VL-IV pgs. 98/99: Postmodern Mysticism

[Michael Bailey]

> "Heresy" is nowhere near the free-range concept that we find in the term
> "Postmodernism." The term Heresy comes from Late Greek: "hairesis" meaning
> to take, so that the etymological root of "Heresy" is in the taking. Heresy
> attempts to take away power from those claiming jurisdictional authority
> from "on high."  At the bottom of it all, heresy is an act of anarchism. As
> the term was much used by the Roman Catholic Church "back in the day" it is
> associated with that church in particular, but anyone can play. There is
> political heresy—Christopher Hitchens anyone?—there is scientific heresy,
> I'm an actively heretical OBA non-scholar [a heresiarch of sorts.]
>

the existence of heresy also implies an orthodoxy that objects to it

just to roll along a little longer on this thought ...

a) Meritorious Price was written during the 30 years war.  Simplicius
Simplicissimus was germinal fiction about that war, just as GR may
come to be regarded wrt WWII...
-- but is there any reference in MP to the disputes taking place on
the Continent?
I don't begrudge the 80 bucks, and (as I state frequently) am no enemy
of copyright nor averse to rewarding the efforts of those who
promulgate public domain material.  Chances are I'll pay more
attention to a book I've bought, too.  Just hoping for some
teasers...sneak previews...

b) the 30 years war followed on the Council of Trent which created a
whole new class of heretics

c) looking way back, the Arian controversy seems to be among the first
great dubbings of hereticism.  Reading accounts of the sides is
mystifying: why would there be such passion over such arcane stuff?
What does any of it have to do with the imperatives of the Gospel?
Can somebody's view of whether the Son is the same as the Father or
only similar be an excuse to treat them foully?
I mean, how could this difference translate into praxis in a way that
would be threatening to anybody at all?  Slightly different sermons on
Sunday?
 In the case of the Arian suppression, the best summary I've
encountered seems to be Swift's bigendian vs littleendian
controversy... however, the Council of Trent seems more to have been
about landgrabs and landgrafs...insistence on worldly prerogatives
that again have little to do with the imperatives of the Gospel seem
to have shaped the responses of both sides, just as the forfeiture of
Zoyd's home over civil Rico seems to be a lot more of a personal
vendetta than anybody honestly caring about drugs...
in fact, a good warmup to Lot 49, the Enochian read, would be a
Vineland, the ecclesiastical history read...although I'm reminded of
my promise not to drag this stuff into every line
 so, um, never mind...

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