(urth) Lupiverse(es)

[António Marques]

António Marques wrote:
> Daniel Petersen wrote:
>> If some writer clearly portrays Marxism or Secular Humanism in his or
>> her work, so many readers have a tendency to praise this as clever
>> and wise and somehow morally commendable. But when a Christian
>> author does the same with their faith, well, it had at least better
>> not be too overt and should definitely be open-ended, etc.
>
> For me, the question is a different one. I see three patterns when it
> comes to an author's beliefs:
>
> - Preaching to the choir: honest but doesn't interest me, even when I'm
> part of the choir. I hear there are a number of christian writers who do
> it.
>
> - Covert preaching: dishonest *and* unintereresting because it's
> generally nearisghted and sterile. That's what I usually see 'secular'
> authors doing.
>
> - Faith/belief/worldview-inspired (emotionally and intellectually):
> that's where authors like Wolfe stand for me. Not any secularist that I
> can think of - well, I like Eco. Borges claimed to be an unbeliever, but
> he was certainly not a secularist.
>
>
> So it's not a matter of legitimacy to preach or not. I interpret the
> above as your saying 2 is considered OK by the establishment while 1 is
> only barely tolerated if it is in fact 3.

Correction: 2 is only OK if it's secularist, otherwise it's shameful, 
and 1 is only illegitimate if it's christian, otherwise it's at least 
passable.