Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

[Dave Duty <daveduty AT austin.rr.com>]

TM page 145:

My mother's family think I have lost my faith and they pray  for me to recover it.  I don't know what they're talking about.  Other people, so I have read, are pious as children and later become skeptical (or, as they on This I Believe:  "in time I outgrew the creed and dogmas of my organized religion.")  Not I.  My unbelief was invincible from the beginning.  I could never make head or tail of God.  The proofs of God's existence may have been true for all I know, but it didn't make the slightest difference.  If God himself had appeared to me, it would have changed nothing.  In fact, I have only to hear the word God and a curtain comes down in my head.

I think (although I looked and could not find it) there is passage about 98 percent of American's claiming to believers in some fictional poll, with Binx opining that this does not leave much room for a non-believer.

Bottom line -- this theme runs through all -- or most all of -- of WP's wonderful work.

All best to all -- Dave Duty

Robert_Pauley AT oxy.com wrote:

Found it referred to in an essay by Kent Gramm. From The Second Coming. Of course it is much longer than this. Thank you.

 

Excerpts:

There are only two classes of people, the believers and the unbelievers. The only difficulty is deciding which is the more feckless.

… As unacceptable as believers are, unbelievers are even worse.

… The present day unbeliever is crazy because he finds himself born into a world of endless wonders, having no notion how he got here, a world in which he eats, sleeps … works, grows old, gets sick, and dies, and… Not once in his entire life does it cross his mind to say to himself that his situation is preposterous…

… The more intelligent he is, the crazier he is… He is as insane as a French intellectual.

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From: percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of RobtSchaefer AT aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 3:33 PM
To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [percy-l] Believers...

"To people! To unbelievers and to so-called believers." ...

 

Fr. Smith is talking to Tom More about how words have been deprived of their meaning. 

 

The Thanatos Syndrome, Section II, part 6 (or chapter 6)

 

R. Schaefer

Mobile

 

 

 

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