"That happened which God allowed." (Prologue, p. 3)
"...the ship whereon he served had been wrecked - by God's mercy without loss of life -..." (VII, p. 41)
The author does not assume that he and his readers share a belief in God. However, the text expresses what would have been the general point of view at the time. Another complication is that this narrative is a fantasy which does assume the existence of supernatural beings just as some sf narratives assume the existence of extraterrestrial beings. Thus, "God" in The Merman's Children is akin to Martians in Anderson's The Shield. Readers who do believe in God should not assume that "God" in a fantasy novel is the same being that they believe in. "God" in The Merman's Children coexists with Norse mythological beings and makes religious images turn to the wall when merfolk enter a church. "God" in James Blish's Black Easter turns out to have died with the consequence that demons, released from Hell, win the battle of Armageddon.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I believe the beliefs of educated, orthodox Catholics circa 1300 would be the same as similarly orthodox Catholics today. Albeit, the precise defining of the extent and limits of Papal authority was not to be made until the First Vatican Council in 1870.
I thought Blish had God RETIRING, not dying, in BLACK EASTER?
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
BLACK EASTER ends "God is dead." God retires in Mike Carey's LUCIFER which I have also quoted here.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That must have been how I got it mixed up. Also, since Satan is the Father of Lies, anything he says has to be treated with SKEPTICISM.
Ad astra! Sean
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