SF as theological literature

[seraphim]

This is a tread tangentially related to an earlier one referenceing Fr. Steven Freeman's Glory to God blog and podcast, but I would rather explore a topic rather than just acknowledge a tip of the hat. Here is the link to Fr. Steven's blog entry on SF.

One of the points raised in the blog and the podcast, and the follow-on comments has to do with how Science Fiction at heart is a religious and theological genre of literature. In this thread I would like to explore your thoughts on the "standing" theology implicit in SF and the kinds of theological questions you believe SF is particularly well adapted to comment upon.

To start things off with regard to standing SF theological ideation is that of the perfectability of man. Classical SF takes this for granted and looks upon the steady march of technological advance as the venue, if not the "eucharist" by which this better humanity will come to be. More dystopian forms of SF seems to question to conceit of perfectibilty through technology...even perhaps the dream of perfectibility itself.

One corner of SF hase concerned itself with the idea of divine/extra human rescue from ourselves. For example, as was noted in one of the comments, we have a population half of whom is waiting for the rapture and the other half waiting for the aliens. Implict in this desire/anticipation is the idea that mankind as it exists is in some way broken, not as it ought to be, and it is beyond mankind's unaided power to overcome whatever it is that precludes it from attaining some kind of godlike/angelic existance free from corruption. Three (in my opinion) important SF works illustrating this point are the movies "Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, and the Pleiocene Elile and Metaconcert series by Julian May. The Stargate TV series also dealt with the question in the form of both advanced technological societies and ascended beings (the natural telological end of high technology and "awareness").

The SG series tend to take a split view of both perfectibility and rescue. On one hand friendly advanced alien races help humanity, and then later ascended beings...who were once advanced humans before they learned how to transcend material existance. Thus man at once needs rescue but on the otherhand he is self-perfectable.

[torainfor]

Most of the SciFi I read is just humans taking their faults and hopes to other environments. At the extreme was Anne McCaffrey who insisted Pern had no religion. However...

There is Spider Robinson (who can be very funny and thought-provoking if you can get past the sex and swearing, which I eventually decided I couldn't). In the Callahan books, Jake and the gang were constantly on the lookout for some way to become psychically unified. They almost managed it once, with the help of two telepathic brothers, when they fought the giant cockroach who wanted to get back his interstellar assassin, Micky Finn.

In Time Pressure, the protagonists from Mindkiller succeed--and come back in time to gather those from the past into the fold (reminds me of Mormons being baptized for past relatives). The hippies in the commune readily agree. The semi-hermit refuses. He doesn't want to share his conscious with a single entity made of everyone else.

How much of all of this is inspired by 60s Universal Consciousness stuff? Or, maybe it was more parallel evolution.

[Jeff Gerke]

I agree with his main thesis. I would counter that fantasy is an even more natural genre for dealing with spiritual issues. Here, stories are regularly about larger-than-life supernatural powers of good and evil. I think fantasy is the perfect lab bench for examining spirituality--and is a natural home for the Christian novelist.

Jeff

[Vaporwolf]

I think that fantasy lends itself more to dealing with spiritual concepts, while science ficiton lends itself more toward ethics and spiritual application.

The rules generally aren't as clearly drawn in science fiction, but they are often much closer to what we see in reality, which is why fantasy can bring up philisophical discussions but science-fiction can more readily influence a person's world view (I think).

But I do agree that a certain spirituality or denial there-of inherantly inhabits science fiction. One of the very first things I had to come to terms with when fleshing out my science fiction universe was how I was going to handle God and redemption in the universe, and how much of that decision I'd let the readers see.

[seraphim]

It seems to me that spiritual issues can actually be more difficult to handle well in a fantasy venue. But it can be done as shown ably by the Harry Potter series. Maybe its a lack of trust on my part. I'm charry of snuggling faith and magic too cosily, I suppose. The show offy-ness inherent in many magic driven stories tend to want to evolve in movie poster takes on the basic adolescent power trip...granted SF is not immune to this either. One of the things I admire in Tolkein's story telling is that he really really reigns in most obvious expressions of magic. You see a glowing sword, a little light show or two, and that's about it. The closest thing to a magic fight is between Saruman and Gandalf...and that is dealt with a little gingerly even then. Magic is in his world, but he doesn't like to show it very much and thus the story moves on the rails of character in the fulfilment of the story's quest.

At best though I see a theologically ordered if not much articulated world, but I can't say I see much in the way of theology in the questions raised by the story. I see them even less in most of the rest of what I've seen of fantasy. Religion is sometimes a player on the stage, but not theological argument/contemplation in story form (at least not much that I've seen), though to be sure both Watership Down and Book of the Dunn Cow made some serious inroads on that front. I have seen fantasy deal effectively with questions of morality and polity however (like Animal Farm).

Maybe some titles can be suggested that deal with an essentially theological question at any depth in fantasy. The only ones that come to mind to me beyond those I've mentioned are allegories such as Narnia, the Great Divorce, Screwtape Letters, and George McDonald's works, Little Prince,...maybe Jonathan Livingston Seagull...but I'm not sure I would want to qualify that as having theological depth. But I can think of a number of SF stories that wrestle with essentially theological questions: Scanners Live in Vain, Hyperion, Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, Ballad of Lost C'Mell, Jefty is Three, Mimsy Were the Borogroves, Alas All Thinking, and so on.

One of the areas I think SF best able to deal with theological questions is in its subcategory of anthropology...or to render it interogatively, "What is Man". SF explores that question a lot.

Anyway...my thoughts such as they are.

[torainfor]

I'm so out of my depth that even what I'm about to write is over my head. Nevertheless...

Maybe fantasy is better at exhibiting/showing/discussing existing theology and sci fi is better at exploring the possibilities? Fantasy seems to imply living within an established world. Maybe the protagonist discovers deeper truths about that world, but someone, somewhere (Gandalf, Merlin, Aslan...) knew those things were there in the first place, even if the protagonist is just discovering them for the first time. Paksennarion delves deeply into many spiritual and theological concepts, but the theology was there all along. She (literally) fleshes it out.

Sci fi seems to come more from the point of view of discovering entire constructs that were unknown before. The discoveries may be of truths that were in existence before, but humans didn't know them. But, this is the difference (subtle) between science and history, isn't it? History is figuring out what other people knew and how it fits. Science is figuring out truths we don't know yet.

So, if that's so, sci fi would be a more appropriate venue in which to inspire big-question theological/spiritual ponderings. But, I argue, fantasy would be the venue in which to inspire contemplation of personal application. Once we've discovered the truth, how to we live it day to day? Those questions are perhaps better explored in a dirtier, grittier, orc-ier world.

[J Jack]

Both genres are fantastic for out there issues, theological ideas and ideals that are not common place or talked about much. To reach true theological discussion about every day issues you have to use a different type, discuss in modern style realistic literature. Story of a normal man going through life and it's hurdles, but of course Sci Fi and Fantasy make it so much more fun and allow us to add in things to twist and make the theological more appealing to the masses. Who wants to read about Joe Shmo when you could read about some hero wielding his sword to fend off the bloodthirsty hordes or a pilot lost in space?
I would argue Sci Fi is suited for exploring issues that arise from the drifting of humanity from God and spirituality and a reliance on technology, while Fantasy is much more suited for the two sides, who are completely devoted to one spiritual side, fighting it out.
Sci Fi has been adapted to ask the questions no one has an answer to, while I think Fantasy explores the sides of questions we've answered to broaden our spectrum of understanding.

[seraphim]

So are you suggesting that you view SF as better suited to ask questions like, "who am I" "what is my purpose/place/meaning in the universe" "what's it all about" (the answer is neither 42 or Alfie) " and Fantasy is better suited to ask questions of the "how should I then live" nature?

If so which stories or novels illustrate this best in your point of view?

[J Jack]

Oui, Sci Fi is much more suited for finding oneself in a larger than you universe. A novel of that, well The First and Only was pretty good for that (albeit not a christian novel) where a group of soldiers who are the last of their people, fight to find themselves again.

Fantasy, isn't completely how should I then live, I see it more as a challenge. Take questions we've "answered" and say, well what if?

If you've read The Shack then you'll see what I mean by that. The Shack isn't a fantasy, but it challenges everything you think about religion. In a good way. If you haven't read it, do so. I strongly recommend it, it was a fantastic novel. That's the kind of ideas I see in Fantasy genres, take what we "know" and break it apart. Bring forth new ideas, Sci Fi is for exploring the unknown.

[morganlbusse]

I think both genres can be used to explore the issues of theology, truth, and the nature of mankind. You can't say one is better than the other because eventually someone will write in the opposite genre and prove such a thesis wrong. The question is: when you write, are you being preachy? Or do the questions and issues you are exploring come naturally within the text, taking the reader subtly in, without them knowing?

I am a fantasy writer. I love this genre because it gives me a canvas in which to explore my own questions. But for others, their canvas is sci-fi. Both are suitable canvas to draw upon.

[J Jack]

So true, the canvas matters not, the artist holds the key to a beautiful portrait, non?

Either genre can be written as the author likes, that is true, it just seems both have their stronger suits. However, I will concede that someone will decide to write something to spite me and prove me wrong.

[seraphim]

Here is a classic SF story that I think shows the theological capacity of SF extremely well. The thematic core of the story is an extrapolation of "he came unto his own and his own recieved him not"/"it is expedient that one man die for the nation". Yet, there is not a hint of preachiness or of covert religious agendas. It has an inner dynamic not unlike stories by Flannery O'Conner. That is to say her stories point towards a bigger spiritual world outside our common perception that both intersects and is expressed by the mundanities of everyday life. She doesn't have to manipulate her symbolical vocabulary to make her point...rather the point arises naturally out of the symbolical dialogue within her stories. Thus she can tell of the ecstasy of pentecost with icecicles and frost on a windowpane. She can sit hell in a recliner and torment it with a geranium. Her message, if that is the right word, is iconic, not didactic. They are not Sunday School stories by another name. The same is true with this work of SF by Cordwainer Smith. This is how it is done right in my opinion. And thus it shows the great theological potenial of SF.

[morganlbusse]

I was thinking on this discussion further after I had left my two cents and reflected on how most fantasy nowadays tend to be either no-God or anti-God. Two examples are Terry Brooks new books (Armageddon's Children) where he comes close with his ideas of the Word and Void, then totally misses the mark and Christopher Paolini's Eragon, specifically book two Eldest in which the belief system is naturalism. Oh yes, and I forgot Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. All these books send out a message to people today about God, and none of them for God.

I agree with Jeff Gerke that Fantasy has great potential to reveal the truths of life, God, and man. But may I be so bold as to ask where they are? My own writing journey began when I stepped into a christian bookstore and asked where the fantasy novels where, only to be pointed to Frank Peretti's titles (I really enjoy Frank Peretti, but I was looking for something more along the lines of Terry Brooks...) And thus my writing began.

Sometimes the best way to reveal truth to people is to remove the truth from their world so they don't realize you are crossing their makeshift walls until they finish your book and realize that though the characters they just read about live in a different place and time, what happened to them, what they experienced, and what they learned on this journey called life is exactly how the reader feels too. And so you've crossed the barrier into your reader's heart without them even knowing.

It is said that my generation (genx) is the least churched group in the US. Yet what are many of these young people reading? Fantasy and Sci-fi. You can tell this is their interest by the movies being put out, the books making the topsellers lists and now TV shows. These people have been disillusioned by life (they were told they could have it all, only to be 25 and divorced, laidoff because of the economy, and kids they aren't sure they wanted or chose to never have and haunted by that fact). So to escape the stark realism of life, they use sci-fi/fantasy venues.

Even genx christians are disillusioned with church and God. These are the people I specifically write for. By writing in a fantasy world, I am able to show the depravity of the heart, the love of a God who heals, how hard it is to sometimes follow God, and how he is with you, even when you can't see him. And hopefully in my writing I can steal past my reader's hurts and inhibitions with church to show what christianity truly is: a matter of the heart.

Anyway, better turn my two cents into four and climb off this soapbox (guess this is what comes from being married to a preacher ;P)

[seraphim]

I can identify to a certain extent being a mid era baby boomer. I was raised on the promises of almost messianic technologism, moon bases, Mars colonies, and Jetson's flying cars. It's the 21 century already...where are my flying cars...been cheated. There is a certain disillusionment that has fed on itself every generation since the beatniks. The difference between then and now is they had some kind of delusional hope that with the right education, right financing, right chemical assistances they could usher in the millienna or something darn near unto it.

Yet the older I get, I'm not sure it is all bad. The failure of so many utopian dreams has been sobering especially within faith communities. The old free for all try everything new because yesterday's news is just "yesterday's mana" is just about over as I see it. Not quite at the death rattle, but not far from it. This is why traditionally grounded and ancient approaches to faith are becoming increasingly embraced. When I was a young evangelical charismatic the very idea of liturgical worship, icons, incense and the like would have panicked me as backward looking and superstitious, yet modern young people in what is called the emergent church community feel free to bring into their sandbox any aspect of any communion's tradition, and the older (at times) the cooler. Today I look back on my mindset and worldview as a youth pretty much the same way I look back on the heyday of leisure suits. I was a well meaning idealistic idiot who did not have the good sense to pay any much attention to the faith of those who had come before me across the centuries...as if most of the past 2000 years didn't matter. Nothing between the death of St. John and the Reformation mattered much, and nothing much between it and the Pentecostal movement at Azuza street (or its immediate precursors) mattered much....and from about 15 to 20 years out from that until the early 70's little happened that mattered.

In retrospect as I look back over history I see both tares and wheat sown together. And I see droughts as helpful for controling weeds and pests. It may be we live in a time when dysfunctional visions of Christianity must be tested for inherent vitality...or die as they should, as have errant factions of the past.

Of course such times leave their own wounds, their own empty places that need tilling and resowing once the weeds are dead. I'm pretty much of the opinion that most of what is regarded as Christian faith and culture in the west is on that downward spiral, why Europe hardly has its Christian memory left, and why the US seems no more than a couple of generations behind, if that much.

As they should be, young people from such times are hungry and searching, and it is helpful if what they read and see and hear has seeds buried deep within it that in the right reason can spring forth into new life.

[J Jack]

I think religion shot itself in the foot in those respects, in the losing of this generation (as a millenial I have some experience in fellow millenials feelings toward religion) The most common argument is "It's no fun." I have fought tooth and nail against that, using my own lifestyle, I have a great deal of fun when I go out, but it doesn't involve what they see as fun.
Yes, Sci Fi and Fantasy have invaded our lives, especially with a marked upswing in new technology and the interest in old times. Using these we could, hypothetically, bring people back into the system by showing them what they think is wrong. That's why most of my work has been...less than enthusiastically greeted, by fellow Christians. I know what I believe, so I'm not going to write for myself or for other Christians. I'm here to talk to other people, cannot talk to them like I would other Christians.
We have a wonderful gift in front of us, we have the tools, all we need to do are use them with the skill God gave us, non?