Holger meets the Saracen who has been looking for him and who is an old albeit forgotten friend.
Is this Carolingian universe one where the Christian God exists and Allah does not or where both exist? GK Chesterton's militaristic poem, Lepanto, describes the Prophet marshaling giants and genii against the Crusaders. Alternatively, is there a Muslim universe where Allah is the Creator and Jesus is a prophet of Islam?
Presumably, the Norse universe, which is visited in Operation Luna, is complete with gods and giants arising in Ginnungagap, Odin and his brothers killing the giant Ymir and making the world from his body, dead warriors fighting and feasting in Valhalla and fighting for the last time at Ragnarok etc? The multiverse gets complicated if it incorporates every possibility.
I am still doing some other reading that might impact on the blog but later. Meanwhile, rereading Three Hearts continues...
8 comments:
Actually, if you read the Chanson du Roland and the other -geste ballads, you'll find that Christians of that time (especially the illiterate majority) had no conception that Muslims were monotheists. They thought they were idolators.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!
Mr. Stirling: True, altho educated Christians like Ramon Lully knew better. And I love THE SONG OF ROLAND, btw.
Paul: No, I believe Muslims to worship the true God, albeit in incomplete and erroneous ways. The CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH mentions Islam briefly, thus, in number 841: "The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day" [quoting LUMEN GENTIUM 16; NOSTRA AETATE 3].
The disputes between Christians and Muslims arise when we try to get beyond these bare points of agreement that God is One, the Creator, Merciful, and Judge. Because Christians and Muslims understand these points very differently. E.g., Christians say God is One but also Triune, which Muslims deny. To say nothing of Christians can't agree with the Muslim ideal of merging Mosque and State into a theocracy ruled by a Caliph.
I favor Hilaire Belloc's view that Mohammed, familiar it seems only with heretical Christians or quasi Christians in Arabia, pieced together a stripped down, Arianizing imitation of Christianity from those elements which most appealed to him.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Thank you for this clarification of doctrinal agreements and disagreements. I still think that there is a question as to whether Anderson's premise entails that there is a universe within which it as if Islam were true but we are here pushing the boundaries of what is logically possible, e.g., if a version of "God" created only one particular universe, then it is not the case that that version of "God" created all things other than Himself.
Paul.
So, in the Carolingian universe, "Muslims" really would be idolators.
Totally misunderstanding an opponents' point of view is one of mankind's worst faults and failings.
Kaor, Paul!
But, I believe the Highest created all the universes or alternate timelines. And that was the view we get in the OPERATION books.
The view we see of the Middle Worlders in THREE HEARTS as "Pharisees" or Muslims in THE SONG OF ROLAND as paynim should be put down more to naivete than to deliberate malice. Esp. if the people on the borders of the Empire in THREE HEARTS and SONG only experienced their opponents thru raids and war.
Ad astra! Sean
Possibly; or the Carolingians universe Christians could just be wrong about the Muslims -- apparently this universe had Rome and Jesus, hence it must have Jews as well.
Islam is basically a Judaizing heresy of Christianity, to which it stands in about the same relationship as Mormonism does.
Note, the Chansons were essentially -northern- French poetry; people in the Mediterranean often had a better idea of what Muslims believed. Byzantines generally regarded it as a heretical form of Christianity, for example.
Dante has Muhammad and Ali in Hell as heretics.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!
You are right, I should have remembered that Christians in actual, fairly frequent contact with Muslims would have a better grasp of Islam than co-religionists in northern France. And Mohammed plainly took some ideas from the Jews.
Paul: And I should have remembered that about Dante! Educated Italians would have a pretty accurate view of Islam. And that would include Iberians such as Ramon Lully, whose great desire it was to preach the Gospel to Muslims.
Ad astra! Sean
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