tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post5216262518931278680..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: The Elder SonDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-56458128071126955702011-03-04T01:32:19.281-05:002011-03-04T01:32:19.281-05:00Just found this. I like it--a LOT. I, too, ident...Just found this. I like it--a LOT. I, too, identify with the elder brother--not quite as much here, because I'm not so analytic. But he is the "responsible" one who is overlooked, and bitter about it. Nice the way you put it into perspective.Literacy-chichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08925734773412633965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-84980367133745321432011-02-27T15:26:34.369-05:002011-02-27T15:26:34.369-05:00Gail and JHB,
Well, part of what I wanted to do w...Gail and JHB,<br /><br />Well, part of what I wanted to do was make the elder brother seem sympathetic -- because I generally identify more with him than with the younger. So in trying to make him seem sympathetic while still keeping his basic faults (while he's able to live up to his father's expectations he resented his father being so joyful over his brother's return) I made him a lot like me, in the sense of being analytical rather than affective.<br /><br />Of course, maybe I made him <i>too</i> sympathetic, given where I've put him, which is, essentially, in a long term stint in purgatory.<br /><br />I feel like the elder brother's basic fault here, and maybe I didn't do a good job of having this come through in the piece, is that he's holding back, wanting God to recognize him as a favorite over his younger brother. He can't accept that God loves both of them the same. Though I think he's made a lot of progress in that direction. He probably sounds more pleasant now than he would have while still alive.<br /><br />It seems like there's a ticklish balance to this sort of thing, as it seemed like it would be cheap to simply have the elder brother to be "the real good one", because of course, he isn't.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-17740953840231180092011-02-27T09:38:12.766-05:002011-02-27T09:38:12.766-05:00I like this but -- although I don't think you ...I like this but -- although I don't think you meant it this way -- it does imply that people who think more than they feel are somehow deficient. Some people are not made to be swayed by their emotions; they are made to be swayed by their thoughts. They are not inferior and their faith, though different, may be quite as strong as the other kind. It's what they do with this faith that matters, and your fictional brother is a good example of people who do not let it rule their lives. But many real people with the thinking sort of faith have followed it in ways that are inspiring, and that are impossible for the "feeling-led" people because they require a different sort of action and self-control. Both kinds can be great saints and both kinds can fall. This is not a criticism of your blog, which I love! Just a comment because no blog post can possibly say everything.Gail Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740482509910163332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-3106444834237026072011-02-27T08:55:18.730-05:002011-02-27T08:55:18.730-05:00Beautiful, although I've always hoped such peo...Beautiful, although I've always hoped such people - who through little fault of their own are not particularly affective - would be particularly over-joyed in "The Presence". Perhaps granted a particular share of the emotion they were not blessed with during their earthly life; acting on reason can be (I won't say is) more difficult than simply responding to emotions as they come, particularly as most realize the fallibility of reason as they get older. But, then, what else would someone prone to being overly analytic say? In any case, very nice.JHBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748195440226997893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-73180806028486393842011-02-26T18:55:16.096-05:002011-02-26T18:55:16.096-05:00Excellent.Excellent.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668252458131596362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-3484852868858980222011-02-25T14:31:56.917-05:002011-02-25T14:31:56.917-05:00Wow, that's me.Wow, that's me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-55086138145832026092011-02-25T06:06:49.547-05:002011-02-25T06:06:49.547-05:00Hey, I really like that.Hey, I really like that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com