Hi all. I have a question for Christians.
Are there any science fiction or fantasy books out there that are Christian-influenced or Christian-written? And I don't mean secular novels that happen to be written by a Christian. If so, list them here! (Oh, and preferably, GOOD novels, not lame ones.)
I ask because I've just finished reading a few science fiction books after a long break of not having read any science fiction (I'm a huge sci-fi fan). The last time I read a sci-fi/fantasy book was when I was not a Christian, over a year ago. I haven't been reading since then because I've been immersing myself in nonfiction theology.
Now that I've returned to sci-fi, I'm vaguely disgusted at the philosophies of the secular writers. Generally the stories are good, but it is inevitable in science fiction for the author to wax philisophical on his life-views via his or her main character's actions and thoughts. What's particularly wrenching is that, in the universe of the book that I am reading, the authors views are de facto absolutes in the universe, despite my Christian knowledge to the contrary. I have to pause, grapple with my mind and wrap my mind around the different reality before continuing to enjoy my existance in the author's fantasy.
Some examples of things in the books that I notice include:
Some of these things reflect the common thoughts of the 1950's. Most are a direct reflection of the author's atheism and how he's constructed his own personal moral system.
In addition to these observations, I also wonder about the situation the characters are placed in. In "Orphans of the Sky", a colony ship has been coasting through space for untold generations. The original trip was to be 60 years but some crew mutinied, the crew was killed, and the passengers were left to eat, sleep, procreate, and die. This is truly a curse of hellish proportions and I wonder if God would have allowed events to come to this for this ship of thousands of souls. God is nonexistant, they believe in "Jordan," who turns out to be a long-ago ship designer. Again, a jab at today's "religion."
An interesting observation in "Time for the Stars" is that the telepathic people in the story "talk" to their pair at instantaneous speed. They can be 11 light years separated, but they talk instantaneously. To me, this suggests that these telepaths could be connecting at the spiritual level, which permeates everywhere (God is omnipresent, omnitemporal, and omniexistant). Therefore, they are not really communicating "faster than the speed of light" but rather "instantly" through an access that is next to everybody. These are my thoughts; the author hasn't even mentioned the spiritual realm.
"The Mote in God's Eye" is a direct reference to Matthew 7:3-5, although I think the author completely missed the point, or didn't use the teaching of this passage in the book. The book is not about judging others but about an alien lightsail spaceship that came from a star near the center of a nebula that looks like a giant eye. The locals of the solar system near the nebula call it the Face of God, and this bright light that pushed the ship to them for 20 years is the mote. The story is about mankind's first contact with an alien species. It's a very good book. This is the book that challenges Catholics to adapt to the fact that there are indeed other people out there and do they fall under the Catholic God's plan of salvation. This issue is a minor side topic of the book.
I just realized that this hokey writer of the 50's (Heinlein) also wrote "Starship Troopers," and "The Day After Tomorrow." I discovered him when my friend let me paw through a pile of old, used books he got for free. I picked two from the 50's to read what old sci fi was like. And yes, they're not so hot. The science is generally good and fairly modern (they follow Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein just as we do today). Socially they are a bit off from today, but our imagination tends to gloss over these bits, except when in gross error like treating women as inferior humans. Interestingly, the sci-fi books are tremendously better than sci-fi TV shows and movies of the time. This is probably because it's harder to make the special effects for the movies than it is to just describe them in the book.
+ + + + +
Sorry for rambling. As you can see, I'm getting more out of the sci-fi books by measuring them up to what God says, finding truths in today's society and how they do not match up with God.
+ + + + +
The three sci fi books I read recently:
"Orphans of the Sky", by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
"Time for the Stars," by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
"The Mote in God's Eye," by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1991)
Are there any science fiction or fantasy books out there that are Christian-influenced or Christian-written? And I don't mean secular novels that happen to be written by a Christian. If so, list them here! (Oh, and preferably, GOOD novels, not lame ones.)
I ask because I've just finished reading a few science fiction books after a long break of not having read any science fiction (I'm a huge sci-fi fan). The last time I read a sci-fi/fantasy book was when I was not a Christian, over a year ago. I haven't been reading since then because I've been immersing myself in nonfiction theology.
Now that I've returned to sci-fi, I'm vaguely disgusted at the philosophies of the secular writers. Generally the stories are good, but it is inevitable in science fiction for the author to wax philisophical on his life-views via his or her main character's actions and thoughts. What's particularly wrenching is that, in the universe of the book that I am reading, the authors views are de facto absolutes in the universe, despite my Christian knowledge to the contrary. I have to pause, grapple with my mind and wrap my mind around the different reality before continuing to enjoy my existance in the author's fantasy.
Some examples of things in the books that I notice include:
- The bleak reality that after death is nothing
- Religious fanatics like Catholics (the exemplar for Christianity since it's the largest Christian denomination) have their place but don't quite grasp how the world works.
- Catholics are forced to grapple with new facts of the universe that undermine their theology, such as the discovery of sentient alien life (by the end of the book the Catholic's response was never given). (Such a fact I've discovered in my studies should destroy the Christian belief system, therefore alien life does not exist, and has not been discovered to exist either.)
- Inhumane treatment of other people deemed "okay" and practiced by the hero.
- Social murder of mutated babies who don't look "normal" deemed "okay."
- Domestic violence deemed "okay," so long as it's just a backhanded slap to your wife's mouth.
Some of these things reflect the common thoughts of the 1950's. Most are a direct reflection of the author's atheism and how he's constructed his own personal moral system.
In addition to these observations, I also wonder about the situation the characters are placed in. In "Orphans of the Sky", a colony ship has been coasting through space for untold generations. The original trip was to be 60 years but some crew mutinied, the crew was killed, and the passengers were left to eat, sleep, procreate, and die. This is truly a curse of hellish proportions and I wonder if God would have allowed events to come to this for this ship of thousands of souls. God is nonexistant, they believe in "Jordan," who turns out to be a long-ago ship designer. Again, a jab at today's "religion."
An interesting observation in "Time for the Stars" is that the telepathic people in the story "talk" to their pair at instantaneous speed. They can be 11 light years separated, but they talk instantaneously. To me, this suggests that these telepaths could be connecting at the spiritual level, which permeates everywhere (God is omnipresent, omnitemporal, and omniexistant). Therefore, they are not really communicating "faster than the speed of light" but rather "instantly" through an access that is next to everybody. These are my thoughts; the author hasn't even mentioned the spiritual realm.
"The Mote in God's Eye" is a direct reference to Matthew 7:3-5, although I think the author completely missed the point, or didn't use the teaching of this passage in the book. The book is not about judging others but about an alien lightsail spaceship that came from a star near the center of a nebula that looks like a giant eye. The locals of the solar system near the nebula call it the Face of God, and this bright light that pushed the ship to them for 20 years is the mote. The story is about mankind's first contact with an alien species. It's a very good book. This is the book that challenges Catholics to adapt to the fact that there are indeed other people out there and do they fall under the Catholic God's plan of salvation. This issue is a minor side topic of the book.
I just realized that this hokey writer of the 50's (Heinlein) also wrote "Starship Troopers," and "The Day After Tomorrow." I discovered him when my friend let me paw through a pile of old, used books he got for free. I picked two from the 50's to read what old sci fi was like. And yes, they're not so hot. The science is generally good and fairly modern (they follow Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein just as we do today). Socially they are a bit off from today, but our imagination tends to gloss over these bits, except when in gross error like treating women as inferior humans. Interestingly, the sci-fi books are tremendously better than sci-fi TV shows and movies of the time. This is probably because it's harder to make the special effects for the movies than it is to just describe them in the book.
+ + + + +
Sorry for rambling. As you can see, I'm getting more out of the sci-fi books by measuring them up to what God says, finding truths in today's society and how they do not match up with God.
+ + + + +
The three sci fi books I read recently:
"Orphans of the Sky", by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
"Time for the Stars," by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
"The Mote in God's Eye," by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1991)
It was one of those series I wanted to read, but put off growing up and figured since there was a movie, I'd better start crack'n down on it. Tee-Hee!
