Thursday 19 October 2017

Uses Of The Bible

First read Sean's article here.

Simon Hollister asks a Venus colonial whether she believes in God and, when she says no, he replies:

"'You're wrong...Venus is your god...An Old Testament God...merciless, all-powerful, all-demanding. Get hold of a Bible if you can, and read Job and Ecclesiastes. You'll see what I mean. When is the New Testament coming...or even the prophet Micah?'"
-Poul Anderson, "The Big Rain" IN Anderson, The Psychotechnic League (New York, 1981), pp. 201-280 AT p. 232.

She replies that, after the Big Rain, Venus will be the Promised Land.

That is quite a good Biblically-informed dialogue:

the Old Testament;
divine characteristics;
Job;
Ecclesiastes;
the New Testament;
Micah, prophesying the Messiah;
the Promised Land.

I am particularly impressed with Hollister's understanding of the role of Micah.

3 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

Biblical images and metaphors are woven into Western culture. You really can't avoid using them, often unconsciously.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Mr Stirling,
I agree but the significance of Micah is a neat knowledgeable touch.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Gentlemen,

And we see non Christian HINDUS using such Biblical metaphors in Harry Turtledove's story "The Last Article." Of course that came largely as a result of India being ruled by Christian Britons.

Sean