ATDTDA (17): liberal causes + the Church

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

          Mark Bailey
          on a historical-novel level, that surely holds true

          it might be too dogmatically allegorical to
          set the wagon that Jephthah sometimes isn't using 
          equal to the social-justice program of the new testament
          (book of James, beatitudes) which loses its primacy
          in churches as they perforce accommodate the ruling classes,
          at first to avoid being crushed, then out of habit,
          and finally by preference, having been assimilated
          and killed (faith without works is dead - James) - but 
          religion is about revival..

          -- and it would a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy
          to say that 
          just because the abnegation of worldly values
          (capitalism and statism) church-style ("my kingdom is
          not of this world" "the kingdom of heaven is within"
          "sooner shall a camel go through the
          eye of a needle than a rich man into heaven")
          preceded that of the anarchist movement,
          therefore it caused or inspired it -. . . .

>From what I've pick up, it seems simpler than that. The gospels, according to 
Burton L. Mack and others, display a heavy Cynic aspect , suggesting that 
"Q" [see footnote] is a series of wisdom sayings for Cynics that only later
became the words of the messiah. In any cast, it's easy to see [as Mike Bailey
points out below] how the deeply ingrained the Digger/Luddite styled anarchisms
can be molded to "Christian" purposes.

          . . . .but it's tempting to think so,
          in which case, the quasi-religious appeal of
          the anarchist movement becomes easily explicable
          since it scoops out the sweet heart of the religious message 
          - liberty - 
          like a person eating a watermelon alone ---
          forgetting the less sweet but still nourishing
          parts about self-control, love, etc...

          without claiming exclusivity, I still think
          something of that nature 
          may be lurking in the passage

          Laura Kelber:
          This episode seemed more about labor-contracting -- 
          anarchists and christers trying to outbid each other 
          on workers for their respective causes -- than about 
          relgious support of lefty politics (which certainly has 
          a long, rich history).

Well, afterwards Frank gets as drunk as possible and wakes up to the sound of 
Groucho [Julius at the time, though he still favors "Havanas"]Marx battling 
bed-bugs, so I'll continue to opt for a purely satirical reading of this 
section, a lurid display of Missionary deseperados in a bidding war for souls, 
rendered forcibly ridiculous by all the violent anarchist 
references---Rev Gatling, anyone?

Q footnotes:

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0703&msg=116746&keywords=cynics

Burton L. Mack, in "The Christian Myth [Origins, Logic and Legacy]" devotes 
an entire chapter to "The Case for a Cynic-like Jesus". Listing a long string of 
"Q"* aphorisms---Bless those who curse you, Carry no money, bag or sandals, 
Sell your possessions and give alms u.s.w.---Mack notes:

                The public arena is the place of accidental encounter with 
                people who are living by traditional rules. The behavior 
                enjoined is risky, but possible. And there is more than a hint 
                of social critique or countercultural life-style. The advice is 
                to be cautious, but also courageous. . . .

"Keep cool, but care"

                One should not respond in kind, but take reproach in stride and 
                with confidence that one is right. If the maxims cited above are 
                read in the context of these instructions, a corpus of sayings 
                begins to emerge that exhibits a distinctly Cynic flavor. Now, 
                by expanding the data base to look for themes that recur 
                throughout Q1, the recommended way of life takes on a profile 
                that is clearly comparable to popular Cynicism. . . .
                Burton L. Mack: The Christian Myth, pp. 44/45

Among the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke share in common certain passages and 
also express a similar approach to telling some of the incidents in the life of 
Jesus. John, on the other hand, expresses itself in a different style and often 
relates incidents in a different manner. Thus the first three books are 
collectively known as the synoptic Gospels (from the Greek, meaning "the same 
eye").

The similarities between the synoptic Gospels are so telling in some cases that 
many scholars have speculated on the relationship between them. Some theories 
have held that Matthew was the first Gospel to be written, with Mark and Luke 
borrowing passages from it. However, the prevailing view is that Mark is the 
first Gospel, with Matthew and Luke borrowing passages both from that Gospel and 
from another, lost source, known as Q. This is known as the "Two Source" theory.

Another theory which addresses the synoptic problem is the Farrer theory. 
This theory maintains Markan Priority (that Mark was 
written first) and dispenses with the need for a theoretical document Q. What 
Austin Farrer has argued is that Luke used Matthew as a source as well as Mark, 
explaining the similarities between them without having to refer to a 
hypothetical document.

http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament#Views_on_New_Testament_Origins
http://www.cygnus-study.com/pageq.html