Page 111 - The Irony Board
P. 111

Into the Cosmos


                 Ichtheology

             The deeper schools
             To catch their prey
             Emit a kind
             Of feeble ray;

             Their victims who
             In darkness stay
             Mistake it for
             The light of day.

            Again,  the  title  is  a  neological  pun:  the  study  of  fish  and
        distasteful  doctrine.  Charismatic  preachers,  like  deep-ocean
        bioluminescent  predators,  need  not  provide  much  illumination  as
        bait;  their  prey  is  so  benighted  that  any  ray  of  hope  is  attractive.
        “Deeper  schools”  also  implies  a  milieu  of  murky  mysticism,
        obfuscatory  symbol  and  rote  ritual;  like  attracts  like,  the  confused
        appealing  to  the  confused.  What  shines  through  is  a  promise  of
        enlightenment and escape from the dark seas of doubt and despair;
        all  one  has to do is give  oneself up,  totally,  to the  source of that
        promise.














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