sourcing this one is driving me nuts. Can i throw it open? Many years ago I read an anthology of science-fiction stories with a religious slant, discussing religions in sci-fi settings. It was a story about how the SETI Project finally made contact with an extraterrestrial people. Initially they were ecstatic - but then they discovered the extraterrestrials were the equivalent of the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons, who saw making contact as a way to spread the Word of their religion and only wanted to send Earth the equivalent of The Watchtower or Chick Tracts. the story dealt with the consequences of a bizarre dogmatic extraterrestrial religion making converts on Earth - some people will believe anything - and the way they ignored all polite Earth requests that we'd quite like to get to know about you, your planet, its people, its science, et c, if you could throttle back on the word of God a bit, please. A Jesuit priest is brought in to consult, and sets off a chain of events which results in Holy War at their end and the collapse of their theocracy. (Enabling the scientists to finally talk about the really interesting stuff).
The problem is, while i recall it was by one of the big names in scifi, I can't recall the name of story or author and all Net searches have drawn a zero. Can anyone help - it'd fit well onto this page!
Male, early sixties, Cranky old fart, at least two decades behind. So you have been warned. Functionally illiterate in several languages.
You want You Know That Show.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Thanks! Reposted there.
Male, early sixties, Cranky old fart, at least two decades behind. So you have been warned. Functionally illiterate in several languages.
Possible addition of works of Arthurian Literature under Literature section
- Given the subjects of Arthurian legends, where Saints, Paladins and some Biblical figures (namely Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea) rub elbows with the Fair Folk, wizards, and, in some cases, even pagan deities (e.g. Affalach and his daughter the goddess Modron), works of Arthurian literature tend to play with this. Two of the most notable works that touch on this are Merlin by Robert de Boron and Vita di Merlini. In the first detailing Merlin's birth, notes that he was born of a human woman raped by a demon (who may or may not be Satan himself), who intended the child to become the Antichrist. However, the woman had the child exorcised and baptized by a priest, Father Blaise, to undo the demonic influence on Merlin. He kept his magical abilities, thus making him unique as a son of Satan who uses his powers to help people(Does this sound familiar?). The latter includes a story in which the wizard is brought before the Pope to be tried for heresy in which Merlin is exonerated. The latter is particularly unique given the debates as to whether to allow for "Natural Magic" (what is today called Science) as an exception in the prohibition of witchcraft that occurred during the medieval era.
If you find that you've become a vampire werewolf, make friends with a rabbi immediately.
What on earth is this talking about?
Pulled this:
I'm all for adding Discworld examples wherever possible, but the trope specifies that it's about oddities that come up when elements of fantasy or sf settings interact with real religions. Weird fantasy religions aren't the trope.
Edited by DaibhidC Hide / Show Replies