religion is , for Carl and Renee , “ the audacious attempt to conceive of the entire universe as humanly significant ”; yet , they find their universe not only insignificant but false ( Berger 28 ). Chiang ’ s story speaks to those whose belief structure has crumbled under intense scrutiny and whose search for meaning leads them not to a structured and orderly universe , but only leads them further into chaos .
As with all science fiction , Ted Chiang ’ s stories reveal more of our present than our present reveals to us . We are not given definitive answers to God ’ s role in our world ; instead , his stories force us to question our own beliefs . Chiang ’ s apocalyptic literature is born out of our own profound disillusionment that is centered “ not on the world , but on the promise of God . . . which has dimmed , flickered , and for some expired ” ( Krueziger 11 ). Yet , these stories do not leave us with , or lead us to , despair and nihilism . Ted Chiang ’ s apocalypse reveals and reaffirms that meaning and therefore , life , come out of death — the death of falsely-held beliefs .
Works Cited
Berger , Peter . The Sacred Canopy . Garden City , NJ : Doubleday , 1967 .
Bishop , John . “ Faith .” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Fall 2010 . Web . 9 February 2016 .
Busto , Rudy . “ Religion / Science / Fiction : Beyond the Final Frontier .” Implicit Religion 17.4 ( 2014 ): 395-404 . Print .
145