When discussing the Gwydiona baleflower, Tolteca refers to:
"'The Burning Bush of primitive religion.'" (p. 635)
- yet another Biblical reference. Because of that phrase, "...primitive religion...," I googled to check for any pre-Biblical burning bushes but there do not seem to have been any. The Bible would be primitive to Tolteca. He also points out that:
"'...Baal is an ancient word for a god.'" (ibid.)
The secular meanings of "bale" are full of implications:
a bundle;
a fire;
a pyre;
an evil;
a sorrow.
In religion, conclusions can contradict their premises, e.g.:
All religions are equal.
But Hinduism is the only religion that recognizes this.
Therefore, Hinduism is superior.
According to Christianity, God wills the salvation of all human beings.
But most human beings have lived before or outside of the influence of Christianity.
Therefore, God saves those human beings by means other than Christianity.
(Corollary: Non-Christian religions are clues to God's other activities.) (John Hick.)
People can pray or meditate anywhere. It helps to have access to a tradition of spiritual practice but I do not believe that any particular tradition is necessary for "salvation." However, characters like Poul Anderson's Fr. Axor do believe this. So how would Axor view the salvation of the Gwydiona who have been cut off from other traditions for twelve hundred years and whose psychology is no longer human?
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I remember Tolteca, and not favorably. A decent enough person, but also shallow and his denigrating comments about "primitive religion" were sneering and condescending.
I prefer Raven, because he has far more depth, thought, and subtlety. Unlike Tolteca, he was not a blunderer.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
And I disagree with your syllogism about Hinduism. NOT all religions are equal, not when they teach diametrically OPPOSING beliefs. Others are just plain EVIL, like the abominable religion of the Aztecs. Still others, like Scientology, are too absurd to take seriously.
I don't think most real, ordinary, ever day Hindus pays much attention to the fine spun upper caste Hindu theorists you like. And such persons have bad ZERO success in abolishing the caste system and stopping the brutal oppression of the "untouchable castes" by ordinary Hindus.
In short, I don't share your admiration for Hinduism.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But you misunderstand the purpose of a syllogism. I disagree with that premise as well. But the only question, logically, is whether the conclusion follows from the premises. I set out to summarize two syllogisms whose conclusions seemed to contradict their first premise.
Paul.
The second syllogism should have had a premise stating that the Christian revelation is a true way to salvation or something like that but I was cutting corners.
Kaor, Paul!
Then I'm sorry to have misunderstood your syllogisms.
Ad astra! Sean
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