(urth) TWK: The Aelf dilemma

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes]

>>Worship isn't primarily a matter of seeking
>> supernatural reward.

>It's a matter of seeking to avoid supernatural
>punishment.

Don't parade your arrogance. There are those who simply
seek to serve something they perceive as higher, better,
or more important than themselves, whether it be a god
or a nation or a cause.

There are, of course, those who seek to avoid penalties
by following the rules of a god or a nation. And there are
those who seek to gain rewards by ditto. But -- "the fact
that a thing can be used in illegitimate ways, does not
illegitimate its legitimate uses." Religion, like patriotism,
is not _necessarily_ about gaining rewards and/or avoiding
punishment.

That said: there is definitely the possibility of "supernatural
reward" for inhabitants of Aelfrice who worship inhabitants
of Mythgarthr. Able proves this when he gives his blood to
Disiri and so "raises" her to humanity and, so, ensouls her.

In Wolfe's Catholic-Christian terms, this is precisely what the
Christ does by giving his body and blood in the Eucharist
-- enables humans to gain some of the nature of the divine.

--Dan'l

--
I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.
                        -- St Teresa of Avila
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer