GR 'Streets' (death and/or afterlife)

[jbor]

>>>> I think we can mostly agree that
>>>> organised religion cops a bad rap in Pynchon's work, irrespective of
>>>> personal beliefs.
>> 
>> on 19/4/03 9:35 AM, Terrance at lycidas2 at earthlink.net wrote:
>> 
>>> An example?
>> 
>> Sure. Christian chaplains, "working for the army", preaching about salvation
>> and redemption and sending soldiers out to their deaths. It's grotesque.
> 
> And he works for the army. So is the army the organized religion is this
> example? 

Of course not. These "army chaplains" (not "he", it's an *organisation*) are
"working for the army".

>> 
>>> The Herero religion is organized. Does it cop a bad rap?
>> 
>> Tribal suicide? The Empty Ones? Deifying Enzian as the Saviour?
> 
> Yes, but you're examples are manifestations of the deterioration of the
> Herero religious organization.

Partly. It also shows what happens to beliefs once they become politicised
and bureaucratised.

> Moreover, I've been hinting a lot about the concept RETURN in GR. There
> is a Return for young Enzian.

You need to do more than hint. If you have a point to make, make it. The
specific relevance of "mightn't we find some way back?" in the 'Streets'
section is to those moments of "passage" in people's everyday lives and
travails before "commerce ... war ... repression" took hold.

best