Atlantis And Erewhon

In Erewhon by Samuel Butler, the narrator visits a lost civilization and departs in a balloon. In the sequel, he returns twenty years later to find that he is now worshipped as the Sunchild because of his ascent into heaven but is in danger of being executed for blasphemy if he claims to be the Sunchild. In Poul Andeson's Virgin Planet, Davis Bertram is condemned for claiming to be a Man. Authors satirize religion. In Frank Herbert's Dune, populations are cynically manipulated through religious belief: plant superstitions about a coming prophet on primitive planets just in case a member of your order is ever stranded there and needs help!

When Davis successfully defies the legate, Barbara deduces either that Father does not exist or that Davis is a more powerful deity. The latter is the Pagan response. The question was not whether Christ or Thor existed but which was the more powerful.

Erewhon is also relevant because it was the first fictional treatment of Artificial Intelligence. There is a Butlerian Jihad against computers in Dune.