Nate Thiel - Reading From Landscapes of the Sacred

“Believers spoke of seeing a bright light coming from the ground there at Chimayo and digging up a crucifix of the Black Christ buried near the river.” (Lane, 47)

In the above passage, the author writes “Believers”. To me this means that he is not a believer himself. If he were, then the author would have written it: It is said that… Also, the author talks of the “Black Christ,” yet never tell us who that is. If the reader were not religious, like myself, they would have no idea what is being talked about. I supposed if the reader was very curious, they could research it. But, if like me and they are not extremely curious, or just do not care, then the author has completely lost his audience. I have to be honest: this may be the most boring, and worst written book I have ever read.
Later, on the same page, Lane writes that he sat on the pews of the chapel that the crucifix is supposedly hanged in. He says that he felt it difficult to sit in silence because the walls “continued to echo the agonized cries of endless numbers of pilgrims who had journeyed there” (Lane, 47). Again, this is hard for me to believe. Walls cannot talk. Walls cannot even voluntarily make noises. It is also hard for me to believe that the author was able to travel to all the places he says he has been. Within four pages, the author had been to several different places, all of which would be quiet expensive to get to.