I found it really ironic that I was reading the Sparrow this week given that only 2 nights ago I was listening to news about a priest who had abused 200 deaf children. News came into light when a 61 year old former victim (who was raped at the age of 12) confessed. When the topic is rape, we say "God forbid," yet which God do we trust? The God we share with, um, jerks out there? Or the God we share with moral elite? Is he the moral dictator, or the silent observer? Is God really "out there somewhere" (252)? How many ways are there to seek that God? One might say there are various ways to seek that God- you know, through mediation, chanting, praying, recreational drug use, even through orgasmic expeditions in other people's bodies (with or without consent). At the end of the day, we may or may not find what we are looking for. BUT if finding what we are looking for is not knowing what we are looking for, then where does that search begin -and more importantly where does it end? Who finds it first and who runs away with it?If there is some kind of God, do you think he's pleased with what we go about doing in the name of Him?
If alien encounter is equivalent to encountering something comprehensible, or experiencing something that almost amount to a traumatic experience, is it really worth the trouble? Well I think it really depends on what you experience...for human experience is inalienable as long as one remains sane. Given we are not robots to cast amnesia whenever we need it, we are very much defined by our life experiences and our most basic information about our selves. As human beings we are programmed to always go back to the start until we lose our way or our minds. Emilio found comfort in believing that the antidote of his experiences could be in thinking that God was with him or that he was still searching for God- a principle he followed for as far back as he could remember. His devotion was perhaps his sole cause of survival. Yet, did Emilio really survive? Some say being human is being a living soul.
After his confession, is Emilio still a living soul? He does request to stay longer with Giulani (to his suprise) and it is a good indicator of how he never gave up on his belief- and it was his belief that allowed him to survive despite all his misery/transformation.
A very powerful piece indeed.
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Re: the Catholic crisis in the news lately...I'm actually doing a series on that for my opinion writing class and during the course of my research I found a Q&A with Sinead O'Connor, whose history with the Catholic Church is occasionally contentious. She said that she believes that the issue with sex abuse in the Catholic Church is that for some reason the people who commit these kinds of sins don't seem to maintain the belief that God is watching. Whereas with Emilio who, let's face it, is kind of a Job-esque martyr here, he is always certain that God is watching. He's just never certain that God is watching benevolently. And yet it casts the Jana'ata in an interesting light because they don't seem to have the same concept of God, but if the crew believed they were driven to Rakhat by God's will, then they are included in God's plan but blind to it, and therefore capable of committing these grievous injuries in ignorance or knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to look at the Catholic Church response of "free will" being a gift that is good, but also allows for terrible choices to be made. I sometimes wonder whether we wouldn't be better off with a supreme being making good decisions for us. Americans normally don't value some One telling us how to live our lives, but I don't know if we'd turn down an opportunities to have all the best choices for us to be made by someone who knew all the right choice....Could freedom really be worth the terrible occurrences?
ReplyDeleteI also question whether Amelio's faith is restored (though the ending hints a bit at this...especially now that we know there is a sequel). His whole idea of purpose and God are shaken with the repeated violation of his body. I believe his faith must continue to been shaky, or the author sadly attempts a sudden shift to create a last breathe of happiness.
I'd also like to say that I disagree with Satre's point that the crew follows God's plan blindly. They think they know what God's plan is. The planet, arriving there and meetings the people, this was God's plan in their minds. They overlook signs because in their minds they KNOW the plan. The events bring God and whether there is a Plan into complete question.