bmcjmp (09/17/82)
The names of the books in the trilogy are: OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET PERELANDRA THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH Barb Puder
aka779 (09/17/82)
It always comes as a surprise to me that organizaed religion has any-- repeat, any--influence on life today, especially in the enjoyment of speculative literature. Have we not outgrown the childishness that requires us to accept the hoary stories from the past as literal truth? If there were a Christ today, he'd be spinning SF tales and rejecting the old, outworn dogmas of thousands of years ago, in the same manner as the Christ told stories to illustrate his radical new beliefs. He als rejected the accepted religions of his day and preached a new way of life. Why not take that attitude, and then speculate on new religions that will follow those failures of today--such a failure as Marxism, for example, that must be a religion, since it has no basis otherwise. --Arlan Andrews, BTL--Indy.
emma (09/20/82)
It is highly inaccurate to represent Christ as rejecting the "accepted religions of his day" and preaching a new way of life. He clearly accepted the Jewish faith, and saw in himself the fulfillment of the "hoary old stories from the past". Further, the "new way of life" he preached was primarily a reinterpretation of the central maxim of the Jewish faith, that we ought to love (1) God and (2) each other. While I am always happy to be challenged by non-christians, I prefer that the discussion maintain some resemblance to real life. As to the more general question of "blasphemous" scince fiction, it occurs to me that it is a question that should be considered separately from the question of the overall worth of the story. Secular fiction, almost be definition, is concerned more with the nature of man than with the nature of God. It is possible, even in stories containing a "God" character, to deal with the story apart from its representation of God-- much as hyperdrive and time travel do not invalidate the quality. In regard to questions as to the possibility of "Christian" science fiction with soul-less elves and resurrecting lions, one must carefully separate out the author's intent from his/her phrasing. Did C.S. Lewis actually intend to produce a lion-centered faith? If so, he was blaspheming. Did he intend to represent some facets of Christ through allegory? Then the representation of Christ as Lion is no more blasphemous than John's representation of Satan as dragon. Finally, if this keeps up, maybe there should be a subnet sf-lovers.religious or something. -Joe Pfeiffer.
jrc (09/20/82)
The title under which the second book of C.S. Lewis' Silent Planet trilogy is presently published is actually "VOYAGE TO VENUS", not "PERELANDRA". I would not say that the moralist/religious overtones in the trilogy are specifically Christian in nature, although certainly there is nothing that specifically suggests otherwise. It is a highly entertaining trilogy which I heartily recommend to SF fans of all persuasions. Jim.
ARPAVAX:kalash (09/21/82)
"not specifcly Christian in nature"??? You have GOT to be kidding. Reread "Voyage to Venus", it is a retelling of the story of christ; and is VERY VERY christian (and one of the main reasons I didn't like it). Joe