16 Comments
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Keith Long's avatar

Wow — I am impressed with the simple depth captured from the originals and the impossibility of how you got it here in this story.

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Thaddeus Thomas's avatar

That's really kind of you. Thank you!

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M.P. Fitzgerald's avatar

Damn. Whoever told you that you capture the voice of the original stories needs to get paid, because they are right and this is fantastic

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Thaddeus Thomas's avatar

Thank you!

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Daniel Rebbeck's avatar

Good job Pooh has his friends, Piglet and owl etc etc.

what motivated you to use the beautiful world of Pooh to write about such a sad and terrible thing as suicide?

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Thaddeus Thomas's avatar

Wanting to tell the story of the passion with these characters had been a desire for years, but when I finally decided to do it, I didn't want to tell a Sunday school story. I focused on the diverging paths of Peter and Judas and let that be my guide.

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Daniel Rebbeck's avatar

The ‘diverging paths’? Judas didn’t diverge. He followed gods plan and was betrayed by Jesus by not being forgiven.

Have done lots of research on this as have just been in a play about Judas

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Daniel Rebbeck's avatar

Oh no. So not just ruined the world of Pooh with Suicide but also by shoehorning religion into it. Am I to assume CR is now cast as Judas? Sacrilege.

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Thaddeus Thomas's avatar

CR is Christ. Owl is Judas.

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Daniel Rebbeck's avatar

Oh god it gets worse. please understand that I’m not criticising your writing. But Winnie the Pooh was and still is the closest thing to a god that I as an atheist could have. Beautiful and deeply meaningful guidance on life. To overlay a Christian story onto it is just wrong in my opinion. Christopher Robin loved Pooh and the others without blackmailing them with threats of hell. The Christian gods message of love me or else is the antipathy of the stories.

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Thaddeus Thomas's avatar

Even worse. I throw in touches of Cormac McCarthy from Blood Meridian

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Daniel Rebbeck's avatar

Hmmm… A great book in that it perfectly captures the violent hypocrisy of religions.

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Thaddeus Thomas's avatar

I understand if just the basis of the story would be upsetting.

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Thaddeus Thomas's avatar

The saving grace, so to speak, is that there's an attempt not to preach. I'm not trying to convert. But yes, that's the story--What if the gospel characters were Pooh characters.

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Daniel Rebbeck's avatar

Well… CR ultimately leaves Pooh and goes off into the world. So surely he’s the Judas? It is Pooh himself who has the true wisdom and love. Wise old owl perhaps could represent the church itself- preaching and conceited and yet ignorant of real knowledge. Tigger could the atheist who everyone is trying to get to conform but ultimately fail to see that his life is the most joyful.

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