Poul Anderson plays tricks. Chapter VIII introduces a new immortal called Asagoa who will become a Buddhist nun. IX seems to introduce a new immortal called Varvara who ceases to be a Christian nun. However, Varvara turns out to be Svoboda. The convent had not kept her longevity secret. It was coming to be regarded as a miracle. However, the convent is destroyed and everyone but Varvara/Svoboda killed. She has been raped and knocked unconscious but is resilient enough to survive.
Varvara remembers that the Lord went before Israel as smoke by day and fire by night. This is another Biblical reference. Was the Lord a volcano? Was the Ark of the covenant an electricity generator?
She sees "the Heaven Path," (p. 196) another description of the galaxy.
"Ghosts" are the people and gods that Varvara has known and outlived. She prays to:
10 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I believe in ghosts, because that is what we are, spirits inhabiting bodies.
Ad astra! Sean
I think the Mongols showing up just as she was becoming famous was a bit of a wiggle-out...
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Once pointed out that does seem obvious. Making the Mongol sack of Sister Varvara's convent a plot driven necessity if Anderson didn't want her immortality to become known in the 1200's.
Ad astra! Sean
Right. A "holy nun" who was immortal would have been a -religious- sensation.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
True. And I also thought of the apparitions of the BVM at Lourdes and Fatima. Or of Padre Pio the Stigmatist.
Ad astra! Sean
The point I forgot to state more clearly in my previous comment was my belief God openly acted at places like Lourdes or thru persons like Padre Pio.''
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I disbelieve in God on philosophical grounds and in Christianity on historical grounds so I cannot accept that God acts at Lourdes. That there are as yet unexplained phenomena at Lourdes is to be expected since knowledge is never complete.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I disagree with both of your first two points. Mere philosophy alone cannot definitively resolve the question of the existence/non-existence of God. Not when other philosophers, like the late Mortimer Adler, can propose equally reasonable arguments for the existence of God.
To me the chaotic ziz-zags of the history of Christianity is actually a proof for its truth. Some Power is preserving the Catholic Church despite the follies of so many of its leaders and children. Exactly as Christ promised would be done in Matthew 16.
It's also my belief that one of the reasons God acts so openly at shrines like Lourdes is because miracles are challenges to people who believe only in materialism. A man dying of bone cancer who was instantaneously cured when placed in the waters at Lourdes fits the definition of a miracle!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Philosophy is not "mere." It is analysis of concepts used in science and other disciplines. I do not believe that philosophy alone can definitively resolve such issues. Of course some philosophers argue the other way. That is the nature of the discipline. I am stating a view, not claiming to resolve everything. As long as there are "equally reasonable arguments" on both sides, then the question remains open.
The history of Christianity does not prove its truth. The Church has survived by adapting. It is indeed a comprehensive and dynamic synthesis of many strands of religious belief.
Materialism is not "only." Philosophically, it is the view that mass/energy/being has become conscious. Scientific evidence backs this up. Instantaneous cures are as yet unexplained phenomena. "Miracle" is one prima facie explanation but that explanation assumes the pre-existence of consciousness and therefore cannot be accepted by anyone who has reason to disagree with that assumption.
If our present discussion is based on the assumption that we can resolve these issues here and now by exchanging a few blog comments, then that assumption is very mistaken.
Paul.
BTW, I would appreciate a summary of some of these equally reasonable arguments here. We should not resort to advising each other to read entire books.
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