GRGR(4) Re: Pynchon's Faith

[Doug Millison]

At 2:54 PM -0400 6/21/99, Paul Mackin wrote:
>A belief  in addition to being a thought more often than not carries the
>idea of judgement, credulity, faith, doctrine, or piety. Would you be
>willing to accept that you interchanged  the terms not only loosely but to
>fudge meaning more than an insignificant amount?

No I did not "fudge" meaning, if by that you mean that on purpose I was
playing fast and loose with the terms in order to come back with a
"gotcha".  I pulled out a quote from the Sloth essay that I thought would
illuminate our reading of GRGR, investing in the quote a certain authority
because it's TRP writing in his own voice in a non-fiction mode; believe it
or not I was surprised at the way some of you jumped on it (silly me,
despite years of experience of knee-jerk objections to virtually everything
I post on Pynchon-L -- still it does often put the objectors through some
foolish contortions just to deny what I say!). People often say, don't
they, "I think" or even "I feel" when they mean "I believe".

Belief \Be*lief"\, n. [OE. bileafe, bileve; cf. AS. gele['a]fa.
   See {Believe}.]
   1. Assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance
      of a fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without
      immediate personal knowledge; reliance upon word or
      testimony; partial or full assurance without positive
      knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction;
      confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our
      senses.

            Belief admits of all degrees, from the slightest
            suspicion to the fullest assurance.   --Reid.

   2. (Theol.) A persuasion of the truths of religion; faith.

            No man can attain [to] belief by the bare
            contemplation of heaven and earth.    --Hooker.

   3. The thing believed; the object of belief.

            Superstitious prophecies are not only the belief of
            fools, but the talk sometimes of wise men. --Bacon.

   4. A tenet, or the body of tenets, held by the advocates of
      any class of views; doctrine; creed.

            In the heat of persecution to which Christian belief
            was subject upon its first promulgation. --Hooker.

   {Ultimate belief}, a first principle incapable of proof; an
      intuitive truth; an intuition. --Sir W. Hamilton.

   Syn: Credence; trust; reliance; assurance; opinion.

Believe \Be*lieve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Believed}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Believing}.] [OE. bileven (with pref. be- for AS.
   ge-), fr. AS. gel?fan, gel?fan; akin to D. gelooven, OHG.
   gilouban, G. glauben, OS. gil?bian, Goth. galaubjan, and
   Goth. liubs dear. See {Lief}, a., {Leave}, n.]
   To exercise belief in; to credit upon the authority or
   testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of, upon
   evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of
   the mind, or by circumstances other than personal knowledge;
   to regard or accept as true; to place confidence in; to
   think; to consider; as, to believe a person, a statement, or
   a doctrine.

         Our conqueror (whom I now Of force believe almighty).
                                                  --Milton.

         King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? --Acts
                                                  xxvi. 27.

         Often followed by a dependent clause. I believe that
         Jesus Christ is the Son of God.          --Acts viii.
                                                  37.

   Syn: See {Expect}.

Believe \Be*lieve"\, v. i.
   1. To have a firm persuasion, esp. of the truths of religion;
      to have a persuasion approaching to certainty; to exercise
      belief or faith.

            Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. --Mark ix.
                                                  24.

            With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
                                                  --Rom. x. 10.

   2. To think; to suppose.

            I will not believe so meanly of you.  --Fielding.

   {To believe in}.
      (a) To believe that the subject of the thought (if a
          person or thing) exists, or (if an event) that it has
          occurred, or will occur; -- as, to believe in the
          resurrection of the dead. ``She does not believe in
          Jupiter.'' --J. H. Newman.
      (b) To believe that the character, abilities, and purposes
          of a person are worthy of entire confidence; --
          especially that his promises are wholly trustworthy.
          ``Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
          believe also in me.'' --John xiv. 1.
      (c) To believe that the qualities or effects of an action
          or state are beneficial: as, to believe in sea
          bathing, or in abstinence from alcoholic beverages.

   {To believe on}, to accept implicitly as an object of
      religious trust or obedience; to have faith in.

>A simple yes or no
>answer will suffice.

In your dreams.

Millisonically,
Big Bro'