Cuttlefish, where does Koringhus equate the JE with the Absolute?
ETA: when I'm wrong, I have no problem saying as much. So I went reading through the Koringhus chapters where he apprehended the JE and came across this.
This, Sister … This is why I bare my throat to the blade of your judgment. This is why I would make myself your slave. For short of death, you, Anasûrimbor Mimara, wife-daughter of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, who is also my father … you, Sister, are the Shortest Path. The Absolute dwells within your Gaze. You … a frail, worldborn slip, heavy with child, chased across the throw of kings and nations, you are the Nail of the World, the hook from which all things hang. Thus do I kneel before it, awaiting, accepting, death or illumination—it does not matter which … So long as I am at last known.
MSJ, in my opinion, that declaration from Koringhus is going to turn out to be a critical statement on Earwan reality.
100% agree with this.
... And, man, wouldn't that put a rod up the asses of all those who persecuted our Holy RSB?
It really wouldn't though, and that's the problem. Most complaints of that nature are rooted in specific instances, not overarching plot development and storytelling. Anyone can still point to any one book, or one scene, and say "yeah but look, this is offensive to me". It doesn't matter what the offense even is, what group or sensibility is offended. Actual evidence to the contrary is irrelevant.
Bakker recently had a great exchange with someone on his blog. What it boiled down to was that the point of TSA is to offend, but not for the sake of offence alone. His hope is that the people who are offended will self reflect, and realize that they are so offended because the books are reflecting some piece of themselves that they don't like. The point is that all in-group mindsets are necessarily harmful:
Exchange of Hanalulu and Bakker - Sorry couldn't figure out how ot link the comment directly
The point of my books is to demonstrate how delusion drives the atrocities we commit. The point of my books is to convince people to step out of all our ancient mindsets, to see all instances of US versus THEM as the suicidal tendencies they in fact are
The biggest problem with that is most people won't or can't self reflect, so instead of getting to the end goal, which would be solidarity and breaking down walls, the cycle continues.