Member: gabriel

I must find out about the Song of Roland translator - I don't know. Adelaide has a few Anglo Catholic churches, but we are the hottest. No-one beats us in South Australia! Noticed that you also have a copy of The Parson's Diary, another lovely read.

posted by moncrieff at 2:50 am (EST) on Aug 7, 2008

Interesting library. I liked your review on the Tyrannicide Brief.

posted by moncrieff at 6:50 am (EST) on Jul 26, 2008

OK, rush out and read "more better Tepper!" I dare you!

Of course anti-clericalism has a nasty history. Be tolerant of me while I point out that a great many things connected with religion have nasty histories. Perhaps I should say that many things connected with humans have nasty histories, but, in truth, there's been nothing like religion to convince people that they are doing the right thing while they are doing the wrong thing (and I feel secure in saying that in spite of having lived through much of the 20th century).

Why can Tepper equate the Taliban and Catholicism? Because,regardless of their many differences (and quite apart from faith), the approaches to women produce not dissimilar results. For example, none of the un-reformed (if I can say it that way!) Abrahamic faiths allow women to act as priests, rabbis, or imams; that means there are no checks on the possibility of gender bias among clerics. You see, the issue is not whether religions oppress women, but whether it is possible, within the tenets of the faith, to oppress women. And, of course, it is. BTW, being separate is not being equal.

So that's one aspect of what I called Tepper's anti-clericalism. Another aspect has to do with environmentalism: a failure to control population (all we have left is contraception and war) will lead to ecological disaster. Instead of urging people to go forth and multiply, our religious leaders need to remind us to live humbly on the earth.

I'm not looking at your comment, so I don't really know if I've responded to it, or just maundered about. I've enjoyed hearing from you.
Jessie

posted by Sackler at 7:13 pm (EST) on Dec 10, 2006

Hi Gabriel,

A long time ago I had a note from you about Sherri Tepper and Fresco. Ignorant, I responded to that note with a comment on MY profile page. Let me try one more time--this time in the proper spot!

I can't defend Fresco, but I would like to defend Tepper. It's true that her more recent books are more message than literature, but her earlier books are not--or not to my mind.

I began reading Tepper with a series called The True Game, which was fantasy that turned toward science fiction. The Marianne series followed--pure fantasy, and, to my mind, wildly imaginative. And then came the more serious novels: Silence of Stone (if I'm remembering that title correctly), The Gate to Women's Country, Grass, and so on.

I'm not sure that you would like even the best (from my point of view) of Tepper. She's strongly feminist, anti-clerical (less on religious grounds, I think, than on feminist grounds), and (as you can tell from Fresco) conservationist. Your profile doesn't suggest someone who would enjoy reading the person I've just described (with all due respect).
Jessie Sackler

posted by Sackler at 9:24 pm (EST) on Dec 3, 2006

Thank you for joining the Political Conservatives group. Welcome!

posted by ggchickapee at 12:43 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2006

Thank you for the invitation to join the Political Philosophy group. This is an area where I would like to read and discuss more and after a quick look at exchanges to-date, I think the group will certainly provide the necessary guidance and suggestions.

I am in and out of the city through the summer and my cottage has running water but no internet access, so I look forward to getting more involved in the fall.

Thanks again.

posted by John at 6:21 am (EST) on Aug 3, 2006

I'm writing my dissertation now, which in Germany doesn't entail any teaching. But I seem to keep busy enough. :-)

posted by theologicalbooks at 5:59 am (EST) on Jul 12, 2006