the=20
Whorl). In such a world, the only way in which humans and=20
the True God can approach each other is by an act of Gnosis=20
(Silk's enlightenment), for which a human may and must=20
prepare himself (Silk's discipline and religious training),=20
but which is still ultimately an act of the True God.

Zat make sense?

--Blattid

--=20

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