Arriving on a timecycle, Everard wears a white robe and large iridescent-feathered wings and carries a stun gun disguised as a crucifix while a Patrol photon twister frames his head with radiance - another halo but this one is artificially generated.
He tells Lorenzo to "'Go and sin no more.'" (p. 426) This is yet another Biblical quotation. See John 8:11.
I can stomach Everard saying:
"'That is a question for God...'" (p. 425)
- but am less sympathetic when he says that the Holy Land is in danger of being altogether lost "'...to the paynim.'" (p. 426)
Angels who take sides between religious traditions? Of course, they were believed to do that. I read some nineteenth century American Catholic propaganda which said that the Holy Land was profaned by the food of the Mussulman.
When I was a student in Manchester, I had access to some nineteenth century Christian missionary propaganda but it was kept out of sight because it would be offensive to Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus etc. "The past is another country."
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
As a Catholic I do believe the angels quite literally know Christianity is the true revelation from God and that Mohammed and Joseph Smith were not prophets.
Of course Christians should be courteous to Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Bahais, Muslims etc. But that does not mean we have to or should soft pedal our own beliefs and not explain to the adherents of the faiths and philosophies I listed why we believe them to be in error, in various ways.
Ad astra! Sean
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