Re: Myth, religion, etc
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 6:19 pm
It looks to me like Theres used the media to call out to girls of a particular psychological affinity; for real Otherness extra credit, had she known in advance that there would be thirteen disciples? The first thought to cross my mind with her stabbing herself in the arms with an awl (I think it was) was "stigmata". The very circumstances of Theres' "birth" could even be argued to be anti-immaculate: risen, quite literally, from the grave.
Yes, there's quite a bit here to resemble or contrast with Christian images.
Still, I can't help thinking about the fact that archaeologists point to the earliest known instances of burial, particularly those accompanied by artifacts, as evidence of emergent religious sentiment. I don't believe we know with any great confidence what such sentiments might be ("probably" animistic or totemic), but those early graves mark a recognition of mortality. A burial/resurrection rite wouldn't necessarily have Christian import, especially (I suspect) to a Scandinavian whose long culturally Christian past very likely masks a much longer Norse pantheon in the guise of "folklore". Very strong emotions (chiefly fear) surround the grave for virtually everybody, and have done so apparently for a hundred and thirty thousand years or more.
There isn't much theism any sort in LS unless you account that the girls' attitude towards Theres as worshipful, and there's no Plan to change the world in any way, and no promises of what the afterlife might be like. The ultimate goal here seems simply to achieve the inevitable on an accelerated schedule, very much contrary to the Christian premise of spending eternity in a languid paradise.
Yes, there's quite a bit here to resemble or contrast with Christian images.
Still, I can't help thinking about the fact that archaeologists point to the earliest known instances of burial, particularly those accompanied by artifacts, as evidence of emergent religious sentiment. I don't believe we know with any great confidence what such sentiments might be ("probably" animistic or totemic), but those early graves mark a recognition of mortality. A burial/resurrection rite wouldn't necessarily have Christian import, especially (I suspect) to a Scandinavian whose long culturally Christian past very likely masks a much longer Norse pantheon in the guise of "folklore". Very strong emotions (chiefly fear) surround the grave for virtually everybody, and have done so apparently for a hundred and thirty thousand years or more.
There isn't much theism any sort in LS unless you account that the girls' attitude towards Theres as worshipful, and there's no Plan to change the world in any way, and no promises of what the afterlife might be like. The ultimate goal here seems simply to achieve the inevitable on an accelerated schedule, very much contrary to the Christian premise of spending eternity in a languid paradise.