focus is on the choices one makes and the consequences one must pay for those choices . Yes , God exists , but He does not intervene in human lives , nor does He care if they are virtuous or sinful , or if they worship or ignore Him .
Hillalum ’ s realization of how the world is structured leads him to an understanding of why God never responds to humanity ’ s attempts to reach him :
It was clear now why Yahweh had not struck down the tower , had not punished men for wishing to reach beyond the bounds set for them : for the longest journey would merely return them to the place whence they ’ d come . Centuries of their labor would not reveal to them any more of Creation than they already knew . Yet through their endeavor , men would glimpse the unimaginable artistry of Yahweh ’ s work , in seeing how ingeniously the world had been constructed . By this construction , Yahweh ’ s work was indicated , and Yahweh ’ s work was concealed .
Thus men would know their place . ( 28 ).
Hillalum comes to understand that faith does not provide meaning or significance to his life . He glimpses “ the unimaginable artistry ” of the world through human endeavor , not through worship or religious ritual . As Alan Gregory states , while all “ apocalyptic texts reveal human life in its precarious contingency ,” apocalyptic “ science fiction finds the contingency of life before immanent powers ” ( 161 ). The inhabitants of this world find “ a sense of wonder at the complexity of creation ” that comes from their own exploration of the world ( Smith ). Yahweh does not open their minds or increase their understanding of
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