20 April 2008

Image

John Updike writes: There is a way in which success disagrees with Christianity, and its proper venue is embattlement - a furtive hanging on in the catacombs, or at ill-attended services in dying rural and inner-city parishes. Its perilous, marginal, mocked existence serves as an image of our own, beneath whatever appearance of success is momentarily mustered.

1 comment:

Malcolm XYZ said...

when I first started reading this quote, I found my mind immediately going "oh, this sounds like Nietzsche's critique of Christianity (the whole resentiment business). But then I got to the end and found it says quite a bit more. I think I am seeing Buddhist connections again too. This is powerful stuff.