It is unfortunate that Adzel and Axor cannot meet except maybe in the Old Phoenix or in a hypothetical hereafter. Our meditation group hired a room for a day retreat in a building run by a Catholic religious order. I saw our monk and a Catholic monk, both in full clerical garb, conversing briefly on philosophical issues in the corridor during a break. Our lay minister thinks that we learn more about inter-faith dialogue by everyday interactions than by organizing conferences. On our street, a Wiccan high priest and a couple of Muslim lads helped me to change a tyre - they did not get into philosophical discussion.
In the Technic History, Ythrians and Merseians have progressed (?) from polytheism to monotheism although neither monotheism is compatible with any Terrestrial variety. Among Cynthians, Chee Lan refers to gods and Wo Lia mentions kindling a light for a ghost. Maybe Adzel and Axor converted to Terrestrial religions because the plains-dwelling Wodenites had not advanced to any higher religions?
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
The monotheism of the Ythrians might be roughly comparable to 18th century Deism. And we see another monotheistic faith in "The Three-Cornered Wheel," one whose adherents were more interested in philosophical and theological questions than the Ythrians. In fact, the Ivanhoans in general seem to be like that, as we see again in "The Season of Forgiveness."
The monotheism of the Wildwidh Ocean Merseians is more difficult to categorize, except that it does not seem very likable if it teaches or tolerates racial supremacism.
I can see Wodenites, mostly still primitive, becoming interested in religions and philosophies their own species had not yet developed analogs of comparable to Christianity and Buddhism.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Regarding the supremacism of "the God" of Roidhunate Merseians, how about Ezra insisting on racial purity?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
If you mean the Ezra of the Bible, I would reply that kind of attitude was born of the need to keep the Jews from becoming absorbed by their pagan neighbors, to prevent the revelation of God thru Yahwism from disappearing.
And that attitude was prevented from becoming true racial supremacism from the example and inspiration of OT books like Ruth and Jonah. So, it was not one sided or unnuanced.
Ad astra! Sean
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