Hey, don't mistake me for a jesus-freak, but I really have to wonder why he's only a brief mention in the book! It seems like jesus would be a major force in the states, especially in the south. I look forward to hearing some ideas on this subject, and hey Neil, if you're watching, I love your books and I can't wait till you come out with another novel! -Dredwolff
Posts: 3 | Location: San Jose, CA, USA | Registered: June 12, 2002
My thought on that subject would be that Jesus is not forgotten, at least not in the sense that the others are, in that they are essentially completely devoid from anyone's thoughts.
And besides, the older mythos figures fit better into the whole backstabbing, lying, manipulating rabble that is the Old Gods. Even Judaic figures (rabbi and Golem) fit better into the old world mentality that is scheming and underhanded. Read some the Old Testament stories. Yahweh is a bastard to rival Odin.
Jesus, if he were portrayed that way that he is supposedly in scripture, really wouldn't fit very well into the whole scheme of things.
My guess would be that since Jesus and the Christian God are so extensively worshipped still in the US, that they are effectively 'above' the actions of either the fading/forgotten gods or the newer gods.
It also seems like the nature of the god determines its presence. Odin, etc., walked the earth, and so they do; Christians believe that God is in heaven, so he wouldn't be walking the earth unless his followers believed him too. If that makes any sense.
Jesus actually did turn up in a scene which I cut, as it just didn`t work, but I figured a book about American Religion was not the book I wanted to write, which was about American Belief, so I let some things go...
Posts: 13083 | Location: Tucson | Registered: June 19, 2001
And, also, the argument could be made that one worships Jesus or God in the same way. Would there be a Catholic Jesus, a skinny guy who's been nailed to a piece of wood for two thousand years, then a Fundamentalist Baptist Jesus who's intolerant and Caucasian, then a fringe Jesus who's actually an alien, then . . . well, you get the idea.
In the epilogue, we see another Odin, the Odin of Finland, I believe, and he's quite different. Neil would've had to make about a hundred Jesus' (Jesii?) to make sense of it all.
Posts: 42262 | Location: Concord, NH, USA | Registered: July 20, 2001
quote:Originally posted by Dweller in Darkness: And, also, the argument could be made that one worships Jesus or God in the same way. Would there be a Catholic Jesus, a skinny guy who's been nailed to a piece of wood for two thousand years, then a Fundamentalist Baptist Jesus who's intolerant and Caucasian, then a fringe Jesus who's actually an alien, then . . . well, you get the idea.
In the epilogue, we see another Odin, the Odin of Finland, I believe, and he's quite different. Neil would've had to make about a hundred Jesus' (Jesii?) to make sense of it all.
True -- and the baby Jesus, and that whole Holy Trinity thing -- awfully complicated.
(Oh, and it would be "Jesuses."_
Posts: 1587 | Location: New Britain, Connecticut, USA | Registered: October 05, 2001
I dunno, I think almost all the older gods had different "aspects" For instance, when Shadow was going through the Merry-go-round he saw several different aspects of the companions he was with.
Heck, maybe Neil stuck to the way things are portrayed better with keeping him out. It seems like the old gods were behind everything that went on, each one having a different role in events as they happened, one god behind storms, one behind theft, one behind misfortune and so on. While Jesus being a behind-the-scenes guy and just sort of being behind everything in general, doesn't make a very interesting character.
Posts: 3 | Location: San Jose, CA, USA | Registered: June 12, 2002
Maybe because once you've stripped christianity of all the elements it has stolen from the pre-christian religions (the easter and xmas festivals are only two of many) er, there probably isn't very much left.
Speaking of x-mas, it would have been funny for Santa to have been mentioned in AG. After all, even if he's not a god, don't millions of children believe in him? This would be even funnier if he was portrayed the way he is in Gaiman's "Nicholas Was". Just a thought.
Posts: 17 | Location: MyslexicDan@aol.com | Registered: August 06, 2002
Just a thought-- what about the saints? Alot of the Catholics where I'm from worship the saints as gods themselves praying to them instead of Jesus, lighting cadles for them and everything. But then they're not new or forgotten, just somewhere in the middle.
Posts: 5 | Location: Laredo, TX USA | Registered: August 24, 2002
The god of the monotheistic religions (of which jesus is an aspect) is something of an abstract the gods in the book are often referred to as "people", difficult to think of the creator of this rather complex universe as a person, isn't it? The idea of the saints is interesting, so is nicholas the damned. I however was wondering why he didn't put elvis in there somewhere.
Posts: 16014 | Location: Haifa, Israel | Registered: August 25, 2002
quote:Originally posted by fatpigeon: the gods in the book are often referred to as "people", difficult to think of the creator of this rather complex universe as a person, isn't it?
Wasn't Jesus born as a man? I thought that's what made Jesus so big. I would of like to see someone like Zarathustra, though. I think there are some Zoroastrians in the U.S.
Posts: 113 | Location: Silver City, New Mexico, USA | Registered: August 21, 2002
Well yes, Jesus was born as a man and that may well be why he is so big (as for myself, I never understood it), but he died as well didn't he? placing him on the earth as a man today requires a second coming as far as I understand it. Anyway, even if he was in his corporeal form I doubt wednesday would have wasted his time trying to convince him to fight.
Posts: 16014 | Location: Haifa, Israel | Registered: August 25, 2002
quote:Originally posted by fatpigeon: I however was wondering why he didn't put elvis in there somewhere.
Thinking about it, I figure Santa and Elvis would probably be considered a folktale like whiskey jack and johnny appleseed. Then again, maybe not. After all, Elvis was a real person and his "believers" just believe that he's still alive, not that he has magical powers or something. But hey, who knows?
Posts: 17 | Location: MyslexicDan@aol.com | Registered: August 06, 2002
Some of the things people are willing to believe about Elvis are pretty far out there . And he is the king, I mean, who deserves that gold coin if not Elvis? And santa does have some Kick-Ass powers, a faster-than-light sled, for instance.
Posts: 16014 | Location: Haifa, Israel | Registered: August 25, 2002
um. wasn't there a little mention that someone saw Jesus hitch hiking in Afghanistan? Albiet a seperate Jesus from American-Jesus. I doubt the Jesus is in heaven theory would work given that line.
I think it was one of the best throwaway lines in the book actually.
Posts: 2 | Location: Australia | Registered: August 30, 2002
. And he is the king, I mean, who deserves that gold coin if not Elvis?
