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Stranger in a Strange Land
Oct. 8th, 2005 05:26 pm
I can hold discourse on a great many subjects, with great authority, and many people will believe me... But I don't know far more than I do know.
So, along with 'Black Light', which I devoured in half an evening, I also picked up Robert Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land' & (gasp, shock, dismay, oh my!!) L. Ron Hubbard's 'Dianetics' - which may very well be the greatest science fiction book ever written - simply because no one realized it was sci-fi.
I've never been impressed w/Heinlein's writing. Til now. He's wry, with a black humor & great insight into humanity's obsession with religion. I can see where so many writers, Douglas Adams especially, have pulled from this particular novel.
It was a bet between Heinlein & Hubbard - whose writing would spark a religious movement? Well, there is a Church of All Worlds, but outside the Pagan & sci-fan community, very few know or have heard of it. I think this is mostly because famous people learned they could make better contacts through Scientology than through the CAW. But, I think Hubbard cheated because he started his own church of Scientology about 4 years after the book was published - whereas someone else (Oberon Zell-Ravenheart) took Heinlein's 'Church of All Worlds' name & basic structure & created a church around it.
Religioustolerance.org's article about Scientology
I haven't read 'Dianetics' yet - but I've only got about 100 pages left of 'Stranger...' so, by the time I come home from work in the morning I should be able to start on it... I've also got to read ahead in the Accounting textbook for chapter 5 for Weds. afternoon, and I've got to finish the damned training manual re-do at work, so maybe 'Dianetics' will have to wait til next week.
But anyway, 'Stranger...' also goes into the basics of Apollonian religion/thought & Dionysian religion/thought. A basic whitebread Protestant or Catholic church, or a Muslim mosque - those are basically Apollonian - the Benandanti. A southern Baptist or (uh, don't tell me, it'll come to me in a minute or two) (uh................... starts w/a P, handles snakes, drinks poison, speaks in tongues.........) Ah-hah! Pentecostals - those particular sects are Dionysian - the Malandanti. But they all follow the same God in their own way & with their own vision of Truth.
It just feels good sometimes to sit down w/a book I've never read before. Stuff my head w/more useless knowledge to mull over.
I drew contrary Lynx this morning - basically the same as Fox medicine - listen more, talk less. The people at work get nervous when I'm quiet & goad me into blabbing on about nothing. How are Fox and contrary Lynx going to compete with that?
So, along with 'Black Light', which I devoured in half an evening, I also picked up Robert Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land' & (gasp, shock, dismay, oh my!!) L. Ron Hubbard's 'Dianetics' - which may very well be the greatest science fiction book ever written - simply because no one realized it was sci-fi.
I've never been impressed w/Heinlein's writing. Til now. He's wry, with a black humor & great insight into humanity's obsession with religion. I can see where so many writers, Douglas Adams especially, have pulled from this particular novel.
It was a bet between Heinlein & Hubbard - whose writing would spark a religious movement? Well, there is a Church of All Worlds, but outside the Pagan & sci-fan community, very few know or have heard of it. I think this is mostly because famous people learned they could make better contacts through Scientology than through the CAW. But, I think Hubbard cheated because he started his own church of Scientology about 4 years after the book was published - whereas someone else (Oberon Zell-Ravenheart) took Heinlein's 'Church of All Worlds' name & basic structure & created a church around it.
Religioustolerance.org's article about Scientology
I haven't read 'Dianetics' yet - but I've only got about 100 pages left of 'Stranger...' so, by the time I come home from work in the morning I should be able to start on it... I've also got to read ahead in the Accounting textbook for chapter 5 for Weds. afternoon, and I've got to finish the damned training manual re-do at work, so maybe 'Dianetics' will have to wait til next week.
But anyway, 'Stranger...' also goes into the basics of Apollonian religion/thought & Dionysian religion/thought. A basic whitebread Protestant or Catholic church, or a Muslim mosque - those are basically Apollonian - the Benandanti. A southern Baptist or (uh, don't tell me, it'll come to me in a minute or two) (uh................... starts w/a P, handles snakes, drinks poison, speaks in tongues.........) Ah-hah! Pentecostals - those particular sects are Dionysian - the Malandanti. But they all follow the same God in their own way & with their own vision of Truth.
It just feels good sometimes to sit down w/a book I've never read before. Stuff my head w/more useless knowledge to mull over.
I drew contrary Lynx this morning - basically the same as Fox medicine - listen more, talk less. The people at work get nervous when I'm quiet & goad me into blabbing on about nothing. How are Fox and contrary Lynx going to compete with that?
