(urth) Tzadkiel's form

[Lee]

> I disagree that Wolfe is truly distinguishing  these two. . . . 


>Mark Millman: Well, fair enough.  It's also possible that Wolfe distinguished
>between them while writing New Sun, but later changed his mind and
>decided to conflate them in Long Sun and Short Sun.


Agreed, this is a possibility.


>Thus the pagan gods the ancients worships were not just imaginary or entirely

>disconnected from the Judeo-Christian God. They were, in some way, an earlier 

>version of Him. 


>Or, at least, the impulse to worship them was a step toward
>worshipping the true G-d, as you go on to suggest:


I agree there is a mixed message sense on this issue. On the one hand, Wolfe

seems to make clear in his writing and in interviews that he considers the 

worship of pagan gods (including the fictional Abaia and Pas) as false, wrongful

worship.


On the other hand he continues to include mythological elements which seem

to herald or presage Christianity such as The Cumaean (Sibyl) and linking The

Outsider explicitly to Dionysus, syncretic worship (especially the Roman version)

etc.


Given his emphasis on the importance of names, I would like to ask Wolfe what

connection he sees between the Jupiterian epithet "Jove" and the name of the 

Judeo-Christian God Jahweh or Jehovah. It is just a naming similarity or is there

more to it?


>I disagree with you on many, many issues in interpreting Wolfe, but I
>agree that Wolfe sees progress toward religious enlightenment (and
>probably most other desirable ends as well) as incremental and
>contingent (in the historical sense; i.e., that actions and events are
>shaped by and reflect their environments).


Yes, full agreement from me there.