The Merman's Children approaches the end of Faerie which Poul Anderson had anticipated at the end of his Foreword to The Broken Sword. The realm of Faerie is driven from the world both by Christianity and by measurement, an assault from two directions, although Anderson's "Delenda Est" points to some connection between these two directions. However, we find that we have covered this question in some detail already. See The End Of Faerie as well as other posts referring to "soft places."
Doesn't the Norse Valhalla etc. imply the Norse believed in immortal souls?
ReplyDeleteSo the metaphysics doesn't change much if at all.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteWell, it does. Souls in the Norse hereafters were not immortal. And there is a big difference between the Norse pantheons (Aesir and Vanir) on the one hand and the hosts of Heaven on the other.
Paul.
One aspect of traditional pagan religions was that they were ethnically specific. The 'religions of the book' aspired to be universal.
ReplyDeleteOne acquaintance in Lancaster is a deep-rooted pagan. He does not care what is happening in the next valley.
ReplyDeleteKaor, Mr. Stirling!
ReplyDeleteI agree, all pagan pantheons I know of were ethnic and localized. And I believe Judaism/Christianity were divinely inspired as the means used for revealing Himself to mankind.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: to my way of thinking, they're equally false. The religions of the book are -boring- by comparison, though.
ReplyDeleteKaor, Mr. Stirling!
ReplyDeleteI know! But they are not boring if you believe One, infinitely transcendent God exists and has existed from all eternity.
Btw, I've been reading some very interesting articles lately on how, during the reigns of Joash and Amaziah of Judah the Jews were building advanced waterworks in Jerusalem, complete with a massive dam creating a reservoir.
Ad astra! Sean