(i) Wace and van Rijn discuss which saint to invoke before a battle. They mention the soldier saints: George, Michael and Olaf (see also here) but also Dismas and Nicholas. (Wace mentions that Nicholas is the patron of highwaymen, just as van Rijn tells us elsewhere that Mercury is the god of thieves. See here.)
Of course, such a discussion could be merely academic. We all know that Mars is the god of war without believing in literal Olympians. A traveler may carry a St Christopher medal without believing in literal saints. However, we know that van Rijn at least is devoutly Catholic and both characters seem to take the discussion equally seriously.
(ii) Wace, sailing into danger, inwardly addresses an absent friend thus:
"Pray for my soul, beloved, while you wait to follow me. Pray for my soul."
-Poul Anderson, The Van Rijn Method (New York, 2009), p. 483.
Prayer for the dead is a specifically Catholic practice - maybe also Orthodox? - but not Protestant. (We do not see any Protestantism in the Technic History, although there is something called "Christian variant.")
On a purely personal note, my mother was unsure whether to have a Mass said for her deceased mother-in-law. I suggested asking for prayers to be said in my grandmother's church but my mother replied that they (Congregationalists) did not believe in praying for the dead. I did not then know what to say but now would suggest that we respect other people's ways to God or Truth. See here.
Addendum, 19 February 2018: I have changed "Baptist" to "Congregationalist." It was my grandmother's neighbors who were Baptists.
5 comments:
Hi, Paul!
This was interesting, that Eric Wace was a Catholic. I had not thought of that myself the other times I've read THE MAN WHO COUNTS. Altho I knew Old Nick was a fellow mackerel snapper! (Smiles)
Now that you've mentioned it, yes, I've seen no Protestants in the Technic Civlization stories. The Christians we see are either Catholic (I've accepted your arugments for believing the Jerusalem Catholic Church is simply our Catholic Church after the Papacy relocated to Jerusalem) or, possibly, Orthodox. But, no Protestants are explicitly mentioned. But the "Christian variant" on Nyanza might be Protestants.
Hmmm, do you think it would be disrespectful for a Catholic to have a Mass or prayers offered for a dead Baptist friend? Baptists might not believe in having prayers for the dead but I don't see how a Catholic doing so would be an act of disrespect rather than, as we believe, an act of charity.
Sean
Sean,
I think it depends:
Catholics often pray for groups of people who do not include Catholics but who would have no reason to object to being prayed for - an atheist might say, "It makes no difference..." and might or might not add "...but thank you for the thought;"
another way to do it is not to name anyone but to use a phrase that covers the person(s) in question - all who died on a certain date etc;
I think it would be very disrespectful to offer a Mass for the soul of the kind of Protestant who believes that the Mass is blasphemous and idolatrous! (In that case, just pray for them.)
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Yes, I think your suggestions on how a Catholic can pray for the souls of people who either don't believe in God or might well object to either being prayed for or having a Mass offered for them are good and makes sense.
And therefore should be adopted by Catholics.
Thanks! Sean
"Baptists might not believe in having prayers for the dead but I don't see how a Catholic doing so would be an act of disrespect rather than, as we believe, an act of charity."
It sounds a lot less patronizing than the Mormon practice of posthumously baptizing people into the LDS church, but still some might regard it as a bit presumptuous.
Kaor, Jim!
Because only living persons can be baptized! Not those who are dead. I have argued that since, as Catholics believe, nothing HAPPENS in Mormon baptisms (which we believe to be null and void), the sensible thing to do is just to ignore this Mormon baptizing of the dead.
Ad astra! Sean
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