(urth) Wolfe as Heretic

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes]

On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 1:43 PM, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote:

> Wolfe differs in accepting that the ancient gods might not always be
> malevolent, but potentially even good. He might have received this
> from (or had it confirmed by) the Anglican C.S. Lewis who said almost
> the same thing. (And in "That Hideous Strength" he portrayed the gods
> Venus and Mercury as powers not positively aligned to the rebellious
> Lord of Earth,) This all sounds like something Chesterton might have
> opined, but I can't find anywhere he did.

Not just Venus and Mercury, but all the "divine spirits" of the
traditional Planets.

> But then again, CS Lewis's view of pagan gods portrayed in "The Last
> Battle" is certainly at odds with Paul's. So maybe it is all
> heretical.

Au contraire: to whatever extent the idea may be at odds with Paul's,
the idea that good acts offered to false gods seems to align perfectly
with what Jesus had to say on the subject, i.e., the Sheep and the
Goats ("When did I ever see you ...")

> The Fathers and the Biblical Prophets seem to have all agreed that
> sacrifices to these powers is without practical value. This is
> different from Latro's world.

True; but then, the Fathers seem to have done away with the idea of
sacrifice entirely, other than self-sacrifice (including the sacrifice
of the Eucharist, which is the ultimate self-sacrifice).

> Is it heretical to believe that that magic (defined as prayers and
> sacrifices powers who are not God) *works" even if you believe it is
> something that is wrong or hurtful to do? .I met a Christian erstwhile
> fortune-teller who said it definitely did work for him. But he wasn't
> a theologian and his opinions on the source of its efficacy were more
> like Paul's than Wolfe's; so, I guess that doesn't really prove
> anything.

Not only is it not-heretical to suppose that magic works: it is quite
possible to suppose that working some kinds of magic is not inherently
"sinful." The idea that it is is relatively recent, coming in with the
late Middle Ages/early Renaissance; before that a clear distinction
was made between _magia_ and _goetia_, magic and sorcery. The one had
to do with using the inherent laws of created nature (as in alchemy),
while the other was dealing with spirits (and was clearly forbidden).

> I suppose we'd have to drill down farther into what Wolfe truly
> believes and how strongly he believes it to know if he's a heretic or
> not. Put him on the rack.

I'll fetch the comfy chair and the soft cushion.


-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes