GR 'Streets' (death and/or afterlife)

[jbor]

on 19/4/03 1:59 PM, Terrance at lycidas2 at earthlink.net wrote:

>>>>>> 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".
> 
> What is the organized religion in this example?

The religion is Christianity. The organisation is in the way that Christian
"preaching" is being carried out on a systematic basis inside
"garrison-churches" by "clergymen" who are "working for the army" during
wartime.

I think "the Cross" (694.5) is commonly used to refer to the cross on which
Jesus Christ was crucified. I don't think it's ever used in this way to
refer to a swastika, an ankh, or anything else really.

best