I think you nailed it with, “Brent McCracken seems to be experiencing Dune: Part Two as a volley in the culture war”. What’s telling is McCracken and the whole TGC ecosystem have this imaginative paradigm they run everything through- EVERYTHING is a matter of culture war “us vs them” cultural dynamics. Even with Herbert the question is, “Is he seeking to subvert Christianity Colonialism and Capitalism?” In one sense it’s fascinating that they keep hitting this nail over and over and over and over… but then it’s also tedious and unimaginative.
Fine work, once again. Possibly my favorite of everything of yours I've read.
It does seem TGC is more committed to the "Culture War" than any of the many post-Christians I know. Which, if they could only see it, is reflective of the reason for a post-Christian culture at all. Christianity actually has been used (not just "pointed at") by the powerful as a prop/carrot/stick to keep the powerless obedient for centuries. The OG "Holy Roman Empire" certainly wasn't holy in any real sense.
Finally, I love your summary. I've been following your work for a while, and I think this is the most direct engagement with Christian faith/history/theology I've seen, and it's just bursting with insight, sentence after phrase. Just marvelous.
One of the reasons I love Dune now is that it definitely does not fit into the traditional 'good guy beats bad guy' story. Sometimes it's good to read stories that aren't triumphant.
This makes me think about some biblical stories that really don't end well. Look at David, who ultimately lost the right to build the temple. Lamentations tells us to lament and mourn the evil that corrupted Israel. Ecclesiastices doesn't have a happy ending, but rather focuses on the ultimate meaningless of earthly endeavors.
Do you think anyone over at TGC has ever just enjoyed a work of art? These guys are exhausting.
I think you nailed it with, “Brent McCracken seems to be experiencing Dune: Part Two as a volley in the culture war”. What’s telling is McCracken and the whole TGC ecosystem have this imaginative paradigm they run everything through- EVERYTHING is a matter of culture war “us vs them” cultural dynamics. Even with Herbert the question is, “Is he seeking to subvert Christianity Colonialism and Capitalism?” In one sense it’s fascinating that they keep hitting this nail over and over and over and over… but then it’s also tedious and unimaginative.
Fine work, once again. Possibly my favorite of everything of yours I've read.
It does seem TGC is more committed to the "Culture War" than any of the many post-Christians I know. Which, if they could only see it, is reflective of the reason for a post-Christian culture at all. Christianity actually has been used (not just "pointed at") by the powerful as a prop/carrot/stick to keep the powerless obedient for centuries. The OG "Holy Roman Empire" certainly wasn't holy in any real sense.
Finally, I love your summary. I've been following your work for a while, and I think this is the most direct engagement with Christian faith/history/theology I've seen, and it's just bursting with insight, sentence after phrase. Just marvelous.
One of the reasons I love Dune now is that it definitely does not fit into the traditional 'good guy beats bad guy' story. Sometimes it's good to read stories that aren't triumphant.
This makes me think about some biblical stories that really don't end well. Look at David, who ultimately lost the right to build the temple. Lamentations tells us to lament and mourn the evil that corrupted Israel. Ecclesiastices doesn't have a happy ending, but rather focuses on the ultimate meaningless of earthly endeavors.