Monday 2 May 2016

Divine Interventions

Imagine a world in which the gods directly intervened, in which a prayer to Neptune, Lir, Manannan or Aegir might sink an invasion fleet. Imagine that our world was like that in ancient times but that the gods have since withdrawn. Poul Anderson wrote some works of fiction in which that was literally true and others in which it was believed to be true. I have catalogued his volumes set in the past before and it is an impressive list:

BC
Ys
Vikings
The Last Viking
The Fourteenth Century
Many Times
Many Timelines
The Time Patrol

In haste. The weather has improved and we are at last going out for the afternoon.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And Christianity, esp. Catholic Christianity, is unique in believing God not only intervened in human history in the Person of Christ, but continues to do so. Yes, I mean "miracles," esp. at shrines like those of Lourdes. The Lourdes Medical Board (I might have the name wrong), after the most merciless possible scrutiny of possible cures, has grudgingly concluded over the past 150 years that approximately 100 cures had no known natural or scientific cause.

I also think of other locations where apparitions of the BVM or other saints have been recorded over and over by honest and sober witnesses. A recent example being the apparitions of the BVM at the church of St. Mark in the Zeitun district of Cairo, Egypt.

I do not think myself unusually credulous. Nor am I inclined to go chasing after signs and wonders. My attitude is more that of St. Paul, who disapproved of Christians who searched too hard for such things or for "charisms." But, as a Catholic I also believe God CAN intervene in history like this when He wishes. The Church, while believing in the possibility, is very wary and reluctant in giving its approval to alleged apparitions and miracles.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
Apparitions are also attested in other traditions.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Yes, I have heard of such things. But, ONLY the Catholic Church investigates them carefully, or approves of them so reluctantly.

Sean