This is a fascinating post, and I'm excited to hear more. I had the same questions about aliens and evangelism as I got into Star Trek decades ago. You're probably already aware, but C.S. Lewis engages some of these questions in his Space Trilogy. I'm not a fan of the Trilogy; I think it's poorly written. But it does raise issues such as: suppose there was an alien race that was sinless? That hadn't had their own Fall? The implications for evangelism are interesting. On another note, I get tired of Stephen Hawking's popular books where he basically "cheats" in order to get around the implications of the beginning of the universe. As someone with a philosophy degree who's also studied philosophy of science, I find Hawking sometimes ridiculous. A universe that creates itself? Absurd! There is no known physics that can explain that; he's just using his reputation to speculate on something so he doesn't have to admit there could be a Designer. He did the same thing in "A Brief History of Time." He used imaginary numbers in an effort to say there is "no boundary" for the Big Bang, so presto! No need to explain a beginning! He got into a lot of trouble from his physics colleagues, in England and elsewhere, for doing this sort of thing.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Space Trilogy is on my next-to-read list (after Into The Unknown by Kelsey Johnson). Any recommended reading for alternative cosmological original stories from scientists of a similar caliber?
Well, I don't know of any scientists who are writing novels on these ideas. I'm rather limited, as I only read Star Trek novels! But have you ever read William Lane Craig's "Time and Eternity"? You might like it. It's about God's relationship to time.
Enjoyed this intro Cam. As the "dad" in the story, one thing I would offer for your consideration - you seem to juxtapose those who are "highly intelligent, rational people who extol the inadequacies of a faith-based worldview" with those "well-educated defenders of faith with scrupulous knowledge of sacred texts" - Makes me think of people like Francis Collins (co-author of the human genome sequencing project) and John Lennox (Oxford University's Professor of Mathematics) and others like them - who are rigorous scientists and yet ardent apologists for Christian faith. There are many intelligent people who believe that science and faith actually co-exist. Looking forward to the more to come!
A very interesting read! “Lem’s “Solaris” and even more so, “His Mater’s Voice”, “Fiasco” and some of the stories in Star Diaries, are a must for everybody who thinks deeply about the intersection of faith and science. I wrote about Lem’s negative theology in several of my academic books. Like Lem, I am a Jewish atheist who knows more about Christian theology than Judaism. In Lem’s case, it was because of the way he was raised in Catholic Poland and had to pretend to be a gentile to survive the Holocaust. In my case, it is simply because I find Christian theology very interesting. But I cannot be a believer because of the saying attributed to Tony Lapid, a Holocaust survivor and later a secular politician in Israel: “If God could not prevent Auschwitz, He is a weakling and I don’t have to worship Him. If God could prevent Auschwitz but did not, He is evil, and I don’t want to worship Him.”
Solaris is a favorite of mine! I write about it in my piece Extraterrestrial Evangelism.
I appreciate your candor here. I’m very happy to have people for different faith/non-faith backgrounds engaging with these ideas! I’ve not heard that quote before, but it does describe the Problem of Evil poignantly. What’s the point of worshipping a God who allows such terrible things? Profoundly difficult question—maybe even impossible.
This is a fascinating post, and I'm excited to hear more. I had the same questions about aliens and evangelism as I got into Star Trek decades ago. You're probably already aware, but C.S. Lewis engages some of these questions in his Space Trilogy. I'm not a fan of the Trilogy; I think it's poorly written. But it does raise issues such as: suppose there was an alien race that was sinless? That hadn't had their own Fall? The implications for evangelism are interesting. On another note, I get tired of Stephen Hawking's popular books where he basically "cheats" in order to get around the implications of the beginning of the universe. As someone with a philosophy degree who's also studied philosophy of science, I find Hawking sometimes ridiculous. A universe that creates itself? Absurd! There is no known physics that can explain that; he's just using his reputation to speculate on something so he doesn't have to admit there could be a Designer. He did the same thing in "A Brief History of Time." He used imaginary numbers in an effort to say there is "no boundary" for the Big Bang, so presto! No need to explain a beginning! He got into a lot of trouble from his physics colleagues, in England and elsewhere, for doing this sort of thing.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Space Trilogy is on my next-to-read list (after Into The Unknown by Kelsey Johnson). Any recommended reading for alternative cosmological original stories from scientists of a similar caliber?
Well, I don't know of any scientists who are writing novels on these ideas. I'm rather limited, as I only read Star Trek novels! But have you ever read William Lane Craig's "Time and Eternity"? You might like it. It's about God's relationship to time.
Enjoyed this intro Cam. As the "dad" in the story, one thing I would offer for your consideration - you seem to juxtapose those who are "highly intelligent, rational people who extol the inadequacies of a faith-based worldview" with those "well-educated defenders of faith with scrupulous knowledge of sacred texts" - Makes me think of people like Francis Collins (co-author of the human genome sequencing project) and John Lennox (Oxford University's Professor of Mathematics) and others like them - who are rigorous scientists and yet ardent apologists for Christian faith. There are many intelligent people who believe that science and faith actually co-exist. Looking forward to the more to come!
Good start! I look forward to hearing more about your journey.
A very interesting read! “Lem’s “Solaris” and even more so, “His Mater’s Voice”, “Fiasco” and some of the stories in Star Diaries, are a must for everybody who thinks deeply about the intersection of faith and science. I wrote about Lem’s negative theology in several of my academic books. Like Lem, I am a Jewish atheist who knows more about Christian theology than Judaism. In Lem’s case, it was because of the way he was raised in Catholic Poland and had to pretend to be a gentile to survive the Holocaust. In my case, it is simply because I find Christian theology very interesting. But I cannot be a believer because of the saying attributed to Tony Lapid, a Holocaust survivor and later a secular politician in Israel: “If God could not prevent Auschwitz, He is a weakling and I don’t have to worship Him. If God could prevent Auschwitz but did not, He is evil, and I don’t want to worship Him.”
Solaris is a favorite of mine! I write about it in my piece Extraterrestrial Evangelism.
I appreciate your candor here. I’m very happy to have people for different faith/non-faith backgrounds engaging with these ideas! I’ve not heard that quote before, but it does describe the Problem of Evil poignantly. What’s the point of worshipping a God who allows such terrible things? Profoundly difficult question—maybe even impossible.
You might like to read my three-part essay series: singulardream.substack.com/p/losing-my-religion-part-1