"'Though [the empire] lies in wreck, we who live here preserve the memories of our mighty ancestors, and faithfully serve their gods.'"
-"The Season on Forgiveness," p.324.
Monotheists might reject Christ as a false god whereas polytheists can more easily accept him as just another god:
"'...surely our two people can reach an agreement. The Earthlings can help us make terms.'
"'They should have special wisdom, now in the season of their Prince of Peace.'" (p. 334)
An excellent Christmas story, set among polytheists.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And one thought I had about "The Season of Forgiveness" was that some Ivanhoans might become interested enough by Christianity that they too would come to believe in that faith. So I can see some desert dwellers and Dahians becoming Christians.
Ad astra and Happy New Year! Sean
Sean,
Probably some would convert. Individuals faced with alternative paths can move in any direction.
Paul.
Depends. In most settings, religion is a crucial part of local identities, and converting to a foreign one can lead to social isolation, hostility and violence. It usually requires a certain degree of individualism in the social context to make it possible.
Which is why missionaries tended to concentrate on converting rulers first.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
I agree. And I would argue that increased and regular contact with aliens would make it easier for both more paths opening up to Ivanhoans and for the native cultures tolerating new ideas and beliefs. We see a similar situation on Ikrananka in "The Trouble Twisters," where Adzel suggested Buddhist missionaries come to that planet.
Assuming increased contact, trade, commerce of all kinds with aliens in Dahia and the desert, then I can see the kind of individualism mentioned by Stirling coming to exist there.
And the advantage of converting local rulers lies, at a minimum, in the new faith being able to do its work relatively unhindered.
Ad astra and Happy New Year! Sean
Sean: the pattern held both in early-medieval Europe (as shown by Poul's stories set in late Viking-era Scandinavia) and in 19th century Africa.
The history of Uganda (or more specifically, Buganda) is an illustration. One Kabaka (king) was interested in Muslim teachings, introduced by Zanzibari traders, but he was worried that their influence at court was undermining his authority, so he asked Stanley (then passing through on his east-west crossing of Africa in the 1870's) to mention that he'd like to have Christian missionaries too. He was very conscious of the need for outside technologies like firearms and literacy, but didn't want to be limited to a single source.
Anglicans and Catholics both showed up, made more progress at court, and eventually the next Kabaka tried to suppress all of them -- only to find they were too strong, leading to a 4-way civil war between Muslims, Anglicans (and their missionary teachers), (French) Catholics, and traditionalists, with an intricate network of shifting alliances.
The younger Ganda aristocrats took to Christianity very enthusiastically, and the country was soon producing people willing to be martyred for it, as well as teachers and candidates for the clergy.
The winners were the Anglican chiefs, followed by the Catholics, followed by the Muslims, with the traditionalists left disconsolate -- as a result of which southern Uganda (the old Bugandan kingdom) is one of the most intensely Christian areas in the world now. It probably has more practicing Anglicans than England.
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