Anathema (Letter 6)

(You can find the Introduction here.  Letter one here)

I cannot fully express the degree of appreciation I am now feeling.  It is a rare honor for a student, even a student in residency, to be granted permission to read the Christian texts.  Thank you, Dr. Larson, for your letter of recommendation.  I am grateful beyond words.

While it is true that I am currently floating in the clouds, the weight of the responsibility is not lost on me.   The seriousness of the situation anchors my feet to the ground.

How many have been honored as I?  Fourteen in the history of the Institute?  What an overwhelming thought!

As to your question, I have spent a considerable amount of time over the past few days contemplating how I should approach the Christian text.  I was leaning towards adopting a more thematic approach, but a chance event, a surprise meeting with counselor Garrett, tipped the scales in favor of simply beginning where all sensible readers begin: The beginning.  I plan on running through the text at a fairly quick pace.  My intent is to gain a sense of the whole, to grasp the overarching themes of the book.  Not only will this allow me to hang details on fixed hooks, but, and this is more to the point, I feel this is the only way I will be able to understand how patient 2H-A really thinks.  All of the minutia of her religion is embedded and find its greater meaning within a larger context.  I’m tempted to call it a storyline.  Narrative at the least.  She doesn’t view her book as a disconnected assembly of moral points, moral as she might view it, but more of a historical account of the purposes of God.  She genuinely believes God is up to something, that history has a beginning and an end, and that it is all working together in some fantastic way.

I would very much like to speak to this further, but I dare not.  I need to read.

In terms of submitting the oversight forms, should I give them to you or directly to the president?  Also, while I’m not eager to take Sorrimthin, even in such low doses, I recognize why such rules are in place.  Direct exposure requires precautionary measures.  Shall I write my own prescription or would it be better for you to call it in?

Respectfully,

C.L. Jones