Re: EJ a convert?

[John M Stroup <stroup@ruf.rice.edu>]

Certainly I am aware of the post-1945 wave of christianizings of EJ; that
awareness made me sceptical in evaluating the cryptic reports about his
burial.  Nonetheless....

On Tue, 21 Apr 1998, John King wrote:

> I'd like to add my voice to Günter's scepticism. Although the newspapers and
> magazines, as well as a number of books, in the 1940s were full of claims
> that EJ was about to convert to Catholicism/protestant Christianity
> following his double reading of the Bible during his days in Paris as
> documented in "Strahlungen", he never actually did. In many ways this would
> have been the most appropriate time for a formal conversion given the
> circumstances - "Der Friede" with its call for a new European order on a
> "theological" basis, the death of his first son, and the depths of modern
> nihilism and frequent attendance at religious services. But this did not
> happen. And the entire thrust of his work from "Der Waldgänger" onwards was
> against a personal commitment to a social force such as the established
> churches.
> 
> I remember one of the interviews from 1995 when he explained that he was
> "conservative" and thus still paid his Kirchensteuer to the
> Lutheran/Evangelical church. This reminds me of Manuel Venator's presence in
> the Condor's bar somewhat...
> 
> Mfg.
> 
> JK
> 
> 
>