C.S. Lews actually did that part quite well in his "Space Trilogy." The Bible says a lot about our world, but it doesn't actively preclude life on others. I only read the first book of the Space Trilogy, and that itself was a long time ago, but there were some interesting questions about how different civilizations on different worlds related to the same G-d, and on top of that I vaguely remember the added dimension that Martian society lacked original sin (which of course threw the human astronauts for a loop). You can extrapolate anything if you try hard enough.
Totally off-topic (but not in the bad way), you probably already know that I collect vintage paperback prints of Sci-Fi books from the 50's and 60's. Getting my hands on a copy of this particular print of Perelandra in at least VG quality is one of my goals.
When I read that book, the Catholic church was going through a particularly rough patch regarding its view of gay people, namely whether or not a gay man could be a priest or not. Without dragging this into the debate room, the quote (from memory, may be slightly off) by the old priest "We ain't all abstaining from the same thing" really made a lot of sense to me.
Agreed, and again, while I don't have to agree with everything that was expressed in that book, as pointed out by @Commandante Lemming a couple of posts ago, this character's presentation, and the engagement of this particular topic as regards the overall theme of the book was handled with consideration and acknowledgment of the complexity of a given person's relationship with deity. There was no black & white morality play. It was a very human engagement, which, as regards the OP's original question, is I think something that cannot be lost sight of.
BTW, the fellah giving the interview, Jeff VanderMeer, wrote a trilogy I read last year (or maybe the year before) called the Southern Reach Trilogy. If you're a fan of Mieville (and I know you are) I think you will like these books muchly. Like Mieville, VanderMeer is willing to explore unusual concepts in unusual ways through the format of a novel. People either get it and love the brilliance or they don't and leave confused. If you get Mieville, you'll get VanderMeer.
I'm guessing this isn't the guy who wrote Moby Dick ? (Pete must pay attention in class and would achieve better grades if he applied himself instead of day dreaming)
No, that's Melville, who was American, and is long dead. Miéville is this gorgeous denizen of Her Majesty's Fair Isles pictured below. Proof that the universe has little interest in fairness because he's a flipping brilliant writer and he looks like that.
Have you ever read Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction? It's a wonderfully weird "writing guide" by VanderMeer. I had never even heard of him until it came out and now I can't wait to pick up one of his book. Maybe I'll start with this Southern Reach trilogy...
I actually found out about it through this advertisement that played over and over at a bookstore I was working at the time.
I see this question a lot among Christian writers, and used to struggle with it myself. First off, I am a Christian. I also managed a church library for some time, so I've read plenty of Christian fiction, for what that's worth. The short answer to your question: Be a light. The longer, hopefully more helpful answer: As a Christian, I'm guessing you believe God is in you in the form of the Holy Spirit. I'll leave it to you to find chapter and verse, but basically, the Holy Spirit is there to guide you, convict you, and generally lead you to the right decisions, in many ways. The Holy Spirit is as much a part of you as any of your favorite body parts and personality traits, right? So write. "Glorifying God" doesn't mean you have to write Christian fiction. It doesn't mean you have to preach the Gospel with your stories. In fact, if you prioritize either of those over the story, your story will be less than what it could be. Remember the boring "Jesus" video? It was boring because it was more "instructive" than literary. That, and it had bad acting, but I digress. We put ourselves into our work. We can't avoid that. Even the books of the Bible reflect the personalities of their authors, and some of them had differences of opinion. It's okay to write a story just to tell a good story. That glorifies God, if your intent is to use your talent to your full potential. It's fine if you want to include Christian themes and messages, so long as you tell a good story first and foremost. God is in you, and if you follow His leading, you'll be fine, whatever you write. He doesn't demand evangelistic fiction. There's nowhere in Scripture where it says we have to brand everything we do under a Christian title. We can be Christians who just do good work, and God is happy with that. Paul was a preacher, but he also made tents. He didn't have to make sure everyone knew their tent was made by a Christian, but we can safely assume he made the best tents he knew how. "Christian" as a brand or genre is a human construct, and some people are called to write that. Others are called to be Christians who are writers, but not Christian writers. That's okay. Either way, we can reach our full potential. My advice to you is to read all kinds of science fiction, take what inspires you, and follow the story where it leads. For another sermon, please deposit another $0.02. "...I've a few very catchy ones prepped. Sin and hellfire. One has lepers."
Moose you`re a rascal, but a funny one (and you live in devon? me too) I am also a Christian and started out writing when I was young and wrote something predominantly Christian, for Christians, and about as preachy as it comes. Then I forgot writing, because the book was awful, and other things came along. Now I find I`m writing again and being perfectly happy to write science fiction and fantasy with no Godly themes in particular. I think, as someone has mentioned, if you just write then your faith will emerge inside your writing, without you meaning to. And also that if God does indeed give us gifts then creativity and imagination is certainly one of them. And just by using mine I feel I am uplifting Him.
Some people seem to think the existence of alien life would invalidate Christianity. I vigorously disagree, and so do a fair number of denominations. The universe seems far too big for us to be its only inhabitants.
Odd, I tried reading Mieville and didn't get him, but have just finished reading the first of the Southern Reach novels and enjoyed it. It`s well written, and full of mystery.
Oh yes, but I`m curious how they will translate the book to the film, the book doesn`t have a classic film ending. Still not sure whether to watch this after reading the book as I usually hate doing that. Rather book after film, if anything.
I can only assume that the film adaptation is going to trim a lot of the story down, especially the more bizarre, introspective aspects. Oddly enough, from the trailer, it seems that the phenomenon at the bottom of the tunnel/tower is present in the film so perhaps they will, in fact, address the more esoteric aspects from the book. I read all three of the books and was deeply satisfied with the story. It was gorgeous in its many different modes of entry and layers of consideration.
Yes, very introspective. There are also some parts that would look very interesting on film. The border part is what interests me, as it was never actually experienced by the expedition.
I understand the tension, but I think it flows from a failure to grasp the fact that God created people to be creative. We honour God by doing the thing he made us to do, and by doing it to the best of our ability. People want to put everything into a narrow category as if everything has to have a little cross drawn on it in order to mark it as a thing that glorifies God. A plumber glorifies God by serving people and working with skill and integrity at the job they are able to do. No one expects them to draw a cross on the pipes they unblock or give a sermon to their customers. The same is true for a writer. Certainly, you need to think about what you are portraying in your books and why you are making those decisions, but you don't have to be as explicit as CS Lewis was, or even as J R R Tolkien.
The key words are "I don't see". It means problem is blindness, not genre, not your interests, not... Maybe your answer is in the Bibble? - Bibble can show you how to handle multidimentional topics thru time and cultures. - Bibble can teach you how to go far and speak with your head high. - Bibble is the best book about symbolism, moral, culture and human mind. You can take that knowlidge where ever. Maybe you find your answer from other authors inspired and/or lead by Bibble? Richard Wurmbrand? David Pawson? Andrew Klavan? Desmond Tutu? Anthony de Mello? Dale Carnegie? If you can't see, there must be something that blocks your wiev. Maybe you need some self reflection to find it? And praying...? "Dear God! I'm confused about what to do with my writing. There is a conflict between my inner drive and the pressure of expectations I feel... " Or deconstructing the paradox. "I can't see sollution because I have my hand in front of my eyes. What should I do?"
I have often wondered what the discovery of aliens will/would do to human religions. Most authors write it off saying people will riot in the streets, commit suicide, etc. It is a most narrow and negative view of human spirituality. I'd like to see how a person of faith (any faith, really) thinks something like this would affect their religion. Frankly, it's an area people are afraid to cross into. The negative view of spirituality is easy to do and offers no roadblocks to acceptance by the arts culture.
did you ever watch Stargate - where all the alien races had masqueraded as gods to enslave humanity (except for the Asgard who were Viking gods , and also Roswell Aliens, but were generally good guys)
