If Terry Pratchett Looks in the Mirror, Does He See Granny Weatherwax?

There is a very interesting debate raging at the moment about the nature of sin, for example,” said Oats.

“And what do they think? Against it, are they?” said Granny Weatherwax.

“It’s not as simple as that. It’s not a black and white issue. There are so many shades of gray.”

“Nope.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s no grays, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that –”

“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes –”

“But they starts with thinking about people as things …”

The Anchoress takes one of my favorite quotes from a Terry Pratchett book and reflects on Pratchett's atheism, early onset Alzheimer's and support for assisted suicide.

Anticipating his own end, Pratchett has said, ‘I intend, before the endgame looms, to die sitting in a chair in my own garden with a glass of brandy in my hand and Thomas Tallis on the iPod.”

Pratchett might be surprised at what she finds in the light of Granny Weatherwax's philosophy. Read it at First Things.

5th Commandment: part 1

Requested by some folks here, my ongoing series written for our parish bulletin, part of our occasional series covering the Ten Commandments. We now begin one that is a tough subject in our modern times. It will be a multi-part look at "you shall not kill" as you might expect. Here is part 1.

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Living our faith in the real world
The Fifth Commandment:
You shall not kill.*

You have heard that it was said to the men of old, “You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.

Matthew 5:21-22

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2258 “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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“There’s no grays, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.” [said Granny Weatherwax]

“It’s a lot more complicated than that…” [said Brother Oats]

“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.” [said Granny Weatherwax]

“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes…” [said Brother Oats]

“But they starts with thinking about people as things.” [said Granny Weatherwax]

Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

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The Hebrew word used in this commandment is ratsach (murder). St. Jerome’s translation of the Hebrew into Latin also used the word “murder” instead of the translation “kill” which we see in the headline above.

This distinction of “you shall not murder” instead of “you shall not kill” is a crucial one. It is what establishes the Catholic Church’s prohibition of taking innocent life. So important is this teaching that mere prohibition is not enough. We are called upon to protect, defend, and nurture life from conception to natural end. Jesus both simplified and expanded upon this teaching when giving the Sermon on the Mount as we see above in the quote from Matthew.

As straightforward as the idea of “not murdering” seems, our society is such that moral and political quagmires are opened every time it arises. Without very careful consideration of the Church’s teachings, the issues this commandment covers are likely to raise modern hackles against what are perceived to be insensitive dictates about just war, euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, assisted suicide, stem cell research, and more.

In practically every case where someone objects to Church teachings it is through a laudable desire to express compassion and mercy. Those objections generally are concerned with the “quality-of-life.” However, the great danger of trying to judge the “quality” of another’s life is that when a life is judged to be “not worth living” then action must be taken to solve the problem. The only alternative to life is death. This is especially true as governments and institutions become involved in “life issues.”

Bureaucracies have a great tendency to group and categorize situations without taking the time to look closely at each human being involved. People become equivalent to “things.” Things are easy to dispose of.

The Church, on the other hand, has established her teachings with an eye to “sanctity-of-life.” That is to say, the Church knows life is sacred because God created and maintains it. We come from God, we live in relationship with God, and we return to Him when we die. He alone knows us well enough for judgment.

From the knowledge that life is sacred comes teachings which consistently protect all life and which have been called the “seamless garment” of the Church. The seamless garment of life is a reference from John 19:23 to the seamless robe of Jesus, which his executioners did not tear apart. This is the basis for the fact that Catholics cannot protect any life at the expense of other lives.

Clearly, we will be delving into complicated issues as we explore the Fifth Commandment and how we live our faith as modern Catholics. Different issues relating to this commandment will be examined individually in upcoming bulletin inserts

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*Ex 20:13; Cf. Deut 5:17.

Source Materials

• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Evangelium Vitae (1995 encyclical) by Pope John Paul II
• Catholic Christianity by Peter Kreeft

Finding Truth in the Oddest Places

"There is a very interesting debate raging at the moment about the nature of sin, for example," said Oats.

"And what do they think? Against it, are they?" said Granny Weatherwax.

"It's not as simple as that. It's not a black and white issue. There are so many shades of gray."

"Nope."

"Pardon?"

"There's no grays, only white that's got grubby. I'm surprised you don't know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That's what sin is.

"It's a lot more complicated than that --"

"No. It ain't. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they're getting worried that they won't like the truth. People as things, that's where it starts."

"Oh, I'm sure there are worse crimes --"

"But they starts with thinking about people as things ..."

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

There is a lot of good, solid common sense in the Discworld universe, as Terry Pratchett fans can attest. Of course, one must sort through a lot of silliness to get there. The silliness that happens around his witches, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax is my favorite sort.

Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred used the above excerpt as a jumping off place to discuss the nature of sin, faith and struggle. There is not a bit of silliness in it. There is, however, plenty of good, solid common sense. Here's a bit but do go read the whole thing.

The religious community must remember that Free Will is just that- free will. We have a choice in how we live our lives- and that is between man and God. Non believers can be as moral or even moral than a flawed believer- and we would do well to remember we are all flawed.

The secular community must remember that they do not replace the religious community. Scientific education and the secular study of ethics and morality do not make for an intellectual aristocracy, to be held in higher esteem than all others. One cannot negate the impact for good the religious community has had upon this nation and world. The value of that good is not demeaned by a relationship with God.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

The Little Way of Terry Pratchett

An oldie (2015) but a goodie from Leah Libresco Sargeant. Via Will Duquette.

“There’s no grays, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that—”

“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they are getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes—”

“But they starts with thinking about people as things …”

Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

Reading that as an atheist, it was the first time I’d seen a definition of sin that didn’t sound like, as Francis Spufford describes our modern use of the word in Unapologetic, a kind of “enjoyable naughtiness” that seemed mostly to do with sex or very expensive chocolates.

But the kind of sin that Granny talks about isn’t an indulgence in something harmless, luxurious and secret. And it’s not the world-shaking evil of a monster or a murderer. It’s a seemingly small rejection of creation and the particular place our fellow people have in it. It’s not always choosing hatred; it can be putting aside love for indifference.

Leah Libresco Sargeant, The Little Way of Terry Pratchett

I have long loved Granny Weatherwax for all the reasons Leah Libresco Sargeant mentions in her piece, which you should go read. In fact, I included that quote in Happy Catholic for it's solid truth.

It is interesting seeing how influential Terry Pratchett's insistence on human worth can be. Certainly it is one of the reasons I loved his stories. He doggedly and continually defends the value of each human. And the clear-sightedness of what sin really is. Whether he called it sin or not.