(urth) The Outsider

[António Pedro Marques]

Andrew Mason wrote (17-12-2010 11:52):
> Gerry Quinn wrote:
>
>> (I don't think most people, including Catholic theologians, would be shocked
>> by the notion of Incarnations on differnet planets of our universe
>> either...)
>
> That is the basis of the (in some circles) well-known Christmas hymn
> 'Every star shall sing a carol', by Sidney Carter.
>
> On the other hand it is firmly rejected by C.S. Lewis, who seems OK
> with the idea of different incarnations in different universes.
>
> None of which, of course, proves anything about Wolfe. I agree that
> your reading is the simplest; it fits in with the fact that Severian's
> world has a past very (incredibly) like our own, and the clear
> existence of a Christianity-analogue there. These can be explained in
> other ways; but to insist that they must be seems to me to turn on a
> theological assumption that it's not clear Wolfe shares. I'm inclined
> to share it myself; but manifestly not everyone does, so I don't
> insist on it as a principle of interpretation.

I'll just say I think that until proven otherwise there was a Jesus on Urth. 
But either that Jesus wasn't God the Sun (bwahaha), or he was but the Church 
there failed for whatever reason. I just don't think it's logical that 
specific Jesus-related lore exists ('Judas tree', 'Mary', etc) without a 
Jesus (who may even have been called Bill, of course).