I think Seth's most recent entry brings up several important subjects. I am only going to touch on one now--
1. religion as being experienced as something which demands facing a lot of questions that don't generally have answers. This certainly resonates with an earlier email I sent in response to Kevin Hamilton's last, as unanswerable questions certainly can play with the believer's unbelief. And yet, unanswerable questions wrecking havoc on belief seems to be just about where the endlessly shifting mystery of religion/Christianity keeps me hooked--somehow I understand Seth's description of distributed systems through this lens. I just finished Flannery O'Connor's story Parker's Back (on something of an O'Connor kick as of late/I know I keep quoting her) this morning. The horror of that story in a way is in the character of Sarah Ruth--her unwavering/unquestioning belief has petrified her being to the point that she is able to eviscerate her husband's body and maybe his own burgeoning belief.
barb
you chris and i have all just read parker's back
maybe we should all read it
it is such an amazing story
just this weekend at the festival of faith and writing i heard a talk on flannery o'connor which was really interesting
tomorrow i will post some of my notes as well as some photos of the monroe gallery
also, i love the quote by o'connor about beliefs
wolpa